Would You Use A (Villainous) Race Like This?

[Kaodi]

The Falrewn (work in progress)

Edit: The Pathfinder stats that were here are now at the bottom. But to be clear, I am not asking this question merely for Pathfinder. Rather, I mean: Do you like the flavour and fluff and would you consider potentially using this race in any fantasy setting?

The falrewn are an ancient, immortal race whose civilization fell into decline long ago, driven out by elves and serpentfolk. This, however, has not shaken their haughty and arrogant faith in their superiority over the other races. Indeed, they are stronger and smarter than most humans. But despite an exceptional natural beauty, they can be as prickly in personality as dwaves. Except, unlike those of dwarves and elves, the falrewn culture would never be mistaken for a kind one. The nature of the falrewn is not only to feel superior, but to exert superiority and authority over their lessers.

The average falrewn, both male and female, stands about seven feet tall, with a build only slightly leaner than a proportionally sized human. Their hair, which grows only on the top of their heads, is always brown, coming in shades like the roots of plants and trees, and that of the earth. Most male falrewn keep their hair shaved off, however. What makes the falrewn most exceptional in appearance, however, is their eyes and skin.

When a falrewn is born, their skin is alabaster white, and their eyes are a particularly rich shade of green, blue, or violet. As a falrewn grows, the colour begins to drain from their eyes and their skin slowly turns from white to the same shade. Soon after a falrewn reaches maturity, that is, when all colour has drained from their eyes, making them completely white except for the pupils, the falrewn becomes able to learn to reverse and control this change, such that after a short period of time they can return to the same state of alabaster white skin and coloured eyes they had when they were born. However, most falrewn do not make use of this ability as a matter of course.

One of the most important things an outsider should know about the falrewn is that colouration is not, for the most part, an accident of birth; and it is the animating force of conflict between the falrewn. Blue-skinned falrewn belong to the Water Clan, green-skins to the Leaf Clan, and the violet-skinned to the Petal Clan. Each of the clans despises the others, viewing them as rivals at best and all too often enemies to be destroyed.

However, there are some formal ties between the clans, and at times they can and do co-operate. By falrewn law, when a child is born with eyes that do not match its parents clan, it must at first opportunity to surrendered to the appropriate clan, even if the two clans are currently at war. From this custom has also arisen the tradition that a falrewn who has not reached maturity should not be slain due to clan conflict. Also, when the clans meet in truce or peace, that is when their colour-changing ability has a proscibed use: clan members turn white and put veils over their eyes, symbolizing their unity, however temporary. The only other time a falrewn tends to make use of this ability is when among the non-falrewn, though it stems not so much from truce as a desire to stand out less.

Two other things remain to be explained about the core of falrewn life. The first, as was mentioned before, is that they are immortal. But this does not mean they are unchanging. Two years after a falrewn reaches maturity, they begin to go through a yearly cycle of aging. In Spring the falrewn are at their most vibrant, and through most of Summer they maintain an appearance similiar to other races in their prime. But as Autumn approaches they visibly age, and then through that season and Winter they grow older, becoming more like the middle-aged, until Spring comes and the cycle is repeated over. Their personalities change to match as well. As such, a falrewn is strongest in the Spring, but wisest in the Winter.

The other important thing to know about the falrewn is that they possess the ability to share memories. This ability is not limited to other falrewn, though culturally it is mostly taboo to transmit a memory to a non-falrewn. Memory sharing, and for the less-scrupulous, memory selling, are an important part of falrewn culture. This ability affects how falrewn are taught, and gives them an amazing kind of "racial memory" as important experiences are passed directly from one generation to the next. It is also an important tool for those who are dying from illness, or expect to die in battle, to pass on what is important to them. This has also had the effect of homogenizing falrewn to some extent: as they share many of the same memories, they may seem not as unique to other races, which already can have trouble telling them apart. Though for falrewn, individuality is still important.

Outside of this, much else about falrewn is cultural or practical rather than essential to them. Due to their heightened intelligence, the falrewn are eminent practioners of some arcane magical traditions, rivalling (and often exceeding) their ancient enemies, the elves. Divine magic is far less common, though due to the falrewn love of gardening, druidic magic is well known, if not widespread. As can be told from their clan names, the falrewn have an association with flowers, but that does not mean they are attuned to nature. On the contrary, falrewn civilization values cultivation; their ancient walled cities were legendary for their hanging gardens. Indeed, beauty, both their own and that they cultivate, hides much of the ugliness in falrewn society. It is a common refrain that from time to time a falrewn garden must be watered with blood (though this is not a literal practice of the vast majority of falrewn).

