Okay so I just finished this very rough draft of this race and I can't help but think I'm forgetting something.
This race is meant for a campaign setting I have in the works and as I finish them I'll post the other races here for you all to see and critique.
I appreciated any and all input you have as long as you have a nice attitude about it.
Thanks in advance. :)
Oracle
The Oracle are a strange race of fey that are born not from other fey, but from humans who’s settlements lay close to heavily fey populated areas. It is impossible to predict when an Oracle will be born except by other Oracle, which have the ability to sense whether a women is pregnant with an Oracle. Oracles are accepted in most human societies, however some believe that there birth is a sign of death and are usually killed immediately after birth. Aside from those few human settlements they are highly accepted and some view them as a gift given to them by their Deity.
Most Oracles prefer a life style similar to that of Gnomes, typically traveling alone or with temporary companions, this isn’t always because of their personalities but mostly because of their ability to sense when a person is going to die, (some societies believe this isn’t just a prediction but a cures that comes from being around the Oracle for to long and thus blaming the death on the Oracle) this causes others to feel uncomfortable around the Oracle.
The name Oracle was given to them by the mother of the first known Oracle who named her child Osali which translates to Oracle from the Elven language
The Oracle are not a true breeding race however since their appearance has grown more frequent they have become accepted in more human societies.
Physical Description: Oracle stand around 5ft to 6ft in height and weigh anywhere from 90 to 150 lbs. The skin of an Oracle is always a pasty white as is their hair, the most recognizable feature however is the third eye which can be either on their forehead or on the center of their chest.
Abilities: +2 Int, +2 Wis -2 Str
Speed: 30ft
Size: Medium
Type: Fey
Premonition: The Oracle have a natural ability to sense when a person is going to die. Any time a creature is within 30ft of the Oracle and has 0 to -9 hp and is not stabilized the Oracle will know that creatures exactly location. Sometimes if the Oracle is emotionally close to person she may have visions in the form of dreams that can show her the persons death up to three days away (this part of the ability is meant for DM purposes only and has no real game mechanics). This ability also allows them to react to thing sooner then others giving them a +2 insight bonus to there Initiative
Oracle Eye: Upon birth an Oracle has an extra eye either on her forehead or on her chest, this eye grants her a +1 insight bonus to the DC of all divination spells she has access to, this also grants her access to the following spell like abilities at will:
Detect Magic
Read Magic
An Oracle can use the following spell like abilities once per day:
Identify
True Strike
So when the Oracle class in the APG comes around, I can play an Oracle Oracle?
Anyways, the -1 STR looks off, just make it -2 to keep it in tune with the other races.
Premonition sounds so incredibly situational I'd doubt it'd ever see any use.
Oracle Eye seems okay enough, even though I'm not sure how many divination spells have DCs.
The two extra eyes on the hands sounds weird, both aesthetically and gameplay-wise, and I'm not entirely sure the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. -4 is very hefty.
Overall, this sounds like a pretty strange choice of name for a race. The abilities and race name sound a lot more fitting for a divination themed class or even a prestige class.
So when the Oracle class in the APG comes around, I can play an Oracle Oracle?
Anyways, the -1 STR looks off, just make it -2 to keep it in tune with the other races.
Premonition sounds so incredibly situational I'd doubt it'd ever see any use.
Oracle Eye seems okay enough, even though I'm not sure how many divination spells have DCs.
The two extra eyes on the hands sounds weird, both aesthetically and gameplay-wise, and I'm not entirely sure the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. -4 is very hefty.
Overall, this sounds like a pretty strange choice of name for a race. The abilities and race name sound a lot more fitting for a divination themed class or even a prestige class.
Yes I know the name sucks but it stays until I come up with a better one.
The penalty was one of the thing that I haven't been sure about and have been change on and off.
The reason why it raises DC's for divination spells is because its not game breaking or overpowered really at all, I thought about just giving them some spell like abilities but I decided that it might be to much.
