KrinnPhindalin
Level 3 Conjurer
Player in Lord Gronan's Games at GaryCon VII, VIII, IX, and X
Posts: 65
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Post by KrinnPhindalin on Mar 20, 2018 10:59:04 GMT -6
Hello everyone- I am in the process of working on a game, and I want to make a new race. I saw on page 8 of Men and Magic that it says you can play as "virtually anything, provided they begin relatively weak and work up to the top..." Personally, I really like Frogs, and in later editions I am more familiar with, there is the Grung, a small Frog-like creature that is semi-intelligent and poisonous. My proposed character has poisonous skin, and contact with him requires a save vs. poison or 1-2 damage will be taken. Here are his traits:
Poison: If the Frog-Man is hit by an attack, roll 2 six-sided dice. On an 8 or better, the attacker must make a save vs. poison or take 1-2 points of damage from the toxins released upon contact. On an attack by the Frog-Man, he/she may replace all extra attacks to force the defender to make a save vs. poison on a successful attack. If they fail, the defending creature takes 1-2 extra damage.
Restrictions: The Frog-Man cannot use two-handed weapons (Not including Short Bows), wear plate mail or wield a shield, and cannot be a Magic-User, Cleric, or the rare Paladin, as they are typically tribal and not very sophisticated. The Frog-Man also has a hard time seeing in the dungeons and must immerse himself in water at least once every 1-2 days. The Frog-Man may also not progress past 6th level in any class.
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Post by oakesspalding on Mar 20, 2018 11:39:35 GMT -6
That's GREAT!
My problem with some extra classes and races is that they're too fussy and complicated, with new x's and y's at each level or whatever.
But I love new simple classes and races where the fun and differences organically grow out of only a few things (like your poisoned skin).
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KrinnPhindalin
Level 3 Conjurer
Player in Lord Gronan's Games at GaryCon VII, VIII, IX, and X
Posts: 65
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Post by KrinnPhindalin on Mar 20, 2018 12:13:58 GMT -6
That's GREAT! My problem with some extra classes and races is that they're too fussy and complicated, with new x's and y's at each level or whatever. But I love new simple classes and races where the fun and differences organically grow out of only a few things (like your poisoned skin). I'm glad you like it! I wanted to keep it simple like the other races. I really just want a little poison machine. I may have gone a bit too far with the drawbacks, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
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KrinnPhindalin
Level 3 Conjurer
Player in Lord Gronan's Games at GaryCon VII, VIII, IX, and X
Posts: 65
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Post by KrinnPhindalin on Mar 20, 2018 12:38:40 GMT -6
I actually was running 5th Edition with kids at my high school, and since I played OD&D with a few of them in the summer, they want to play the original version. Apparently dying is fun for them 😂. I'm excited to run my favorite edition all spring/summer!
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Post by smubee on Mar 20, 2018 19:52:42 GMT -6
Out of curiosity, if anyone had contact with the frog man's skin, would the entire group have to be comprised of them, just in case they came in contact with its skin? Other than that, looks good to me as well.
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KrinnPhindalin
Level 3 Conjurer
Player in Lord Gronan's Games at GaryCon VII, VIII, IX, and X
Posts: 65
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Post by KrinnPhindalin on Mar 20, 2018 20:03:20 GMT -6
Out of curiosity, if anyone had contact with the frog man's skin, would the entire group have to be comprised of them, just in case they came in contact with its skin? Other than that, looks good to me as well. They would not, as killing friends with arrows is enough of a problem already. I'd assume a creature like this can turn it off. They are able to excrete it when they choose.
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Post by Zenopus on Mar 20, 2018 22:01:48 GMT -6
Out of curiosity, if anyone had contact with the frog man's skin, would the entire group have to be comprised of them, just in case they came in contact with its skin? Other than that, looks good to me as well. They would not, as killing friends with arrows is enough of a problem already. I'd assume a creature like this can turn it off. They are able to excrete it when they choose. It'd be more fun if they poison clerics when they have Cure Light Wounds cast on them.
