Hey all. I've read a lot of innovative and interesting ideas on these forums, and I'm ready to post my own houserules for my Pathfinder campaign.
Please read and critique my Race writeup. Dwarves, Elves, Half-Elves, Half-Orcs, and Humans have been changed. The other races are the same as 3.P beta. Keep it constructive, if you can. Enjoy!
Dwarves
Often called the “stout folk,” dwarves are an ancient race. Standing about a foot shorter than most humans, they make up for it in overall bulk, for dwarves have wide shoulders and hips. Dwarves have a love for earth and stone, making them fine stonemasons and expert miners. Dwarves are the most resilient of the civilized races, capable of taking a great deal of punishment, both physical and magical. On the whole, they have a lust for treasure, especially precious metals and gems. Dwarves have a relatively dour outlook rooted in grim reality, but when in a good mood with ale in hand, their rumbling laughter can be heard for quite a distance.
Dwarf Racial Traits
+2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom, –2 Charisma: Dwarves are both tough and wise, but also a bit gruff.
Medium: Dwarves are Medium creatures, and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Hatred: Dwarves receive a +1 bonus on attack rolls against humanoid creatures of the orc and goblin subtypes due to special training against these hated foes.
Defensive Training: Dwarves get a +4 dodge bonus to AC against monsters of the giant type.
Dwarven Resilience: Dwarves always treat Fortitude saves as “good saves” regardless of character class. When advancing, use the Saving throw values of the “good save” column to determine a Dwarf's Fortitude save.
Stability: Dwarves receive a +4 bonus to their combat maneuver bonus when resisting a bull rush or trip attempt while standing on the ground.
Languages: Dwarves begin play speaking Common and Dwarven. Dwarves with high Intelligence scores can choose any of the following: Elemental, Giant, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, and Undercommon.
Favored Class: The favored class of dwarves is cleric or fighter. This choice must be made at 1st level and cannot be changed.
Elves
Since the dawn of history, the elves have looked upon the other races from their forest abodes, watching them grow and prosper, struggling through barbarism and war. The elves are eternal, or nearly so, having life spans that rival the mighty dragons. While most elves live in woodland settings, others dwell in towering elven cities, full of graceful spires that blend in with the surrounding trees. Some elves choose to leave their kin behind and mingle with the other races, dwelling alongside them but never quite belonging. Elves are patient craftsmen, spending years perfecting their art, be it sword smithing, armor crafting, poetry, or song.
Elf Racial Traits
+2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, –2 Constitution: Elves are nimble, both in body and mind, but their form is frail.
Medium: Elves are Medium creatures, and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Elves have a base speed of 30 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Elves can see twice as far as humans in conditions of poor illumination.
Keen Senses: Elves receive a +2 bonus on sight- and sound-based Perception checks. They can make a Perception check to spot a secret or concealed door if they pass within 10 feet, regardless of whether or not they are actively looking.
Elven Reflexes: Elves always treat Reflex saves as “good saves” regardless of character class. When advancing, use the Saving throw values of the “good save” column to determine an Elf's Reflex save.
Elven Immunities: Elves are immune to magic sleep effects and get a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells or effects.
Elven Magic: Elves receive a +2 racial bonus on caster level checks made to overcome spell resistance. In addition, elves receive a +2 racial bonus on Appraise skill checks made to identify the properties of magic items.
Weapon Familiarity: Elves are proficient with longbows (including composite longbows), longswords, rapiers, and shortbows (including composite shortbows), and treat any weapon with the word “elven” in its name as a martial weapon.
Languages: Elves begin play speaking Common and Elven. Elves with high Intelligence scores can choose any of the following: Draconic, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, and Sylvan.
Favored Class: The favored class of elves is ranger or wizard. This choice must be made at 1st level and cannot be changed.
