I've been slowly expanding on a little homebrew setting to inflict on someone should my local gaming group ever revive. One of the things I wanted to do was to try and evoke a different feel.
So to that end I tossed out every race except Humans, and tried to rustle up something new...here's the first (and most complicated) new race.
As I am currently unable to really play test this, I thought I'd open it up to the scrutiny of your collective expertise. Have I balanced enough? Is it different enough?
So without further preamble, here you have the...
ATLANTEANS
“… best described as intellectual hedonists.”
Features: Ancestor worship, Caste System, Ancestor Channeling abilities, lost immortality in ages past, former masters in a slave culture, beginning to prosper and multiply after a long period of decline.
Rules Detail:
+2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma, -2 Strength, -2 Wisdom
Size: Medium. As Medium creatures, Atlanteans have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Speed: Atlantean base land speed is 30 feet.
Special: +2 racial saving throw bonus against mind-effecting spells & effects, Caste system, Channel*
Automatic Languages: Atlantean,
Favored Class: Characters place in the Caste system determines her favored class.
Atlantean Caste System: Noble, Priest, Sage and Warrior castes each grant specific bonus class skills, and access to Caste specific feats. Also determines favored class.
Noble Caste:
Skills: Diplomacy, Knowledge (Arcana, Nobility, History) & Sense Motive are always in-class
Caste Feats:
Favored Class: Sorcerer
Priest Caste:
Skills: Concentration, Intimidate, Knowledge (Religion) are always in-class
Caste Feats:
Favored Class: Cleric
Sage Caste:
Skills: Craft (any), Knowledge (Arcana, Geography, History), Perform (Oratory) are always in-class
Caste Feats:
Favored Class: Bard
Warrior Caste:
Skills: Climb, Jump, Intimidate, & Spot are always in-class
Caste Feats:
Favored Class: Fighter
*Channel (Su) – Once a day as a Free Action, the Atlantean may channel a particular ancestor from their caste for a limited time and gain the benefits of their specific affinity for that time (1 + Cha modifier + ½ ECL rounds). An Atlantean can only channel one ancestor and it must be from his Caste.
The following are the temporary benefits of the specific ancestor types:
Noble Ancestor: +2 Charisma, +4 bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy and Gather Info checks. Gains a bonus equal to Charisma bonus (if any) on all saving throws. Gains Charm Monster as a spell-like ability, cast as sorcerer of ½ effective class level. If the Atlantean can already cast Charm Monster, her caster level increases by 2 for that spell.
Priest Ancestor: -2 Charisma, +2 Wisdom, Lay Hands as Paladin of same level, Turn Undead as Cleric of same level. If one or both abilities already possessed, they use them as if the Atlantean is 2 levels higher in the relevant class.
Sage Ancestor: -2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, +4 bonus on Performance checks. Gains Bardic Lore ability as a Bard of ½ effective class level. If Bardic Lore already possessed, it can be used as if the Atlantean is 2 levels higher in the Bardic class.
Warrior Ancestor: – 2 Wisdom, +2 Strength, +2 to Constitution. Gains +1 dodge bonus to AC when wearing light armor. This bonus increases by 1 every 3 effective character levels. The Atlantean loses this Dodge bonus when wearing medium or heavy armor.
Physical Appearance: Atlantean males are generally tall, in the range of 5'9 to 6'6 and they typically favor leanness, although the robust Atlantean appetite does lead to a certain amount of beefiness among the more sedentary. Atlantean females are smaller, in the range of 4’6 to 6’ and they favor a buxom physique. The dominant Atlantean skin tone is gold, although pale blue or deep red tones are not uncommon. Atlantean hair is worn long, usually with a single braid arranged in a manner indicative of caste and social standing. Atlanteans are wholly uninhibited particularly in their attire, often wearing billowing garments, or ornately decorated capes in bright colors when in public. In more casual settings both male and female Atlanteans wear only fine, and intricately designed waist-tunics.
Atlantean Names: still to be determined
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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Looks pretty cool. I can't help but think that the 'Channel' ability is very familiar, however.
Wow! That's pretty cool actually, and you're right I hadn't seen it. I particularly liked the Ancestral Avatar & Ancestral Reincarnation abilities, very nice flavor and RP opportunities there.
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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Some feedback:
The warrior ancestor seems a little weak compared to the others. Why does it only gain the dodge bonus in light armor? If the character is warrior caste to begin with, he is likely a martial class and will probably prefer heavier armors. Making the dodge bonus apply in heavy armor does not strike me as terribly imbalancing, especially since the ability only lasts for a few rounds. You might want to make it +1 AC per 5 character levels, however. That might prevent it from getting completely insane at higher levels.
It looks to me like the Warrior in general get the short end of the stick. The race already has a -2 Str and -2 Wis which makes a fighter hit less and do less damage, plus with their already low Will save the -2 Wis is gonna hurt. Then when they channel their warrior ancester they basically get a +2 Str which offsets their racial -2, but take another hit to Wis which makes their Will saves even worse. Granted if you are trying to give the flavor of warriors being uncommon then I think you have it. Maybe I'm just not reading it right.
EDIT: Also why does the Priest ancester give a Charisma penalty? It gives them two abilities that are linked to Charisma, but them makes those abilities weaker at the same time.