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Post by crimhthanthegreat on Jul 20, 2007 21:42:12 GMT -6
In Men & Magic the basic character races are listed: Humans Dwarves Elves Hobbits
Then it goes on to day:
I have allowed over 50 and perhaps quite a bit more (I will have to check with my friends on that) creatures to be used by the players as characters.
I would like anyone who has used anything beyond the original standard 4 pc races to post what additional race or races they have used and what the house rules were for that use.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2007 22:26:27 GMT -6
I have to admit that I do not own any OD&D material (all the information I can glean is found through online sources, & I'll gladly take any I can get ;D), but I would like to share with you the "Gnome" character class I created for my games many years ago. Since I DM the RC version of the game, all page references apply to that book. Enjoy!
Gnome
Prime Requisite: Dexterity and Intelligence. Other Requirements: Dexterity of 9 or better, Constitution of 9 or better. Experience Bonus: 5% for either Dexterity or Intelligence of 13 or more, 10% for Dexterity and Intelligence of 13 or more. Hit Dice: 1d8 per level up to 10th level. Maximum Level: 10th. Armor: Any; shield is permitted; armor must be designed specifically for gnomes. Weapons: Any small melee weapon; short bow; light crossbow; thunderstick. Special Abilities: Fighter Combat Options at 660,000 XP; Combat Bonuses (-2 AC vs. Monsters larger than man size, +1 to attack roll with thunderstick); Half damage from spells and spell-like effects at 1,400,000 XP; Infravision; Extra languages (dwarf, gnome, goblin, kobold, and all normal, non-magical, burrowing animals); 1 free skill slot; 1 in 3 chance to detect traps, sliding walls, sloping corridors and new construction; 50% chance to hide motionless in woodlands.
Gnomes are a humanoid race related to (but smaller than) dwarves. They stand 3 ½ to 4’ tall, have long noses and full beards, and are recognizable by their bright clothing and tall, conical hats. Gnomes have well-developed infravision, with a 90’ range. They usually live in burrows in the lowlands, in underground communities, or deep in the woodlands. Gnomes are excellent inventors, miners and smiths. They love gold and gems, and have been known to sometimes take foolish risks just to obtain them. They love machinery of all kinds and prefer thundersticks, picks and war hammers as weapons. Gnomes like most other friendly species, but make war with goblins and kobolds, who steal their precious gold. They usually attack kobolds on sight.
Class Details
Prime Requisite-A Gnome has two prime requisites: Dexterity and Intelligence. If either of these ability scores is 13 or greater, the character gains a 5% bonus to experience points earned in every adventure. If both of these scores are 13 or greater, the experience point bonus is 10%. Minimum Scores-A gnome character must have a score of 9 or greater in both Dexterity and Constitution. Hit Dice-Roll an 8 sided die (1d8) to determine a gnome’s hit points. A gnome starts with 1d8 (1-8) hit points (plus Constitution bonus, if any) and gains 1d8 more hit points (plus bonus) with each level of experience. Armor-A gnome may wear any kind of armor, and may use a shield. However, their armor and shields must be specially made for their small size. Even dwarf-sized armor is too large for them. Weapons-A gnome may use any Small melee weapon and may use short bows, light crossbows, and thundersticks (more on thundersticks later). If your unsure whether a weapon is Small or not, see the Weapon Table found in Chapter 4.
Special Abilities
Combat Bonuses-All gnomes gain the following bonuses when in combat: -2 bonus to armor class when attacked by creatures larger than man-sized (i.e., an AC of 6 becomes a 4). +1 bonus to attack roll when using a thunderstick. A creature is larger than man-sized when it is referred to as “giant,” “gargantuan,” or “enormous,” in a monster description. It is likewise larger than man-sized if it is a real-world creature which the DM considers bigger than a man (for example, a horse). As a rule of thumb, any nonhuman-shaped creature whose size is not otherwise given in a description can be presumed to be larger than man-sized if it has 4 or more HD.
Special Attacks
After reaching 660,000 XP, gnomes may continue to improve in combat ability.
Fighter Combat Options
When the gnome’s experience point total reaches 660,000, he/she gains the Fighter Combat Options on page 104. For the multiple attacks option, two attacks are possible at 660,000 XP, and three attacks at 2,200,000 XP. The gnome can use the smash and parry options as described, but cannot use the disarm option effectively against a giant-sized opponent.