Half-Elves:
Born from elven and human parents, half-elves have trouble adjusting to either society. Ever since the elves and humans first met, there have been half-elves. Most halfelves are born from loving couples who tend their offspring in a manner best suited to their lifestyle. Half-elves tend to follow the societal path that they were raised in. While this is typically human, making those half-elves passionate and energetic, some are raised in elven clans, making them more reserved and deliberate. In either case, traits from the other parent seem to slip through, causing them no end of trouble among their peers. Like their human ancestors, half-elves are skilled at nearly any craft. Half-elves tend to be wanderers, as they find it difficult to fit in anywhere. It is no surprise, then, that many turn to a life of adventuring.
Half-Elf Racial Traits
+2 to one ability score: Half-elf characters get a +2 bonus on one ability score of their choice at creation, to represent their varied nature.
Medium: Half-elves are Medium creatures, and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Half-elves have a base speed of 30 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Half-elves can see twice as far as humans in conditions of poor illumination.
Keen Senses: Half-elves receive a +2 bonus on sight- and sound-based Perception checks. They can make a Perception check to spot a secret or concealed door if they pass within 10 feet, regardless of whether or not they are actively looking.
Elven Reflexes: Half-Elves retain their Elven parent's amazing reflexes and grace. Half-Elves always treat Reflex saves as “good saves” regardless of character class. When advancing, use the Saving throw values of the “good save” column to determine an Half-Elf's Reflex save.
Elven Immunities: Half-elves are immune to magic sleep effects and get a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells or effects.
Adaptability: Half-elves receive Skill Focus, as a bonus feat, at 1st level.
Elf Blood: Half-elves count as both elves and humans for any effect related to race.
Languages: Half-elves begin play speaking Common and Elven. Half-elves with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages they want (except secret languages, such as Druidic).
Favored Class: Half-elves can choose any one class as their favored class at 1st level. Once made, this choice cannot be changed.
Half-Orcs
Born from orc and human parents, Half-Orcs are outcasts, looked upon with fear, hatred, and pity by most of the civilized world. Half-Orcs are not a new phenomenon: in the days when orcs and humans clashed endlessly, many who found themselves caught in-between were the subjects of terrible violence, with Half-Orcs as the byproduct. While many Half-Orcs today share this dark history, others come from entire communities of Half-Orcs, bound together by their common lineage. Half-Orcs favor many of the traits of their less-civilized parents, tending toward violence and a dark, brooding outlook. From their human parentage, Half-Orcs are gifted with a wide variety of passions. While these stereotypes are not universal, they are quite common. Half-Orcs raised in orc society are often bullied, earning positions of respect so long as they can physically match their peers. Those raised in human society often find themselves the targets of cruel prejudices and are frequently the suspect whenever a crime is uncovered. Due to such difficulties, many Half-Orcs turn to lives of crime or adventuring, where their combination of strength and wits serves them best.
Half-Orc Racial Traits
+2 Strength, +2 Wisdom, – 2 Charisma: Half-Orcs are physically strong and constantly on the lookout for danger, but they are looked upon with fear and revulsion by the majority of civilized societies who view them as dangerous savages. Although not necessarily ugly, a Half-Orc is usually sullen and suspicious of others, having grown up (at best) teased and shunned by his contemporaries. They are generally just as intelligent as their human parents, which makes them all the more capable of appreciating the prejudices of other races. Even orcs do not usually accept a half-breed, unless he can prove himself exceptionally capable in combat. Their combination of fearsome appearance and hardened attitude is reflected in their generally lower Charisma scores.
Medium: Half-Orcs are Medium creatures, and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Half-Orcs have a base speed of 30 feet.
Darkvision 60 feet: Half-Orcs can see in the dark up to 60 feet.
Weapon Familiarity: Half-Orcs are proficient with greataxes and falchions, and treat any weapon with the word “orc” in its name as a martial weapon.
Orc Ferocity: Orcs get the “Intimidating Prowess” and “Diehard” feats for free.
Orc Blood: Half-Orcs count as both humans and orcs for any effect related to race.
Languages: Half-Orcs begin play speaking Common and Orc. Half-Orcs with high Intelligence scores can choose any of the following: Draconic, Giant, Gnoll, Goblin, and Abyssal.
