Annoying Game Questions You Want Answered

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Fri Oct 31, 2014 7:04 am

Grek wrote:Doublepost time: What's an LA +0 insect race in 3.5 that would make for a not awful spellcaster?

Hengeyokai Crab from Dragon #318? D&D is sorely deficienct in bug people.

-Username17

TiaC · Post by **TiaC** » Fri Oct 31, 2014 7:31 am

Due to a misprint, the Hairy Spider from Monsters of Faerun has LA +0 in 3.5. Of course it also has Int:—...

The Khepri from Dragon 352 have scarab heads and human bodies.

That's it at LA +0 though.

Grek · Post by **Grek** » Fri Oct 31, 2014 7:50 am

Yeah, none of these quite work. The Hengeyokai Crab kinda fits, but honestly who wants to be the guy trying to explain to the DM they want to play a "Hengeyokai" at the table?

TiaC · Post by **TiaC** » Fri Oct 31, 2014 8:03 am

Try to get LA buyoff approved and play a Diopsid or Dromite?

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Fri Oct 31, 2014 10:22 pm

What kind of powers/adjustments do you expect from being a 'bug person'?
Extra arms, hovering, different sight?

Grek · Post by **Grek** » Fri Oct 31, 2014 10:51 pm

An exoskeleton. Maybe some antennae or mandibles. It's a purely cosmetic request.

fectin · Post by **fectin** » Fri Oct 31, 2014 11:41 pm

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/polymorphAnyObject.htm

Scroll costs $3k.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Sat Nov 01, 2014 2:49 am

Grek wrote:An exoskeleton. Maybe some antennae or mandibles. It's a purely cosmetic request.

That's the kind of flavour stuff that can just be written onto the sheet. In the case of the exoskeleton, be a class that wears Heavy Armour (ie a Cleric) and never take your armour off. Or do that stupid thing from Dragon Magic where you don't get armour but instead grow your own armour coating. It needs to have the "doesn't stack" thing reworded in a way that makes sense though, because of "or other sources".

You could also do a Magic of Blue thing and claim your weird bug bits are natural and not just a magical extension, but then if you walk into an Antimagic Field you magically turn into a human or whatever.

tussock · Post by **tussock** » Sat Nov 01, 2014 10:29 am

Kobolds are basically bugs. Natural armour, small size, fast, speak funny. Call it a bug. Replace the traps/stealth stuff with stability, say you're a bug-centaur even.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sat Nov 01, 2014 12:26 pm

My vote would to be a Lesser whatverthefuckthe Lawful Planetouched are called (I think they're in either MM2 or Fiend Folio if you have either of those), and say your grandparents were Formians, so you have a bug face and carapace, but they aren't strong enough to give you bite attacks or natural armor.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Sat Nov 01, 2014 2:07 pm

Lawful Planetouched are called Zenythri, and are descended from Inevitables rather than Formians. They're part robotic.

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Sat Nov 01, 2014 3:31 pm

Grek wrote:An exoskeleton. Maybe some antennae or mandibles. It's a purely cosmetic request.

If your DM isn't a complete idiot you can always appeal to his sense of balance, and have him give you insectile creature with no LA and no ability modifiers.

It's a savage species template that gives you tremorsense, and more limbs that explicitly can't be used for more attacks, and +4 dex +2 wis. The LA is +2 because it's in Savage "Fuck you, you can't play monsters"Species, but if your DM is sane, it makes you very insectile for basically the most marginal of gains.

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 12:35 am

Reskinning a ____-Elf would provide a basket of mechanical effects everyone is already familiar with.

"You're arbitrarily immune to these spells and ghouls cuz yer a bug-man"
"Instead of sleep you go into a torpor state"
"Your antenna give you keen senses for finding hidden stuff"

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 1:18 am

Now I kind of want to see a world where the core races are reskinned to be radically non-human, rather than the rubber forehead races they are. Preferably no mammals.

erik · Post by **erik** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 2:29 am

The fantasy world that I dabble in where humans landed on a planet full of elemental spirits that can be manipulated:

various races available so far:

Star Children (human crew)- high tech, cybernetics
Star Children (human colonist)- gone native, disease resistant
Star Children (human exalt)- high tech, heavily modified, mutants
Corvian- medium sized intelligent crows
Huroon- slender plant people that senesce into stationary trees
Myconid- knuckle-walking fungi that reproduce via spores that grow on dead ancient Huroon
Ro'czak- asexual earth elementals who sculpt their descendents from stone
Troll- large humanoids with a variety of appearances that reproduce by budding once they grow large enough
Chim- small, tailed primates that closely resemble humans
Mi-Go- bug larva grows in host, then mature into larger arthropods - can grow in Chims or Humans, some view it as symbiotic others as parasitic
Gill- scaled amphibious bipeds

If you want a published setting with diverse core races:
http://www.battlestations.info/aliens.html

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 2:30 am

Prak wrote:Now I kind of want to see a world where the core races are reskinned to be radically non-human, rather than the rubber forehead races they are. Preferably no mammals.

Elf: Agile insect folk with acute senses

Dwarf: Rotund bird-men that can eat anything, like digging.

Human: 'Lizardmen' (tho' warm blooded) that have adopted to all corners of the world.

Halfling/Gnome: 3ft tall plantfolk with a talent for trickery

Orc: mushroom-men with violent tempers and strength

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 2:46 am

Orc bard

Foxwarrior · Post by **Foxwarrior** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 4:37 am

Ugh, humanoids, humanoids everywhere.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 4:46 am

Honestly, mushroom people should have much more varied body forms.

schpeelah · Post by **schpeelah** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 9:26 am

I'm reminded of the "elves are bees" thing from the Master Race Handbook.

Chamomile · Post by **Chamomile** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 1:19 pm

While I'm all for going non-mammal, I think making things non-humanoid is a bad idea. Most non-humanoids have a really hard time using tools, and that makes them really bad for RPGs. To resolve this problem you need completely alien physiologies, where like you've got a creature who has a hand of some sort on its tail and stuff. Making those is very hard, stretches conceptual space for each new one added, and each one is potentially another centaurs argument waiting to happen.

erik · Post by **erik** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 1:41 pm

+1 to humanoids being a good idea. You don't want to run into tons of problems where items and locations are not compatible for the whole party.

You might be able to get around it some on items by having the magic stored in a small replaceable component like a crystal. Then giant trolls can put it in their club, crows in their small twiggy tools, etc.

Anyway you don't want your cast looking like Animal Farm or at least I don't.

fectin · Post by **fectin** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 4:01 pm

Remember centaurs and stairs?
That's why all races are humanoid.

Longes · Post by **Longes** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 5:49 pm

Chamomile wrote:While I'm all for going non-mammal, I think making things non-humanoid is a bad idea. Most non-humanoids have a really hard time using tools, and that makes them really bad for RPGs. To resolve this problem you need completely alien physiologies, where like you've got a creature who has a hand of some sort on its tail and stuff. Making those is very hard, stretches conceptual space for each new one added, and each one is potentially another centaurs argument waiting to happen.

Foxwarrior · Post by **Foxwarrior** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 6:57 pm

Centaurs are ugly and too big.

(Some of) y'all are always going on about how wonderful it is to have protected roles and stuff. What's wrong with "has thumbs"

?