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I have a homebrew setting I'm still working on, and I recently did a bit of development on a "race" that would appear to my group as either allies or enemies depending on the direction they took themselves. I made it before, just not with the race builder, so it wasn't quite fleshed out as this. Please note that this isn't available to the PCs to play (yet), so I'm mostly here for some feedback and if I made this thing the right way.
A bit of setting: This world has a massive surplus of souls. There is no reaper, and no place for them to go, aside from residing in a realm closely tied to the material one. Reincarnation does happen, with flashes of previous lives occurring mostly in dreams.
The Corpse Lotus is a specimen found in the easternmost Silmiean forests and marshes. The close proximity to the furious Savage Lands provides for massive overgrowth in the flora and fauna there. Combined with the massive border defense that Silmieoss has kept ongoing for ages, many corpses have been laid bare for consumption by the wildlife found there. Many of the souls of those lost, however, have not moved on from the primal, ancient forest. Driven by duty, loss, or even hope, these souls have manifest themselves in the local flora, becoming not quite a normal plant, but not an undead in the normal sense either. The "Lotus" are people in spirit and plant in appearance, though their very source is from beyond the grave.
Type: Plant (half-undead)
Immune to all Mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms)
Immune to paralysis, poison, polymorph,
sleep effects, and stunning.
Darkvision 60ft.
+2 on saving throws vs. disease
They don't sleep, no penalties from energy drain, and are harmed by positive energy and healed by negative energy.
Medium, Slow
+2 Con, +2 Wis, -2 Cha
Starting Language: Sylvan. Bonus languages: Common, Elven, Draconic, Giant
+2 Natural Armor
Stability: Quick to root oneself in place when impending danger approaches, a Lotus may stand tall, and be as immovable as an elder oak.
Swamp Stride: They move most naturally in their habitat, and it has no effect on their ability to move.
Camouflage: +4 stealth while in marshes or forests
Treespeech: May converse with plants as though affected by a continual speak with plants spell
Total RP: 20.
I rather love the idea of this race. :)
Wonder if the negative energy affinity could play around with sunlight sensitivity/dependency. Do they depend on photosynthesis with sunlight, does it hurt them, does moonlight work in its place?
That's a really good idea. I'll ponder the moonlight.
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Okay, so I've given it some thought, and I'd need my own ability for the dependency thing, so here's my crack at it:
Moonlight Dependency: A Lotus must spend at least 1 hour each night exposed to natural moonlight. A dark, overcast night isn't enough for the Lotus. Without this exposure, a Lotus will be fatigued the next day.
-1 RP
So, if combined with the Light Blindness Standard Ability, that's another -2 RP, bringing it down to 17 RP.
I wonder if adding another, flavorful ability would make it too complex?
EDIT: and I'm going back and forth on whether they should have vulnerability to fire. If so, another -2 RP to 15, or about as balanced as a drow from an RP standpoint.
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Really like the imagery that evokes. You could really get a nice spooky, haunting feel out of these guys and whatever culture they may have. Mind if I swipe? :)
I hear you on worrying about overloading races with a lot of cheap abilities/disadvantages that can pile up. Getting downright neurotic about mine.
Fire vulnerability makes plenty sense for a lot of plantfolk, another reason for the prereqs on elemental vulnerability to go.
Go for it.
I'm very interested in feedback; that's why I posted it. Do what you like with them, and please tell me how it goes.
Moonlight Dependency: A Lotus must spend at least 1 hour each night exposed to natural moonlight. A dark, overcast night isn't enough for the Lotus. Without this exposure, a Lotus will be fatigued the next day.
-1 RP
This is a much bigger deal than -1 RP. First, consider the seasons in correlation to the weather effects: In summer it'll probably come into effect once every 10 days. In spring/fall, once every 5ish days, and in winter it's reasonable to go full weeks without having a clear evening sky. Compounding on that, the moon goes through phases, leaving days of the month where there is no lunar light (depending on lunar cycle for your campaign). This is mitigated by having multiple moons, of course.
So what you're doing is randomly applying a -2 penalty to strength and dexterity (sucks for you, fighter types), making it impossible to rage (sorry barbarians), and setting the stage for an easy transition to the awful exhausted condition.
Unless you provide magical means to circumvent this ability it's a lot bigger than -1 RP.
good points.
Hey thanks for pointing that out. I was thinking there might be problems with it, but I wasn't sure what to do. Fatigued is a rotten condition, I know, but thankfully magic can already take care if it with the restoration spells. I was thinking that maybe there could be a lesser spell to overcome it, but that might not be much of a drawback that way. But you're right in that it would essentially be random for a penalty. Maybe it should be easier, but how would one simulate moonlight with what's already written? If I can't do that, then something else that would represent not getting enough nutrients but not as harsh as fatigue. I'm open to suggestions.
