Loub's page

Once upon a time there was an Orc Scarred Witch Doctor called Lupo, who took Gorda, a human, as his wife - from this relationship came Marsuina, a half-orc eager to follow on her father's footsteps as the shaman of the tribe. However, as the developer gods had decreed "there shalt not be any half-breed choosing racial archetypes from their parent races", she was barred by the stup... I mean, strange forces that guide the universe from finding her path among the Scarred Witch Doctors which guided her clan for generations; this saddened her greatly, and she began to consider herself a worthless being for not being a pureblood, even though half-orcs are equal, if not more valuable, members of orcish society due to their improved mental faculties. Feeling the universe had disgraced her, she went into self-exile for many years before deciding to settle among the human cities; there, she met a blind, homeless man named Keane, a human who was cast away from society due to not being able to be a productive member. Soon the two would realize how much they had in common and fall in love, the product of this union being a city raised half-orc called Foca.

Foca, being born to the lowest of the lowest in human society decided to take a stand to change how things worked, and became a Redeemer Paladin; after years of crusading against discrimination and prejudice, he married a human woman named Magda, and they soon had lots of children, so thin blooded they were considered humans with an orcish racial heritage.

One of their daughters, named Burra. had hoped to follow on her father's footsteps as a Redeemer, but due to the rules imposed by the developer gods, she could not do so. After months of depression, her paternal grandmother came to her and told her her own story. Impressed by the feats of Tier 1 deliciousness Scarred Witch Doctors were capable of, she vied to become one of them, until her grandmother tried to dispel her hopes by saying the developers had decreed that half-breeds could not follow on their parent's footsteps. She replied by saying: "I'm no longer a half-breed, nana, I am a human who happens to have orcish blood in her veins, and who will use it to achieve the status of a goddess upon men... in more ways than one" - and so she became exactly that, even though she had absolutely no exposure to the orcish traditions, the gods had decreed that "Humans with the feat of having a racial heritage should qualify for archetypes that race has".

So being a Half-Orc, who is at most 2 generations separated from their Orcish ancestors, does not qualify you for their classes; while being a Human with an Orcish Racial Heritage who is 3 or more generations separated from Orcs does? What gives?

Do you realize how stupid this is?

Sources:

Choose another humanoid race. You count as both human and that race for any effects related to race. For example, if you choose dwarf, you are considered both a human and a dwarf for the purpose of taking traits, feats, how spells and magic items affect you, and so on.

Orc Blood: Half-orcs count as both humans and orcs for any effect related to race.

Half-Elf or Half-Orc: Can a character of either of these races select human racial archetypes (such as from Advanced Race Guide?

No. While half-elves and half-orcs do count as humans "for any effect related to race", racial class archetypes do not count as an "effect."

—Pathfinder Design Team, 03/15/13

Racial Heritage: Can a human with this feat take levels in an archetype that requires you to be of a specific race?

Yes, the Racial Heritage feat allows you to qualify for archetypes that have the chosen race as a requirement, assuming you still meet all of the other requirements to take levels in the archetype.

—Jason Bulmahn, 07/27/12

Bottom Line:

I wanted some critique on my take on the kobolds - I made them so as to fit better with the campaign setting - a radical departure from standard D&D notions. They might seem imbalanced at first when compared with standard Pathfinder races - bear in mind that I amped up all other races as well (except humans, because they were already mechanically superior to almost everything).
This is a very rough draft, basically I wanted kobolds to fit the role of Halflings, Gnomes as well as being a stark contrast to the anarchic half-orcs and revenants[custom race, marked by the ability to cast paragon surge twice a day (this alone should give you a feeling of the competition)]
Kobolds (12 RP)
"We are the Dragonwrought, sworn to bring justice and balance to people." - Focus Fane, Bard and Paladin from Dragonscourge
"When others have failed, we have succeeded; Where others fail, we succeed; If others fail, we will succeed." - The Dragonwrought creed

