Hopefully we might see an article on Rakastas as PC's in one of the Savage Tide articles, but if not, how would you make them a playable race in 3.5?
My memory of them in D&D is a bit limited to the old Princess Ark articles for Mystara in Dragon. But the way I'd do a Cat person woul look a little like this-
Favoured Class- Rogue/Bard
Racial attributes- +2 Dex (cats are agile and lithe) -2 Wis (but not the most sane or stable)
Low light vision (Cats Eyes)
+4 racial bonus on Tumble checks (cats always land on their feet)
Level Adj- 0.
Comments, thoughts or official stats?
SJE
I doubt we will see an article, since the rakastas are not really a part of the STAP Isle of Dread. So I think it's up to us. :) I like your stuff, but I would make a few changes.
Favored Class: I can't see bard being a favored class. My pick would be either rogue, scout, or ranger.
Racial Attributes: I definitely agree with the +2 to Dex. However, to be balanced you either need a -2 to a physical ability or -2 to two mental abilities. I would not go with wisdom, as it governs spot and listen and rakasta's should not have those penalized. My pick would be -2 to Int and Cha.
I definitely agree with the Low-Light Vision.
Instead of a +4 to Tumble, I'd give a +2 to Climb, Jump, and Tumble.
They should have claws that do very little damage, perhaps 1d3 or even 1d2 for a medium sized rakasta. (But then they often wear warclaws as well.) I can't remember if rakasta's had a bite attack or not.
You can use Catfolk for the Raskasta. It is in "Races of the Wild".
Rakasta are tough. There were so many different versions of them in official sources, and there are tons now as unofficial ones (for which you might want to check out the Vaults of Pandius or the one that I did years ago on the Twilight of the Dawn page). I'm still not entirely satisfied with the one I did there, though.
If I were to do it over, I'd probably try to make it a +0 LA race, although even in the Rakasta article in Dragon by Bruce Heard, he suggested with their abilities that they should only be 3rd or 4th level characters.
I definitely would go with barbarian as their favored class, at least the Isle of Dread rakasta. It seems to fit more with their original nomadic/X1 depiction, IMO. That or just Fighter.
As for their claws, I'd keep the damage at 1d3 (same as for an unarmed strike), with the war claws increasing that to 1d4 (like a dagger).
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You can use Catfolk for the Raskasta. It is in "Races of the Wild".
Sacrilege!!!You will burn at the stake!!
:)
Rakastas have a very unique set of abilities that catfolk seriouly lack...
I doubt rakastas will ever be officialy published and i don't understand why...
The OP should probably do what many of us, Mystara fans, do and make your own conversion.
;)
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I'm gearing up for my Savage Tide campaign, and I'd like to make rakastas available as a PC race at first level. I'm not a Mystaran, so I'm not clued into the catfolk = heresy controversy, but I'd like to do a faithful conversion of existing sources (the ones I have are X1: Isle of Dread and Dragon #247; would be glad to have others!)
In my campaign, the likeliest origin of a rakasta PC is that they are the child of rakasta who were brought back to Sasserine as a curiosity by "Mad" Captain Atirr's expedition to the Isle of Dread(and perhaps even cared for by Lavinia). The approach I'm thinking about is that these rakasta's natural abilities will not have had the chance to fully develop in this urban setting, so they will be a starting race with an ECL of 0. As they gain experience, they can choose to master their "wild" traits by taking two class levels of rakasta, similar to the racial levels in Arcana Unearthed. The 2 HD creatures described in X1: Isle of Dread are thus rakastas with two levels in the rakasta class.
Here's my version, with thanks to Andrew Thiesen's work at the Isle of Dawn site:
Rakasta Racial Traits
* +2 Dexterity, -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma. Rakasta are surefooted and agile, but they are also temperamental and easily distracted. Rakasta who grew up in Sasserine were isolated from their native culture, and their exoticism relative to other citizens placed them at a a social disadvantage. [These are the stats for a basic rakasta from Dragon #247, with negative Charisma added for 3.5 game balance.]
* Medium-size: As medium sized creatures, rakasta have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
* Rakasta base movement is 30 feet.
* Low-light vision: Rakasta can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. They retain the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
* +2 racial bonus to Balance, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Spot, and Tumble checks. Rakasta are extremely agile and surefooted, and have keen senses. They are also very good at avoiding detection by predators and prey alike. [Dragon #247 specifies that rakasta have natural concealment - i.e. hide and move silently - and balance & reflexes such that they take half damage from a fall - i.e. tumble and balance. The Spot and Listen penalties are meant to counteract the Wisdom penalty].
* -2 racial penalty to Swim and Profession (Sailor). [Dragon #247 gives rakasta fear of water].
