Now to describe some of the game changes. I'll try to explain why I make each change.
Starting with races.
Human: Extra feat and extra skills are a good boost, but most of the other races in effect give this plus other special qualities. So....
+2 racial bonus on Ride and Handle Animal checks; humans, while not in tune with nature, have a natural aptitude for taming and using animals for their own ends.
Night Vision: Humans have remarkably poor sight in the dark, but their adaptability allows them to overcome this. If a human spends half an hour in an area of shadowy or no illumination, they gain low-light vision. This ends if the human looks at a bright light source(typically, anything larger than a candle), or is in an area of bright light or sunlight.
Skilled Learners: Humans have the remarkable ability of learning far more quickly than other races. Cross-class skills cost only 1 skill point per rank, rather than two, though the maximum rank still applies(essentially, all humans have Able Learner).
Automatic Languages: By region.
Dwarves: Dwarves are cool. Dwarves have cool things. But, there's a few things I dislike.
No racial dodge bonus against giants. Attack bonus does not apply to orcs or half-orcs.
Weapon Familiarity: Dwarves treat any exotic weapon with the word Dwarven or Dwarf in the name as a martial weapon.
-1 to the DCs of all arcane spells dwarves cast. Arcane magic doesn't flow easily through Dwarven veins.
+2 racial bonus to saving throws against disease. A Dwarven immune system is quite resilient.
Automatic languages: by region.
Elves: everyone knows that elves are tree-hugging hippies! Except in DnD. In Dnd they're wizardfolk.
Superior Low-Light Vision: An elf can see four times as far as a human in conditions of poor light.
Weapon Familiarity: An elf may treat any exotic weapon with the word Elven or Elf in the name as a martial weapon. They are not automatically proficient with short swords, long swords, rappers, short bows, or longbows.
Wood cunning: Functions like Dwarven Stonecunning except with wood. Rather than intuiting her depth, an elf knows how deep on a forest or wood she is. She knows the direction and distance to the nearest clearing or edge.
+1 to save DCs of any enchantment spells cast by an elf.
+2 racial bonus to craft and appraise checks related to wood.
Automatic Languages: By region...you can see where this is going, can't you?
Gnomes: I've hated gnomes for a long time for no discernible reason. This is me making it so I only dislike them.
No dodge bonus against giants. Attack bonus does not apply to goblinoids.
Weapon familiarity: You should be able to tell where this is going, too.
No spell-like abilities.
Lesser Stonecunning: As Stonecunning, but only +1, and must pass within 5 feet, not ten.
+2 racial bonus on craft an appraise checks related to gemstones.
+2 racial bonus on Perform checks.
Automatic languages: See above.
Half-elves: poor half-breed mongrels. No one loves you, and for good reason. Time to fix this.
+2 racial bonus to saves against sleep spells and similar magical effects. No bonus against enchantment spells.
Hybrid Vigor: half elves gain one additional hit point per level.
Lesser Woodcunning: you can probably guess how this works.
+2 racial bonus on Sense Motive checks.
Half-breed: For all effects related to race, a half-elf is either a human or an elf; whichever would be more beneficial to them. For example, an elf-bane weapon would not affect them as it would an elf(though mongrel-bane weapons affect all half-breeds), but they still qualify for elf-only or human-only prestige classes or weapons.
Extra skill points: like a human's.
Half-Orc: half-orcs have so little, it's sad.
+2 Strength,-2 Intelligence.
Hybrid Vigor: half-orcs gain an additional hit point per level.
Half-breed: as a half-elf, save with orc and human.
+2 racial bonus to survival, intimidate, and handle animal.
Halfling: the last of the races I'll do today, though kobold, hobgoblin, and Orc are still things I want to do.
weapon familiarity: tadah
No bonus on saving throws against fear.
Night vision: like a human's.
Lucky: A Halfling may, once per day, reroll any roll. This is done before being told whether it was successful or not, and the Halfling must take the second roll, even if it's worse.
Hurray! That's pretty much it for races, though kobold, Orc, and hobgoblin are all a bit more civilized in my campaign setting.
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Topic: The Book of Fantastic Tales(D&D 3.5) (Read 927 times)