Kobolds, formally The Dragonwrought, are reptilian humanoids descended from dragons through unknown methods of experimentation. Short in stature but gigantic in fervor, Kobolds feel it is their duty to succeed where others fail, whether through bringing justice and balance to the world, fighting for what they believe in, improving the lives of people or just being the best in what they do. Devout protectors and shrewd diplomats, kobolds often have a good, or at least neutral, relationship with other races.
Physical Description: Kobolds are small, around 3 feet tall and weighing about 50 pounds. Their heads are commonly described as "a crocodile with horns" and their bodies are robust for their height; their hands and feet are clawed, additionally, they walk on their toes, much like a dragon would. Their eyes are akin to those of an iguana, and are commonly colored red, green, yellow or orange. Their teeth are irregular and thick, often straying outside their mouths. Their bodies are covered in scales which vary in color much like a dragon's. They also have thick semi-prehensile tails.
Society: The kobolds' sense of duty extends to their society: every individual has a role in it, and aeveryone is aware of their importance; while some positions obviously grant more prestige by default, even a sanitary worker can be among the most valued members of society. Kobold government is composed of a council of elected individuals who act much like a parliament would. Kobolds have strong extended families, with children being raised as much as their parents as uncles and aunts, grandparents, older cousins and close friends. Kobolds most often mate for life.
Relations: Kobolds often have good, or at least neutral, relationships with other races. They are often valued as protectors and diplomats. Kobolds are quick to lend aid, but tend to remain outside of war. However, kobolds are often unforgiving, still blaming humans for the extermination of Halflings, Gnomes and Drow – leading to the saying "Kobolds never forgive. Kobolds never forget.".
They do not claim kinhsip with either humans or beastmen, and indeed, they breed truly with either of them, their offspring only slightly resembling kobolds through a short stature, slightly off skin colors and sharp features; this is also how the draconic sorcerous bloodline is most commonly introduced to the other races, and not through dragons mating directly with them.
Alignment: Kobolds are decidedly lawful, with lawful good and lawful neutral having around the same number of individuals. Lawful evil individuals are uncommon. Non-lawful individuals are rare, but as long as they do not cause strife, they are tolerated.
Adventurers: Kobolds often take the mantle of adventurers if they feel that is their purpose. The strong dragon blood in their veins makes for good Sorcerers, while their strong sense of justice means many take upon the mantles of the Paladin and Inquisitor, and their fervor naturally lends them to the role of the Bard. Rogues are surprisingly common, but are most often members of structured organizations with strict codes of conduct, and as such, are decidedly unrogue-ish.

Small (0 RP): Kobolds are small creatures, and as such gain a +1 Size Bonus to Armor, +1 Size Bonus to Attack Rolls, -1 Size Penalty to CMD and +4 Size Bonus to Stealth
Humanoid (Reptilian)
Base Speed: 30 feet (0 RP)
-2 Str +2 Dex +2 Con +2 Cha (4 RP) – Kobolds are physically weak, but agile. Additionally, the strong dragon blood in their veins make them surprisingly resilient and imponent.
Languages: Kobolds start knowing Common and Draconic. Kobolds with higher Intelligence scores can choose from the following list: Undercommon, Goblin, Tengu and Gnoll.
Natural Armor + 1 (2): The scales that cover the body of a kobold provide a small degree of protection against physical harm.
Draconic Presence (Modified Silver Tongued) (3): Kobolds have a strong presence due to the dragon blood in their veins. Kobolds gain a +2 Racial Bonus to booth Diplomacy and Intimidate; additionally, when using Diplomacy to shift a creature's attitude, they may move it up three steps rather than two.
Kobold Disinhibitions (Extra Feat: Improved Initiative) (2 RP): Kobolds are naturally comfortable in taking the lead, regardless of the situation. They gain Improved Initiative as a bonus feat at 1st level.
Low-Light Vision (1 RP): A Kobold's eyes can quickly adapt to conditions of dim light. They can see up to 30 feet in the dark.

Alternate Racial Traits:
Dragonmaw: Your draconic heritage makes you smile- not just because it makes you happy, but also because your powerful teeth and jaws are proof of your kinship with a dragon. You gain a bite attack that deals 1d4 points of damage. Once per day, you can deal 1d6 points of additional energy damage with your bite attack. The damage type depends on your scale color: acid for black, copper or green; electricity for blue or bronze; fire for red or gold; cold for white or silver. If you have both this trait and opal-scaled, once per day, your bite attack instead gains the ability to Dispel Magic (caster level equal to character level) on strike – this does not, however, allow you to dispel magical effects that target an area, such as Entangle. This racial trait replaces the draconic presence racial trait.
Dragon-Scaled:Some kobolds are hatched with scales of such vivid color that their connection to a particular sort of dragon seems undeniable. Whether this coloration is just a quirk of a stray egg or a trait shared by all the members of a tribe, these kobolds gain a resistance that makes them especially suited to work alongside dragons matching the color of the kobold's scales. Black-scaled, Copper-scaled and Green-scaled kobolds with this racial trait gain acid resistance 5. Blue-scaled and Bronze-scaled kobolds with this racial trait gain electricity resistance 5. Red-scaled and Gold-scaled kobolds with this racial trait gain fire resistance 5. White-scaled and Silver-scaled kobolds with this racial trait gain cold resistance 5. This racial trait replaces the armor racial trait.
Opal-Scaled: In extremely rare cases, a kobold's scales seem to change color much like an opal gem. Many are the theories as to why this happens, ranging from being the offspring of a hag and a kobold, a lineage dating to the elusive fairy dragons or even a heritage comprising both chromatic and metallic dragons. While no one can explain the exact reason for this quirk, its effects are obvious: the scales absorb magic, granting the kobold a small amount of innate spell resistance. Kobolds with this trait have a spell resistance of 5 + character level. This racial trait replaces the armor racial trait.
Kobold Eagerness: Some kobolds possess a perpetual child-like eagerness to learn new things. Kobolds with this racial trait gain 1 additional skill rank at 1st level and one additional skill rank whenever they cain a level. This trait replaces the kobold disinhibitions racial trait.
Kobold Wings: Some kobolds are born with large batlike wings. While not enough to grant them flight, they grant them increased agility. Kobolds with this trait gain an additional 10 feet to their base speed. This trait replaces the Low-Light vision.