Special Defenses
Experienced gnomes become more resistant to magic. When the gnome reaches the 1,400,000 XP mark, he/she automatically takes only half damage from any damage-causing spell or spell-like effect (such as from a magical item, or from magical monster powers such as a basilisks‘ gaze [but not including a dragon‘s breath]). Divide the damage by 2 and round down. If the effect allows a saving throw, a successful roll indicates that he/she only takes ¼ damage; divide the rolled damage by 4 and round down. If the result is ½ point of damage or less, the character takes 1 point of damage. Infravision
Gnomes have infravision identical to that of dwarves, with the exception of a greater 90' range. See the description for infravision in the explanation of the dwarves special abilities.
Languages
In addition to the languages of all characters-the Common and alignment tongues-a gnome can speak dwarf, gnome, goblin, and kobold. Gnomes may also communicate with all normal, non-magical, burrowing animals.
Skills
Due to the inventive, tinkering nature of gnomes in general, at 1st level they receive 1 free skill slot to be used for any non-magical Craft, Knowledge or Science of their choice.
Detection
Gnomes can sometimes detect traps (specifically, traps built into stone-work or heavy construction, not other types of traps such as rope-traps in the forest or spring-out needles built into a jewelry box); they can also detect sliding walls, sloping corridors, and new construction. If your gnome character wants to search for such things in an area, tell your DM. You have a 1 chance in 3 to find them. The DM will roll 1d6, and a 1 or 2 will indicate success if there is anything to find: a result of 3-6 means your gnome detects nothing. You may check once for each trap, sliding wall, sloping corridor, or new construction. You must tell the DM if you want to look for anything; the detection is never automatic.
Woodland Abilities
Outdoors, gnomes are somewhat difficult to spot, having the ability to hide in woods or underbrush. In such cover, they have a 50% chance to remain unseen (the DM will roll). This ability is not the same as the thief’s Move Silently or Hide in Shadows abilities. To use this ability, the gnome must stay motionless. If he/she tries to move to another site, anyone can see him. When your gnome uses this ability, inform your DM. He or she will roll percentile dice (d%) for the gnome. On a roll of 50 or less, the gnome will remain unnoticed. On a roll of 51 or greater, observers with a chance to detect the gnome will do so.
Higher Experience Levels
A gnome reaching 10th level is usually referred to by the title of Clan Lord or Lady. In your campaign, this may be a merely honorary title, or the DM may choose to have the gnome character elevated to that position. Regardless of his experience level, a gnome may build a stronghold whenever he or she has the interest. Unless the gnome has forsaken his clan and is living amongst humans, it should be an underground burrow located either in the hills, mountains or woodlands. If the character is living amongst humans, he may build any sturdy stone or wooden dwelling in the human fashion instead, but will still want there to be an underground burrow-like complex connected to it. The character may hire only gnomish mercenaries, but may hire specialists and hirelings of other races.
Gnome Experience Table__ Level XP Attack Rank 1 0 2 2,000 3 4,000 4 8,800 5 17,000 6 35,000 7 70,000 8 140,000 9 270,000 10 400,000 530,000 660,000* C 800,000 D 1,000,000 E 1,200,000 F 1,400,000** G 1,600,000 H 1,800,000 I 2,000,000 J 2,200,000# K 2,400,000 L 2,600,000 M *Gains Fighter Combat Options. Two Attacks are possible at this level. **Automatically takes half damage from damage-causing spells or spell-like effects. #Three attacks per round at this level.
Gnome Saving Throw Table Levels 1-3 4-6 7-9 10 Death Ray or Poison 8 6 4 2 Magic Wands 9 7 5 3 Paralysis/Turn to Stone 10 8 6 4 Dragon Breath 13 10 7 4 Rod/Staff/Spell* 12 9 6 3 *At 1,400,000 XP, gnomes automatically take only half damage from spells, or one-quarter damage if the saving throw is successful. *At 1,400,000 XP, gnomes automatically take only half damage from spells, or one-quarter damage if the saving throw is successful.