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oldkat
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 431
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Post by oldkat on Mar 20, 2018 23:40:41 GMT -6
I can just see a lot of cringe happening at game tables when the first character is croaked by a Frog Man.
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KrinnPhindalin
Level 3 Conjurer
Player in Lord Gronan's Games at GaryCon VII, VIII, IX, and X
Posts: 65
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Post by KrinnPhindalin on Mar 21, 2018 6:34:23 GMT -6
They would not, as killing friends with arrows is enough of a problem already. I'd assume a creature like this can turn it off. They are able to excrete it when they choose. It'd be more fun if they poison clerics when they have Cure Light Wounds cast on them. It would stop the frog man from being healed really quickly.
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Post by coffee on Mar 21, 2018 7:26:11 GMT -6
You'd have to wear thick gloves when you hand him a healing potion.
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KrinnPhindalin
Level 3 Conjurer
Player in Lord Gronan's Games at GaryCon VII, VIII, IX, and X
Posts: 65
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Post by KrinnPhindalin on Mar 21, 2018 10:01:30 GMT -6
You'd have to wear thick gloves when you hand him a healing potion. Although that would be funny, it would really suck. I'm not going to be too mean. The restrictions already in place are enough.
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Post by Starbeard on Mar 26, 2018 19:03:15 GMT -6
Looks great. If I were playing a toxic frog-man, I'd let everyone in the party rub their arrows onto my skin to make them poisonous.
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KrinnPhindalin
Level 3 Conjurer
Player in Lord Gronan's Games at GaryCon VII, VIII, IX, and X
Posts: 65
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Post by KrinnPhindalin on Mar 27, 2018 14:06:15 GMT -6
Looks great. If I were playing a toxic frog-man, I'd let everyone in the party rub their arrows onto my skin to make them poisonous. As a referee, I wouldn’t let them. Since the poison is excreted as part of the attack, I’d say that it dries out and loses its potency.
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Post by Porphyre on Mar 27, 2018 16:18:02 GMT -6
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Post by scottenkainen on Mar 28, 2018 12:49:09 GMT -6
I would worry that this race sends the wrong message to players, that it's okay for their characters to use poison as a weapon (OD&D is neutral on the subject, but AD&D is very clear this is a no-no for most classes/Alignments).
At the risk of thread-jacking, the only monster race I've ever allowed for PCs is the hobgoblin. What does everyone else allow?
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KrinnPhindalin
Level 3 Conjurer
Player in Lord Gronan's Games at GaryCon VII, VIII, IX, and X
Posts: 65
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Post by KrinnPhindalin on Mar 28, 2018 12:57:03 GMT -6
I would worry that this race sends the wrong message to players, that it's okay for their characters to use poison as a weapon (OD&D is neutral on the subject, but AD&D is very clear this is a no-no for most classes/Alignments). At the risk of thread-jacking, the only monster race I've ever allowed for PCs is the hobgoblin. What does everyone else allow? I'd say it's ok for the frog-men, since it's their natural abilities. Since when do you see a poisonous frog not using his poison in combat? I see it as other races shouldn't use poisons they buy on a moral ground.
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KrinnPhindalin
Level 3 Conjurer
Player in Lord Gronan's Games at GaryCon VII, VIII, IX, and X
Posts: 65
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Post by KrinnPhindalin on Mar 28, 2018 12:57:45 GMT -6
I based this off the Grung from newer additions.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2018 17:18:38 GMT -6
I would worry that this race sends the wrong message to players, that it's okay for their characters to use poison as a weapon (OD&D is neutral on the subject, but AD&D is very clear this is a no-no for most classes/Alignments). At the risk of thread-jacking, the only monster race I've ever allowed for PCs is the hobgoblin. What does everyone else allow? I expect my fellow players to be sophisticated and intelligent enough to comprehend the inherent difference contained in an autonomous response. I've played BALROGS in three different campaigns, and nobody complained that they couldn't burst into flames. And as far as "alignment," that's why I play OD&D, and alignments are general cosmological tendencies, not checklists of rules.