Favored Class: Half-Orcs can choose any one class as their favored class at 1st level. Once made, this choice cannot be changed.
Humans
Of all the races, humans show the most variety. They’re a young race by the standards of elves and dwarves, but have accomplished much in their short time. Human cities dot the landscape and their kingdoms rule much of the world. Yet for all of their power, they can easily recede into barbarism within a generation. While some strive to make the world a better place, others seek to conquer it, drawing up great hosts to march on their civilized neighbors. While their craftsmanship does not always equal that of many other races, humans are skilled at nearly every trade imaginable and are often outstanding in a chosen profession. Not surprisingly, adventuring is a common occupation, as most humans have an innate curiosity about what lies beyond the next horizon or at the bottom of the nearest dungeon.
Human Racial Traits
+2 to one ability score: Human characters get a +2 bonus on one ability score of their choice at creation, to represent their varied nature.
Medium: Humans are Medium creatures, and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Humans have a base speed of 30 feet.
Bonus Feat: Humans select one extra feat at 1st level.
Skilled: Humans gain an additional skill rank at first level and one additional rank whenever they gain a level. In addition, they may choose any cross-class skill and make it a class skill.
Weapon Training: Humans as a race are very warlike, and a human adventurer is proficient with any one martial weapon of their choice, in addition to those granted by class proficiencies. This weapon must be chosen at 1st level and cannot be changed. Human Martial characters who already start out with all martial weapon proficiencies may choose Bastard Sword, Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple, or any one Exotic weapon of their choice with the DM's approval (possibly a cultural or double weapon).
Languages: Humans begin play speaking Common. Humans with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages they want (except secret languages, such as Druidic).
Favored Class: Humans can choose any one class as their favored class at 1st level. Once made, this choice cannot be changed.
I'm not sure i like change just for the sake of change and it seems to me at least that a good bit of what you did was just for that purpose. It also tends to play heck with backward compatibility.
Obviously- what follows is purely my opinion =)
Dwarves now have 30 ft movement, but lose "slow and steady". Not a change I like, due to both favored classes being heavy armor wearers.
No Darkvision. Dwarves /need/ darkvision. They are folk who live underground in caves and such. Sight without light is paramount for that environment.
Saving Throws:
You've given the dwarf a power that grants them /nothing/ for choosing either of their favored classes. The Beta incarnation of the saving throw bonus helps the dwarf regardless of the class they choose. For that reason, it should be retained.
Elves:
Elven Reflexes: Why? They already get a dex boost and one of their favored class gets /no/ benefit from this.
Half Elf:
Elven Reflexes: At least here it has a chance to help the character out since the H/E can choose any class. Still though, it's either 100% useful or 100% useless. Not sure I like the idea of this mechanic at all.
Half Orc:
Why was the favored class changed here? The ability to pick their favored class is a major ability for both humans and half-elves. It shouldn't be handed out freely. This also removes "barbarian" as a favored class. No one else has it but the Half-Orc. This rule shouldn't be changed, imo.
Human:
Weapon Training: This change makes sense to me, as it allows those humans who choose martial characters to still gain some benefit from the bonus. Not sure it needs to be changed- but it does make some sense to change it.
(note that elven fighters/rangers/barbs also receive little to no benefit from Their "weapon" proficiencies either- so the beta version isn't without precedent).
Overall I don't think any of them are necessarily "bad" more than I just can't really figure out why you made some of the changes. You made the one change for humans that alot have asked for (giving martial folk a wep they can use) while going back to 2 races and giving them a bonus that won't apply all the time- in effect creating the same problem in two other classes. They aren't bad rules necessarily as much as they area just not really needed.
-S
While I think that you have interesting ideas, you're still going down the route that Elves improve humans and orcs drag them down. Why would a half-Elf inherit their parent's racial dexterity, but an orc wouldn't inherit their parent's assumed racial vitality?
Like it, especially the saving throw part... I could see arguments in favor to give a similar ability to all races however (good fortitude for half orcs? good will for halfling?)