The three clans are somewhat distinct culturally as well. The Water Clan tends to settle by lakes, seas, and ocean, and practice advanced alchemy. The Leaf Clan prefers forests and jungles, and have the most martial arcane traditions. And the Petal Clan tends towards hills and plains; they have a peculiar tradition of intellectual sorcery, and are the most likely to live within the communities of other races, practicing diplomacy and subterfuge. As well, the Petal Clan tends to have the best gardeners, though that is a claim often contested by the other clans.

[sblock=Pathfinder Stats]+2 Str, +2 Int, -2 Cha, Medium Humanoid (Falrewn), Spd 30 ft., Speak Common and Falrewn, Low-light Vision, Stubborn (+2 saves vs. charms and compulsions, extra save 1 round after first failed), Share Memory 1/day, Hatred (+1 atk vs. elf and reptilians), +1 Bluff, Disguise, and Knowledge (Local), +2 Use Magic Device[/sblock]

 

[Kaodi]

So, I have noticed at this point that there have been ninety views of this thread, and no replies. Maybe I should have included a poll. In any case, I will pose some more questions. If no one answers, then I can probably ascertain that it was just horrible or utterly uninteresting to begin with.

1) How good or bad is the name " Falrewn " (-rewn like strewn) ? I derived it from " flower " . I am open to suggestions on that front.

2) Is the colour changing business make it more interesting, or do you think it is unnecessary? I kind of like change from childhood to maturity, but I suppose that being able to change back once you reach adulthood might be kind of odd.

3) Is the colour/clan dynamic bad? Would it be better if they were a unified and intermingled race?

4) What about the seasonal aging? Is that a little too out there, or does it make them interesting?

5) Would it help make them seem like bonified villains if I outlined some characters and plots? The original idea for this race was to fill the "good looking bad guys" niche, as the complaint crops up from time to time that most races a character is expected to kill on sight are ugly as Hell.

6) Anything else you can think of that would help give them more traction?

 

[GSHamster]

It feels like they are missing something. The element that would make everything hang together.

Right now, it feels a little like you took elves (specifically the aes sídhe) and added some color-changing and the ageing cycle. In particular, those two elements seem tacked on. As does the clan war, there does not seem to have a reason for the war.

My recommendation would be to cut either the color-changing or the aging cycle. Then take the remaining element and make it more central to their biology, culture, and way of thinking.

Edit: After thinking about it a bit more, why do the three tribes war especially when they give children to the other side? That means that you could be fighting or killing your own son or sister. I suppose it does make them alien, but in an incomprehensible fashion.

 

[Kaodi]

I suppose they were sort of tacked on, but not for entirely non-sensical reasons (to me). I could definitely cut the adult colour changing, though I think I would like to keep it for the maturing process to emphasize that at some point they are more alike. Also, I had some tulip bulbs from the garden, and when you peeled away the dirty outer layer they were white.

The aging thing was to was make them kind of "seasonal" like most plants are. But I guess it could be cut, and give them a more normal aging, but with the proviso that none has ever been known to die of old age. I think the memory sharing could be used to partially explain why they do not just keep aging in hiding, as the dead live on in the memories they have given to others, which really affects their outlook on the risk versus reward of possible death.

The clans are not exactly at war, as I see it. Each clan has many different communities, and those communities may fight each other to the death, but it never really gets to the level of all out warfare. Also, I do not think the clans would actually be a historical phenomenon for the falrewn. Before they were beaten back and broken up by their enemies, they were a united people. Perhaps the clans developed because when they went into hiding they had to devise some way to determine how to split up their groups to go into hiding, and that just seemed like the easiest. Over time, as the communities became more genetically homogenous, it became less and less common to have a child born who was different from its parents, and it became the custom to pass off such children to the "right" communities. This tradition, while strange to outsiders, could probably be used to explain why the different communities rarely try to exterminate each other outright: it would not be good to try too hard to wipe out your distant relatives.

But in terms of how non-sensical this is... well, no more non-sensical than what happened with certain imposed groupings in certain countries on a certain continent, all of which will go unnamed.

And finally, for the elf thing... maybe that could be addressed if I went into more detail about physical appearance? Visually I think they would be more like humans than elves, though they are not (at least closely) related to humans. But culturally, unlike elves, who enhance nature, the falrewn way of doing things is also more like humans: they build (or at least used to) grand cities, they rearrange things to suit their liking rather than merely guiding them. Druidism for them is not meant to imply a way of life: it is merely a set of skills for achieving an end to them.

