Tying in with the Savage Tide stuff, who doesnt like catpeople? (Well dog people, but they got theirs in the Dragon Compendium).
How about an article on Rakasta as a playable racial option for PC's?
Thx.
SJE
I am generally against any race thtat defining characteristic is an animal head. If it has a bunch of other characteristics and happens to have and animal head - okay (though those are few and far between).
Races (IMO) fill a niche - and an environment in a way other races don't. Tey have cultures, religions, economics, relations with other races...most nimal heads - well they ave no reason to be except that someone wants to play an animal headed human.
Want to play an animal head - fine - let it be a magically altered man or animal - but not a race -unless you are really going to make it some thing other than a human with big teeth - and a bite attack - ugh.
Just say no to cat people, dog people, eagle people, yak people, etc.
(Rakshasa - are more than cat people IMO opinion - and even have the benefit of having real world cultural roots)
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I don't think it's gonna happen. Don't get me wrong, it would be really really great. I railed about it a little bit about a year ago, when STAP was just announced, but I think that WOTC doesn't give its blessing for this to happen for some reason; not sure if I'm right or wrong.
You are correct, Sir. Wizards of the Coast points to the catfolk as the third edition version of rakasta.
Believe you me, if they were going to let us do a rakasta article, I would have written it years ago. ;)
The land of the Cynocephali, or dog headed men, has "real world" roots in Medieval European legend.
And the "floating world" woodblock prints of Japan are peppered with "animal heads" of all variety.
I was unfamiliar with Cynocephali - I wiki'd it after I saw your post - interesting, but doesn't change my point - animal head races that are just strange looking humans with a bite attack - no culture, no economics or trade goods, are pointless, overdone, and generally lame - and characters ~(as opposed to races) with with animal heads are better created through curses, or magical transformation.
As to the japanese animal heads - well they are generally spirit creatures - with a number of magical properties that have little if anything to do with the type of head they are capped with. Which was kind of my point - if an animal head is "A" characteristic - no problem - especially if there is a cultural reference - which helps place the race and define a lot of peripheral traits - My issue is when the animal head is the "Core" characteristic.
I never said that there weren't examples of workable animal head races - just that - in my opinion (take it for what its worth) - that there are already plenty of animal heads available(look at the different flavors of celestial/infernal - tiefling/aasimar (could also reasonably have animal heads), and "Were" everything provide all the bite attack action folks could ever want.
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You are correct, Sir. Wizards of the Coast points to the catfolk as the third edition version of rakasta.
Eeewww.... catfolk just... suck(no better word here) big time!!
I rather use a homemade conversion.Catfolk are not allowed in my Mystara games!! They where extinct by the rakastas... ;)
Believe you me, if they were going to let us do a rakasta article, I would have written it years ago. ;)
We can still dream...right?
;)
What is the difference between the catfolk and the rakastas regarding game rules?
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Is it Rakasta or Rakshasa? I had always thought it was Rakshasa, but Rakasta seems more popular online.
EDIT: Sorry for the threadjacking.
"Rakshasa" is the shapeshifting evil ghoulish beast from Indian mythology and the MM I.
"Rakasta" was a race of panther men from the original X1: Isle of Dread module as well as other Mystara supplements. Not quite as powerful.
Do catfolk ride smilodons?
they did, and used special metal war claws as weapons, at least until later mystara products decided to just make them katana weilding japenese samuri-type guys with cat heads.
Do catfolk ride smilodons?they did, and used special metal war claws as weapons, at least until later mystara products decided to just make them katana weilding japenese samuri-type guys with cat heads.
that is assuming that catfolk are a 3e version of rakasta in the first place
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that is assuming that catfolk are a 3e version of rakasta in the first place
Well, they are not... As Mike already told several times, Wizards will not convert the rakastas and points us all to the catfolk as a substitute. Catfolk are not a 3e version of the Rakastas, they are a replacement, and a bad one...
But that's probably just me...
:)
Why not just the stats of a Rakasta from 2.0 and convert into 3.5 I do it all the time with my games, and if wizards doesn't like well tough.
Just say NO to "cat folk" period - you'll feel better.