Ratfolk


Advanced Race Guide Playtest

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The ratfolk example on page 21 is paying too much for its abilities. If they come from the Darklands, you can substitute Underground Sneak on page 14 for the three Skill Bonuses. That makes them even better at sneaking and leaves them 1 RP to buy either Bite or the Stalker ability. If you're making them from the Darklands, you could make them Vulnerable to Sunlight, give them both Bite and the Stalker ability, and improve the size of the Bite attack one category.


Last night I decided to break this system in by letting a PC pick anything out of the non-monstrous samples. The pile of skill bonuses didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense and ate all the points up, so we dropped them all pulled a few out that seemed more appropriate, and here's how it came out (changes in bold):

Ratfolk
Type: Humanoid (ratfolk) 0 RP
Size: Small 0 RP
Base Speed: Normal 0 RP (Bit of a Games Workshop influence, it didn't seem right to have slow moving rat people.)
Ability Score Modifiers: Standard (–2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Int) 0 RP
Languages: Standard (common, ratfolk) 1 RP
Racial Abilities:
Darkvision 60 ft. 2 RP
Rodent empathy 1 RP
Plagueborn (2 RP) (Seemed thematically appropriate, particularly as a replacement for potion crafting.)
Prehensile Tail (2 RP) (Needed something with more flavor than use.)
Nimble Attacks (2 RP) (Reepicheep factor mainly.)

Total RP: 10

Swarming seemed fairly appropriate, but a complete waste for the token representative of a race for a campaign, and it was an easy cut to balance out the speed tweak.

If I were setting up APG style variant options, Prehensile Tail and Nimble Attacks would be a packaged deal (possibly including the speed increase), along these lines:

Long-Tailed
Ratfolk with this trait have unusually long and flexible tails. The added balance and control over their actions grants them an extra 10 foot base movement and Weapon Finesse as a free bonus feat. Additionally, their tails may used to hold small items or retrieve them from a backpack or belt as a swift action, but cannot be used to wield weapons or otherwise function as an extra hand (playing an instrument, untying ropes, uncorking flasks, etc.)

Other abilities we discussed included adding a bite attack, bonus to Stealth, and possibly Swim or Escape Artist. Bite we took off the table after some consideration both for balance reasons (for a Small character, natural attacks have rather negligible benefit), and since, really, rodents are more prone to prolonged nibbling than sudden powerful bites. The others might be viable as alternatives to the tail option above, although Stealth onto the size and dex bonus, in my opinion, would make for a one-dimensional race overly optimized for rogues (for what it's worth, the character this variant was created for is actually a ranger, planning to go sword-and-shield).


Googleshng wrote:


Prehensile Tail (2 RP) (Needed something with more flavor than use.)

Long-Tailed
Ratfolk with this trait have unusually long and flexible tails. The added balance and control over their actions grants them an extra 10 foot base movement and Weapon Finesse as a free bonus feat. Additionally, their tails may used to hold small items or retrieve them from a backpack or belt as a swift action, but cannot be used to wield weapons or otherwise function as an extra hand (playing an instrument, untying ropes, uncorking flasks, etc.)

I have to disagree with these two honestly, while a rat's tail is partially prehensile they have very limited grip with it and mainly use it for balance. This is of course coming from a person who fancies rat and is talking from a completely scientific place and using its rules in a fantasy setting.


Ian Woods wrote:
Googleshng wrote:


Prehensile Tail (2 RP) (Needed something with more flavor than use.)

Long-Tailed
Ratfolk with this trait have unusually long and flexible tails. The added balance and control over their actions grants them an extra 10 foot base movement and Weapon Finesse as a free bonus feat. Additionally, their tails may used to hold small items or retrieve them from a backpack or belt as a swift action, but cannot be used to wield weapons or otherwise function as an extra hand (playing an instrument, untying ropes, uncorking flasks, etc.)

I have to disagree with these two honestly, while a rat's tail is partially prehensile they have very limited grip with it and mainly use it for balance. This is of course coming from a person who fancies rat and is talking from a completely scientific place and using its rules in a fantasy setting.

Err, you do realize he's saying that the tail would be incapable of playing an instrument or any of those other things that was bolded?


Yes I do, I am also saying though I think retrieving items from a backpack or belt would be impossible as well.

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