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KrinnPhindalin
Level 3 Conjurer
Player in Lord Gronan's Games at GaryCon VII, VIII, IX, and X
Posts: 65
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Post by KrinnPhindalin on Mar 28, 2018 17:21:36 GMT -6
I would worry that this race sends the wrong message to players, that it's okay for their characters to use poison as a weapon (OD&D is neutral on the subject, but AD&D is very clear this is a no-no for most classes/Alignments). At the risk of thread-jacking, the only monster race I've ever allowed for PCs is the hobgoblin. What does everyone else allow? I expect my fellow players to be sophisticated and intelligent enough to comprehend the inherent difference contained in an autonomous response. I've played BALROGS in three different campaigns, and nobody complained that they couldn't burst into flames. And as far as "alignment," that's why I play OD&D, and alignments are general cosmological tendencies, not checklists of rules. That's where you couldn't burst into flames so you set yourself on fire with oil, right?
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KrinnPhindalin
Level 3 Conjurer
Player in Lord Gronan's Games at GaryCon VII, VIII, IX, and X
Posts: 65
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Post by KrinnPhindalin on Mar 28, 2018 17:23:19 GMT -6
Besides, all of my characters will do whatever it takes to survive a dungeon expedition. That includes poisoning the deadly little death machines known as Kobolds.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2018 19:29:02 GMT -6
I expect my fellow players to be sophisticated and intelligent enough to comprehend the inherent difference contained in an autonomous response. I've played BALROGS in three different campaigns, and nobody complained that they couldn't burst into flames. And as far as "alignment," that's why I play OD&D, and alignments are general cosmological tendencies, not checklists of rules. That's where you couldn't burst into flames so you set yourself on fire with oil, right? One of the times, yes.
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Post by scalydemon on Mar 28, 2018 19:35:43 GMT -6
You might look to the Bullywug for some ideas. They have a jumping charge move that is sort of cool. Fiend Folio<?>
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KrinnPhindalin
Level 3 Conjurer
Player in Lord Gronan's Games at GaryCon VII, VIII, IX, and X
Posts: 65
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Post by KrinnPhindalin on Mar 28, 2018 21:05:41 GMT -6
You might look to the Bullywug for some ideas. They have a jumping charge move that is sort of cool. Fiend Folio<?> The only addition I would consider making is adding a swim or climb ability, but I intentionally left it out for fear of breaking dungeons.
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KrinnPhindalin
Level 3 Conjurer
Player in Lord Gronan's Games at GaryCon VII, VIII, IX, and X
Posts: 65
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Post by KrinnPhindalin on Mar 28, 2018 21:07:03 GMT -6
You might look to the Bullywug for some ideas. They have a jumping charge move that is sort of cool. Fiend Folio<?> The only addition I would consider making is adding a swim or climb ability, but I intentionally left it out for fear of breaking dungeons. I really like the poisonous frog-man. Bullywugs are evil in my games. I basically made a good Grung/Grippli because those are my favorite races, and hurting people when they hurt you is wonderful.
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KrinnPhindalin
Level 3 Conjurer
Player in Lord Gronan's Games at GaryCon VII, VIII, IX, and X
Posts: 65
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Post by KrinnPhindalin on Mar 28, 2018 21:08:15 GMT -6
That's where you couldn't burst into flames so you set yourself on fire with oil, right? One of the times, yes. That was a very funny story. Those poor Kobolds (right) got to get a good laugh in at you.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2018 22:10:45 GMT -6
Orcs. but yeah.
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Post by starwolf on Apr 25, 2018 13:23:19 GMT -6
KrinnPhindalin, any play testing to report? Wondering how it works(ed) in game.
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darien
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 135
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Post by darien on Apr 27, 2018 10:18:01 GMT -6
I'll allow custom races and classes for PC's if the concept is good enough.
Hell, I came up with an idea for a Vampire class in OD&D, loosely inspired by Vampire: The Masquerade (specifically the Dark Ages variant of the game) and classic Dracula (as portrayed by Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee). A Level 1 Vampire is a newly turned Fledgling while a Level 9 Vampire is a powerful Vampire Lord who can run a Necropolis domain with Undead followers (and maybe some Orcs and Drow) and mortal human peasants as slaves and cattle.
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