Also, I'm starting to believe that most of the awkwardness of the Half-Orc comes from the fact that full-fledged Orcs are poorly defined as a race compare to the Elf, which have had a lot more work since it has been a PC race since the dawn of D&D.
Somehow, defining the Half-Orc involves defining the Orc, which is tricky because...
1) it is silly to flesh-out a race that is not intended to be played.
2) as a DM, you don't want each individuals in your horde of 50 1st level Orc warriors to benefit from a circumstantial bonus here, an ability that kicks in in this situation etc... Tedious!
If this is not done however, you end-up with either a crappy race or with some abilities that seems to come out of nowhere.
'findel
As for the weapon proficiency, I would put more emphasis on the culture-oriented weapons for humans.
While I cannot see a tribal wizard with a longsword, I could imagine it with a bola.
Monk weapons could be martial to any "oriental" human.
Scimitars, falchions, punch daggers and kukris could be reserved for "middle eastern" cultures.
With this in mind, some martial weapons should be made into exotic weapons. Perhaps exotic versions of martial weapons should be designed, bringing them on par with other exotic weapons? 2-handed flail? that could be more than a bludgeoning greataxe...
oops, part of the Dwarf writeup didn't copy. I kept the other pathfinder traits.
Dwarves (continued):
Slow and Steady: Dwarves have a base speed of 20 feet, but their speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance.
Darkvision 60 feet: Dwarves can see in the dark up to 60 feet.
Stonecunning: Dwarves treat any Profession skill related to stone as a class skill. In addition, they receive a +2 bonus on Perception skill checks to notice unusual stonework, such as traps and hidden doors located in stone walls or f loors. They receive a check to notice such features whenever they pass within 10 feet of them, regardless of whether or not they are actively looking.
Keen Senses: Dwarves receive a +2 bonus on taste- and touch-based Perception skill checks.
Greed: Dwarves treat Appraise as a class skill when attempting to determine the price of nonmagical goods that contain precious metals and gemstones.
Hearty: Dwarves receive a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison, spells, and spell-like abilities.
Weapon Familiarity: Dwarves are proficient with battleaxes, heavy picks, and warhammers, and treat any weapon with the word “dwarven” in its name as a martial weapon.
They still get the Hearty saving throw bonus on top of their good Fort saves. This is to reflect the fact that Dwarves are the most resilient race in Golarion. There is simply no such thing as a Dwarf with a bad fort save. It goes against the fluff.
Same thing with Elves and reflex saves. They get so many benefits that it doesn't matter if rangers already have good reflex saves.
Regarding the change to Half-Orcs, I am going with the theme that "Half-breeds" can choose any class they want; this they get from their Human heritage as well as their unorthodox upbringing. Barbarians are still "Favored" by Half-orcs if you want them to be. Just pick "barbarian" as your favored calss, done. They would make great Monks, too, and no one has Monk as a favored class.
They DO get their orcish parent's vitality: Orc ferocity grants them the "Intimidating Prowess" feat (makes more sense for an orc) and the "Diehard" feat for free.
Half-orcs now get a cha penalty instead of int; the half-orc had it hard enough without penalizing his skill points. The cha penalty makes more sense anyway for a outcast orc.
Dwarves get their good fortitude from their constitution, I think that is just enough. Same goes for elves.
There should still be differences between a dwarf who's spent most of his life training his body to become a hardy fighter and a dwarf who spent most of his life over books learning about magic and spellcraft.
Also an elf who went through a whole life of thievery in which only their reflexes saved their life over and over again, would be a good bit quicker to react than one that is mostly fixed on using magic.
Just because no race has monk as favored class, that's no reason to take barbarian out of the list too. Much more it would be a reason to find any overlapping favored classes and see where the monk could fit. Half-orcs are most definately still further away from human than half-elves are and regarding that they are surely not as flexible as half-elves either (i mean the difference between an elf and a human is basically just pointy ears and a longer life-span, while an orc and a human are divided by much more), they are still brutish and far from being as intelligent as humans. A lowered intelligence already indicates a lowered ability to adapt to different situations and methods. Adding to this is the fact that the whole ability score array of a half-orc makes them absolutely unsuited for a freely choosable favored class, while they do bring suitable attributes and abilities to most classes, they are still very weak on others (rogue and wizard mostly) and as long as this is the case the free shoice of favored class just doesnt fit them.