 

[Loonook]

I suppose they were sort of tacked on, but not for entirely non-sensical reasons (to me). I could definitely cut the adult colour changing, though I think I would like to keep it for the maturing process to emphasize that at some point they are more alike. Also, I had some tulip bulbs from the garden, and when you peeled away the dirty outer layer they were white.

The aging thing was to was make them kind of "seasonal" like most plants are. But I guess it could be cut, and give them a more normal aging, but with the proviso that none has ever been known to die of old age. I think the memory sharing could be used to partially explain why they do not just keep aging in hiding, as the dead live on in the memories they have given to others, which really affects their outlook on the risk versus reward of possible death.

The clans are not exactly at war, as I see it. Each clan has many different communities, and those communities may fight each other to the death, but it never really gets to the level of all out warfare. Also, I do not think the clans would actually be a historical phenomenon for the falrewn. Before they were beaten back and broken up by their enemies, they were a united people. Perhaps the clans developed because when they went into hiding they had to devise some way to determine how to split up their groups to go into hiding, and that just seemed like the easiest. Over time, as the communities became more genetically homogenous, it became less and less common to have a child born who was different from its parents, and it became the custom to pass off such children to the "right" communities. This tradition, while strange to outsiders, could probably be used to explain why the different communities rarely try to exterminate each other outright: it would not be good to try too hard to wipe out your distant relatives.

But in terms of how non-sensical this is... well, no more non-sensical than what happened with certain imposed groupings in certain countries on a certain continent, all of which will go unnamed.

And finally, for the elf thing... maybe that could be addressed if I went into more detail about physical appearance? Visually I think they would be more like humans than elves, though they are not (at least closely) related to humans. But culturally, unlike elves, who enhance nature, the falrewn way of doing things is also more like humans: they build (or at least used to) grand cities, they rearrange things to suit their liking rather than merely guiding them. Druidism for them is not meant to imply a way of life: it is merely a set of skills for achieving an end to them.

You've made a race of Strong Elves with a color palette swap and actually gave them a better penalty stat. The creatures don't seem very 'unique', and they have two useful stats but weaken themselves as druids (animal empathy, etc.) by taking Charisma as the penalty. No other race in Pathfinder has +2 Physical, +2 Mental, -2 Mental... It bumps everything out of whack for an LA 0 race.

Share Memory, even as a 2nd level spell, is a 2nd level spell given to an LA 0 race with no real penalties. Alongside other benefits the race doesn't seem to fit the LA requirement.

Personally you haven't taken them far enough... If they are supposed to have a plant theme but seem to be viviparous... And their genes randomly mutate so that individuals of a large clan randomly sprout traits of another without rhyme or reason... Why do they have to be a player race? You're going to have an LA higher than 0 for a race that is not going to be as good as other LA 1 races but still better than LA 0 races by enough to need the boost.

If you want them to be cyclical like a plant provide for a period of fecundity, 'pollination', 'seed' and dormancy. Perhaps the race buds, or bulbs, or requires a period of dormancy to actually grow another of its race. They may even produce unpollinated 'children' as another creature type. There's a lot of ways to go with it but your current slot is kinda... Weird.

Slainte,

-Loonook.

 

[Kaodi]

You've made a race of Strong Elves with a color palette swap and actually gave them a better penalty stat. The creatures don't seem very 'unique', and they have two useful stats but weaken themselves as druids (animal empathy, etc.) by taking Charisma as the penalty. No other race in Pathfinder has +2 Physical, +2 Mental, -2 Mental... It bumps everything out of whack for an LA 0 race.

Share Memory, even as a 2nd level spell, is a 2nd level spell given to an LA 0 race with no real penalties. Alongside other benefits the race doesn't seem to fit the LA requirement.

To comment briefly on the Pathfinder crunch: Nagaji and Wayang both have +2 Physical, +2 Mental, -2 Mental. As well, this race comes out to 10 points using the Advanced Race Guide playtest rules, and none of its abilities come under advanced or monstrous headings.

Personally you haven't taken them far enough... If they are supposed to have a plant theme but seem to be viviparous...

Well, they are supposed to be plant-themed people, not plant-people.

And their genes randomly mutate so that individuals of a large clan randomly sprout traits of another without rhyme or reason...

You could almost say that it is just like real life!

Seriously, all members of the race have ancestors who had traits other than the ones they express. Being born with green eyes when the rest of your extended family have blue is not exactly more extreme than vestigal limbs or anything like that.

Why do they have to be a player race? You're going to have an LA higher than 0 for a race that is not going to be as good as other LA 1 races but still better than LA 0 races by enough to need the boost.

As a general rule I think it is just better for such races to be of comparable strength to player races. If I wanted to go the higher power route, instead of being compared to elves, they probably would have ended up being compared to irda.