* -1 racial penalty to saving throws vs. sonic effects. Rakasta's keen ears make them sensitive to sound-based attacks. [Specified in Dragon #247]
* Natural Attacks: A rakasta may make one natural attack, which deals the same damage as an unarmed strike (1d3 points of damage plus Strength modifier, critical on 20, x2 damage), but is considered lethal damage. A rakasta is always considered armed when using its natural attacks. Rakasta who are untrained in the optimal use of their natural weapons make this attack using the combination of claws and their bite; performing this attack both hands must be free.
* Automatic Languages: Common and Rakasta. Bonus Languages: Elven, Gnomish, Halfling, Dwarvish.
* Favored Class: Barbarian.
Rakasta Racial Levels
Hit Die: d8.
"Class" Skills: The rakasta’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (geography) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Tumble (Dex), and Use Rope (Dex).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) x 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Level 1:
BAB +1 / Fort +2 / Ref +2 / Will +0 / Special: 2 claws, +1 Charisma
Level 2:
BAB +2 / Fort +3 / Ref +3 / Will +0 / Special: Bite, scent, +1 Charisma
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Rakasta with levels only in rakasta (no actual class levels) are proficient with all simple weapons and warclaws, and with light armor and shields (except tower shields).
2 claws (Ex): At first level, the rakasta gains the ability to make two claw attacks as primary natural weapons. When attacking only with natural weapons, it makes both claw attacks using its normal melee bonus and adds its full Strength bonus to the damage from each claw. The rakasta can use a manufactured weapon in its dominant hand and make a claw attack using its "off" hand by treating the claw as a secondary weapon (-5 to hit, adds 1/2 Strength to damage, no penalty to weapon attack).
Scent (Ex): At second level, the rakasta gains the ability to detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell, as per the Scent ability in the MM.
Bite: At second level, the rakasta gains the ability to make a bite as a secondary natural attack, dealing 1d6 damage plus 1/2 Strength bonus. This attack is made at -5 to hit (-2 with the Multiattack feat, which the rakasta now qualifies for).
Comments welcome!
there was a 1/2 rak. template in dragon awhile back. I know I know not so helpful. Might be easier at low levels or good backstory fodder for a PC.
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I thought only STR needs two ability negatives to balance it; Dwarves have +2 CON and -2 CHA, after all.
Quite true! That frees me up to have a more interesting rakasta class feature than paying off the Cha penalty that wasn't in original sources anyway. Bruce Heard had a rakasta roar ability, which I might convert as a move-action Intimidate check with a +4 bonus. X1 doesn't mention a roar, tho, so it might be better just to focus on improving core abilities.
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I thought only STR needs two ability negatives to balance it; Dwarves have +2 CON and -2 CHA, after all.Quite true! That frees me up to have a more interesting rakasta class feature than paying off the Cha penalty that wasn't in original sources anyway. Bruce Heard had a rakasta roar ability, which I might convert as a move-action Intimidate check with a +4 bonus. X1 doesn't mention a roar, tho, so it might be better just to focus on improving core abilities.
Actually, if you take away the CHA penalty, it should be good; they have a ridiculous amount of skill bonuses, anyways.
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For a balance check, here's a comparison of a 3rd level elf and rakasta character (as above minus Cha stuff), both built for multiple sneak attacks using 28 point buy and half-plus-one HP after first level:
Elf rogue 1/fighter 2
S 16 D 16 C 12 I 8 W 8 Ch 8
hp 24, AC 17 (+1 studded leather + Dex)
Fort +4 Ref +5 Will -1
feats Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (shortsword), Toughness, Improved Initiative
full attack: +4 shortsword (1d6+3/19-20) plus +4 shortsword (1d6+1/19-20)
skills: Tumble +7, Move Silently +7, Hide +7, Listen +5, Spot +5, Balance +7, Jump +9
Rakasta rogue 1/rakasta 2
hp 22, AC 17 (+1 studded leather + Dex)
S 16 D 16 C 14 I 8 W 6 Ch 8
Fort +5, Ref +8, Will -2
feats Improved Initiative, Multiattack
full attack: +5 warclaw (1d4+3/19-20) and +5 warclaw (1d4+3/19-20) and +0 bite (1d6+1)
skills Tumble +11, Move Silently +11, Hide +11, Spot +4, Listen +4, Balance +9, Jump +7
It's all moot. They're extinct now, right?
I'll be statting them up as feline-flavored shifters, and since I have a shifter PC in my group I'll be adding some survivors to the Isle.
shapechanger subtype
+2 dex, -2 int, -2 cha
+2 racial bonus to Balance, Climb, and Jump
favored class: ranger
low-light vision
medium, 30ft base speed
one shifter trait, which will probably be longtooth or longstride for feline flavor reasons
LA +0