Thundersticks
Gnomes, as a race, are highly inventive. Bizarre machines, strange contraptions and unusual experiments fill many rooms within the labyrinthine halls of gnomish cities. Among the countless contrivances is an extremely powerful, yet hazardous weapon, called the thunderstick. The thunderstick is an early type of firearm, relying on a substance called smokepowder to act as the charge, and a slow-burning lighted cord (match), which is attached to a matchlock mechanism, to ignite it. While smokepowder burns (1 ounce consumes itself in one round and briefly illuminates the immediate area as a light spell would), or even explodes in the right conditions, it is chiefly used to propel a lead ball out of the barrel of a thunderstick. When the trigger is pulled, the smokepowder is ignited by the primitive matchlock mechanism, discharging the ball at an exceedingly high velocity. 1 ounce of smokepowder is needed to propel a lead ball. Smokepowder is sold in small kegs (15 pound capacity, 20 pound total weight, 250gp each), and in water-resistant powder horns (2 pound capacity and total weight, 35gp for a full horn). If smokepowder gets wet, it cannot be used to fire a ball. Thundersitcks weigh 15 pounds (150 cn), are around 2 ½ feet in length (medium size), and can be fired every other round (and only if the character is not attacked while loading). When firing a thunderstick, all penalties for range are doubled. If the attack roll for the thunderstick is a 1 or 2, the weapon backfires, causing 1d6 points of damage to the user. It is also fouled and cannot be used again until it has been cleaned, which takes 30 minutes (3 turns). When a thunderstick scores a hit, it normally does 1 to 9 points of damage on a 1d10. When a 10 is rolled, the die is rolled again and this amount is added to 10. Each time a 10 is rolled, the die is rolled again and added to the previous total. Thus, in a rare instance, a single shot could inflict 37 points of damage (i.e., if three consecutive 10s were rolled, followed by a 7).
Item DMG ROF RNG $$$ ENC NOTES Thunderstick 1d10 1/2 50/150/210 500 150 s,M
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Post by Finarvyn on Jul 23, 2007 11:07:42 GMT -6
I once put together a level progression for an "undead" race where characters would evolve from one type of undead into another as they advanced in level.
What I did was simply to take the undead in Monsters & Treasure and sort them by HD, then assume that their HD was their character level.
Not exactly canon, since the types of undead really aren't related in this way, but it was fun to play.
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Stonegiant
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
100% in Liar
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Post by Stonegiant on Jul 24, 2007 10:33:30 GMT -6
I have allowed Gnomes, Half Orcs, and Half Ogres. I have also considered Pixies and Brownies but the player changed their mind before I had anything concrete.
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Post by meepo on Jul 26, 2007 6:11:03 GMT -6
I have allowed Gnomes, Half Orcs, and Half Ogres. I have also considered Pixies and Brownies but the player changed their mind before I had anything concrete. I think thats where I'd draw the line as well. I'd like to go for it and say "anything is open", but I think that's a line I'd be unable to cross that would effect my game negatively in the long run.
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Post by Rhuvein on Jul 26, 2007 10:04:34 GMT -6
I have to admit that I do not own any OD&D material (all the information I can glean is found through online sources, & I'll gladly take any I can get ;D), but I would like to share with you the "Gnome" character class I created for my games many years ago. Since I DM the RC version of the game, all page references apply to that book. Enjoy! I like it and I like gnomes in my game/campaign world. I'm still mulling over the thunderstick and whether I would have it in my world. I do like the fact that there's a chance of failure and that it needs to be cleaned and prepped before using it again.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2007 18:39:15 GMT -6
Thanks Rhuvein. I welcome (& truly appreciate) all compliments & criticism. The thunderstick is basically an amalgam of various rules from multiple editions of the game, with a little personal flair thrown in to the mix.
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serendipity
Level 4 Theurgist
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Post by serendipity on Jul 28, 2007 18:29:12 GMT -6
A friend of mine told me about a game in which he played a white centaur. I have no idea how it worked in terms of game mechanic, but it was a really kewl idea. I should have asked what he'd do if he ever had to scale a wall or something. Reminds me of daleks: just one staircase from world domination.
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Post by tgamemaster1975 on Jul 30, 2007 21:17:13 GMT -6
I have had players take gnomes, orcs, ogres, hill giants, goblins, griffins, trolls and lots of other things over the years.
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Post by Zulgyan on Feb 10, 2008 14:09:41 GMT -6
I'm playing around with the Kuo-Toa, and I wish to incorporate something similar to it as a PC class.
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