The Premonition ability is still much in the works, I'm still trying to come up with something that can be useful in more situations
Okay, my advice is to give them the ability to cast some level 0 divination cantrips at will, like detect magic and stuff like that and just give them a +1 on the spell DCs of their Divination spells. That way, they've all got a little divination power within them but can still function as other classes. Don't try to pigeonhole them into just playing divination wizards/clerics, that's never fun! You could also try changing premonition into something cool, like a +2 on all initiative rolls, that makes them very alert and is in tune with the rest of the race. A +2 to a single knowledge skill of their choice could also work
Okay, my advice is to give them the ability to cast some level 0 divination cantrips at will, like detect magic and stuff like that and just give them a +1 on the spell DCs of their Divination spells. That way, they've all got a little divination power within them but can still function as other classes. Don't try to pigeonhole them into just playing divination wizards/clerics, that's never fun! You could also try giving them something cool, like a +2 on all initiative rolls, that makes them very alert and is in tune with the rest of the race. A +2 to a single knowledge skill of their choice could also work
This sounds good I'll put it to work thanks much.
Okay so Ive changed the strength to -2 I added an Insight bonus to initiative to the Premonition ability, completely dropped the eye's on the hands thing and I added some spell like abilities that I had dropped earlier.
This is the final draft of the race, enjoy.
Osali (Oracle)
The Osali are a strange race of fey that are born not from other fey, but from humans who’s settlements lay close to heavily fey populated areas. It is impossible to predict when an Osali will be born except by other Osali, which have the ability to sense whether a women is pregnant with an Osali.
Osali are accepted in most human societies, however some believe that there birth is a sign of death and are usually killed immediately after birth. Aside from those few human settlements they are highly accepted and some view them as a gift given to them by their Deity.
Most Osali prefer a life style similar to that of Gnomes, typically traveling alone or with temporary companions, this isn’t always because of their personalities but mostly because of their ability to sense when a person is going to die, (some societies believe this isn’t just a prediction but a curse that comes from being around the Osali for to long and thus blaming the death on the Osali) this causes others to feel uncomfortable around the Osali.
The Osali are not a true breeding race, however since their appearance has grown more frequent they have become accepted in more human societies.
Physical Description: Osali stand around 5ft to 6ft in height and weigh anywhere from 90 to 150 lbs. The skin of an Osali is always a pasty white as is their hair, the most recognizable feature however is the third eye which can be either on their forehead or on the center of their chest, this third eye only opens when they are using divination magic(this includes spell like abilities).
Abilities: +2 Int, +2 Wis -2 Str
Speed: 30ft
Size: Medium
Type: Fey
Premonition: The Osali have a natural ability to sense when a person is going to die. Any time a creature is within 60ft of the Osali and is at 10% or less of its max HP the Osali will not only become completely aware of the creature but will also know it’s exact location and HP. Sometimes if the Osali is particularly close to person (a close friend or family member) she may have visions in the form of dreams that can show her the persons death up to three days away(this part of the ability is meant for DM purposes only and has no real game mechanics).This ability also allows them to react to things sooner then others giving them a +2 insight bonus to their Initiative and a +1 insight bonus to Reflex saves.
Oracle Eye: Upon birth an Osali has an extra eye, either on her forehead or on her chest, this eye grants her a +1 insight bonus to the DC of any divination spells she uses, this also grants her access to the following spell-like abilities at will:
Detect Magic
Read Magic
An Osali can use the following spell like abilities once per day:
Identify
True Strike
If the Osali's third eye is damaged or covered it cannot use its spell like abilities and loses any racial insight bonuses it has.
Great job, they're looking a lot better now!
Hope they work out in your campaign.
Great job, they're looking a lot better now!
Hope they work out in your campaign.
Thanks for the advice. I'll be play testing them later today.
[Edit] I just added some last minute things I forgot about.