EDIT: Of course I could up it a -2 or -3 penalty. Would that be fair?
good points.Hey thanks for pointing that out. I was thinking there might be problems with it, but I wasn't sure what to do. Fatigued is a rotten condition, I know, but thankfully magic can already take care if it with the restoration spells. I was thinking that maybe there could be a lesser spell to overcome it, but that might not be much of a drawback that way. But you're right in that it would essentially be random for a penalty. Maybe it should be easier, but how would one simulate moonlight with what's already written? If I can't do that, then something else that would represent not getting enough nutrients but not as harsh as fatigue. I'm open to suggestions.
EDIT: Of course I could up it a -2 or -3 penalty. Would that be fair?
I look at it like this: it's an established race in your campaign, and as such this is going to be an issue people deal with on a regular basis. I'd start by lessening the actual penalty of the ability: perhaps allow a fort save (DC 10+1/2 hit dice) that increases by two for every additional night you go without the moon's touch. It needs to scale, or it will stop being a relevant issue with the race, and trivializing a concept like this is a bad idea. Keeping it a fort save is great because the characters most affected by the fatigue status are likely to have a high fort save.
Next, you need to really prove what this penalty is: starvation. The fatigue cannot be overcome with magic, because your body is literally dying. Instead, allow abilities that remove fatigue to instead offer an additional save vs. the starvation.
And finally, how are the corpse lotus as a people dealing with this? They know that there are periods of time without moonlight in normal conditions, and that's ignoring planar travel and spelunking- common occurances in the DnD setting. Perhaps they've hybridized a series of moonblossoms that capture moonlight and can be consumed by the corpse lotus people in lieu of a night's moon bathing. They might also have enchanted mirrors that simulate moonlight, but require 8 hours instead of only one. They might also train themselves to tolerate the lack of moonlight, with feats that allow them to ignore fortitude saves for a number of nights equal to their CON modifier before they begin to starve.
Just thinking out loud.
good points.Hey thanks for pointing that out. I was thinking there might be problems with it, but I wasn't sure what to do. Fatigued is a rotten condition, I know, but thankfully magic can already take care if it with the restoration spells. I was thinking that maybe there could be a lesser spell to overcome it, but that might not be much of a drawback that way. But you're right in that it would essentially be random for a penalty. Maybe it should be easier, but how would one simulate moonlight with what's already written? If I can't do that, then something else that would represent not getting enough nutrients but not as harsh as fatigue. I'm open to suggestions.
EDIT: Of course I could up it a -2 or -3 penalty. Would that be fair?
I look at it like this: it's an established race in your campaign, and as such this is going to be an issue people deal with on a regular basis. I'd start by lessening the actual penalty of the ability: perhaps allow a fort save (DC 10+1/2 hit dice) that increases by two for every additional night you go without the moon's touch. It needs to scale, or it will stop being a relevant issue with the race, and trivializing a concept like this is a bad idea. Keeping it a fort save is great because the characters most affected by the fatigue status are likely to have a high fort save.
Next, you need to really prove what this penalty is: starvation. The fatigue cannot be overcome with magic, because your body is literally dying. Instead, allow abilities that remove fatigue to instead offer an additional save vs. the starvation.
And finally, how are the corpse lotus as a people dealing with this? They know that there are periods of time without moonlight in normal conditions, and that's ignoring planar travel and spelunking- common occurances in the DnD setting. Perhaps they've hybridized a series of moonblossoms that capture moonlight and can be consumed by the corpse lotus people in lieu of a night's moon...
Awesome.
I had already considered what their photosynthetic needs were, except that upthread was the brilliant notion of making them dependent on moonlight. Before, they just needed sunlight or moonlight, so it wasn't much of a drawback at all, and not even worth remembering, so I didn't put it in the write-up, just assumed it as a role-playing thing.
I agree that trivializing it is a bad direction to go, so adding a save is the right move IMO. Let's go with your proposed DCs and see what happens.
The Corpse Lotus people, actually, did have "moonblossoms" in a sense, just that they weren't quite as necessary before. Now, instead of good for them and a bit ornamental, they are the center of attention whenever they find one.
I made an attempt at proposing them without going too in-depth, so they could be flavored and placed anywhere forest-y, but the discussion is really good.
Picture if you will an old "mother" Corpse Lotus with a few blossoms sprouting on her head and shoulders bathing the weak in their soft, eerie light. With a burst of negative energy, the force of the channeling sends a chill through your spine as the other Lotus stand up, and face your direction.