 

[Kaodi]

Small Correction: They actually work out to 9 Points as I wrote them here. There are supposed to have Acid Resistance 5 as well.

 

[Drowbane]

No.
1) I try to use a little "color-coded for your convenience" as possible. IMC, Dragon color does not tell you: breath weapon type, immunity(ies), alignment or any other factors. My "dark elves" look little different from the other Sidhe, but they do worship a Spider Demon and have gained affinity with shadows.
2) My campaigns already have an elven Fey race. The Aes Sidhe (stats by request). Which use the Seelie and Unseelie Court and have minor cosmetic changes based on season, but this is not an alignment / faction shift... if you see an Unseelie Sidhe during Summer you will not have any obvious visual cues... except perhaps for the fact that it just killed your dog or something.

The name is fine.

 

[Loonook]

To comment briefly on the Pathfinder crunch: Nagaji and Wayang both have +2 Physical, +2 Mental, -2 Mental. As well, this race comes out to 10 points using the Advanced Race Guide playtest rules, and none of its abilities come under advanced or monstrous headings.



Well, they are supposed to be plant-themed people, not plant-people.



You could almost say that it is just like real life!

Seriously, all members of the race have ancestors who had traits other than the ones they express. Being born with green eyes when the rest of your extended family have blue is not exactly more extreme than vestigal limbs or anything like that.



As a general rule I think it is just better for such races to be of comparable strength to player races. If I wanted to go the higher power route, instead of being compared to elves, they probably would have ended up being compared to irda.

Yes, but Nagaji have +2 Strong Physical, +2 Weak Mental, -2 Strong Mental... And the Wayung have +2 Strong Physical, +2 Strong Mental, -2 Strong Mental. The Wayang gain Gnome-like spell abilities with shadow magic, and the Nagaji gain Natural Armor +1, which is again quite a nice ability, but is offset by a couple of weak further enhancements (situational save bonuses, a racial bonus to a useful skill and a focused bonus to a middling skill). You provide bonuses to 3 skills at a low rank and a mighty bonus to an extremely useful skill which personally I cannot recall being granted by any other race that doesn't have an LA or monster HD.

The ARG has yet to be released and the numbers in the playtest version may vary once the book is actually released in the update. As I stated your race makes the race useful for thug, UMD (+1 overall gain racial), and skillmonkey/combat Rogues, pretty much any flavor of Magus, Wizards,
and any Intelligence based group that doesn't need to worry too much about Charisma based skills.

The benefits of Intelligence vs. Wisdom vs. Charisma are way too large to ignore, as Charisma affects a handful of skills and a very small amount of options vs. Intelligence affecting all skills purchased and Wisdom affecting multiple useful skills AND Will.

They are plant themed people but there is no reason for the skin pigmentation. Mutations in eye color are just that... Very occasional sprouting up of colors, similar to polydactyly due to these traits being repressed and randomly generated.

If three populations breed true to themselves besides these occasional mutations it means that the individuals who 'mutate' in one clan will be carrying their genetic material to another clan. That means that their dominant genes will breed into another set of seemingly dominant traits, diluting the overall group. I don't feel like running your Punnetts for you through multiple alleles... Run a basic hybrid cross analysis with randomization for the offspring of two of your Purple "pures" and an expressed "purple" Blue individual.

Factor in your chances of expression, decide which color is Dominant and which are Recessive... The populations wouldn't hold. A 'rarity' is only rare in a small group. 12% of the overall population has green-or-hazel eyes. They're coming from similar mutations... But there are so many other mutations and malformations of the eye to work around that eye color, while useful as a trait, doesn't fit our question very well.

But again, your race has an extremely focused genetic variation that breeds strong to true even among their own? It doesn't make genetic sense... There are outlying cases of extreme evolutionary advancement in species that live extremely short lives in comparison to humans, but in a long-living group? Tortoises don't change much even in adaptation.

Slainte,

-Loonook.

 

[GSHamster]

What I'm trying to say is that the best races can be summed up in a sentence that gets to the heart of who they are.

Elf: Beautiful and terrible immortals who are slowly fading away as a people.
Dwarf: Short, dour warrior smiths who live underground.
Drow: Evil, matriarchal elves who live underground and worship the Spider Goddess.
Illithids: Telepathic monstrosities who will suck your brain out with their tentacled mouths.
Kobolds: Small shifty bastards who like traps.
Dragons: Intelligent giant flying lizards with fiery breath who hoard gold.

Your race has a lot of elements, but I don't see the simple "heart" of who they are. Personally, I think you're more likely to find that heart by pruning away elements, and expanding on the ones which remain.