Also i assume you just forgot the low-light vision on elves and darkvision on half-orcs too.
Edit: Okay i didnt see the half-orcs got a -cha instead of int from you, but that does nothing but support the point. With a - cha they are less suited for even more classes: Paladin, Bard, Cleric and Sorcerer (while its not as bad with the cleric, since charisma only affects one of their minor class features)
Well... Humans and Half-Elves have Monk as a favored class,
they just also have ALL the classes to choose from, instead of 2...
I agree with this. Even if one disagrees with the specific choices made for Half-Orcs Ability Mods in Pathfinder, they don't support the "Human/Half-Elf flexibility" which is matched in both the free choice Ability Mod and the free choice Favored Class. I think Half-Orcs will make out just fine as Rogues, anyways, WITHOUT it being a favored class. They might have it tough as Wizards. It's rough being green.
I also agree with the penalty moving away from intelligence. In the original literary tradition for half-orcs (ie, Tolkien), they are intelligent and cunning, more so than full-blooded orcs and on par with humans. They obviously have trouble relating or interacting with humans, however.
I wouldn't compare the DnD half-orc to Tolkien's Uruk Hai.
Essentialy there is a lot of difference between them. Not at least that Uruk-Hai are the result of genetic engineering, Saruman has bred them for the purpose of being smarter than full-blood orcs, he probably "dismissed" every creature that would have gotten their mental capacity from the orc side of their genetic tree.Also giving half-orcs a penalty to charisma instead of intelligence moves them a lot closer to dwarves. They only make difference in one of their bonuses anymore.
Not a fan of things like "always gets good X saves". I'd rather see a bonus to the saves (they already get a bonus of sorts to those saving throws because of their racial ability bonuses) as this will help everyone (especially since with dwarves, the two favoured classes are among those who get nothing out of this).
Plus, it hurts backwards compatibility too much I'd say: You have to look up the differences between poor and strong saves (sometimes more than one in the case of multiclass characters) for all characters. Better have a flat +2 over before, or something like that.
I wouldn't compare the DnD half-orc to Tolkien's Uruk Hai.
Essentially there is a lot of difference between them.
Besides, there are true half-orcs in Lord of the Rings. Remember that squint-eyed outsider in Bree? (for those who have read the book). There are references to half-orcs in the hill people that Saruman pitched against the Rohirim at Helm's Deep as well.
Tolkien's true Half-Elves where given the choice to be either Elves or Humans, such as Elrond and Arwen. The D&D race would be better applied to the descendants of Elros who choose humankind. Aragorn would thus be a half-elf...
The only reason D+D has half-orcs is because of the Uruk-Hai (which are referred to as half-orcs multiple times). As such, they are the *only source material* we have. (No other fantasy setting even has half-orcs, at least not that I'm aware of).
I'm pretty sure Uruk-hai where originally the creation of Sauron. I doubt he'd use human stock to enhance the race, but then again, who knows...
Saruman then made his own Uruk-hai, and he also made half-orcs with the Dunlendings, but these where different from the Uruk-hai. They where the one invading the Shire at the end...
but back to the OP, I'd consider leaving the penalty to INT for a few reason, even if it seems more logical to give them a penalty to CHA.
CHA is also ruling spellcasting and physical demeanor. I'd be more willing to give them a penalty to diplomacy than a penalty to CHA.
INT is also ruling spellcasting, in this case wizardry, which is less Half-orc like. It is not clear to me whether "cunning" should be INT based or WIS based. Animals can be cunning despite their low INT. Dinosaurs and magical beasts can be more cunning still, but they often have just as low INT. Many have higher WIS however...
just a though
Well, technically only Elrond and Elros are half-elves (and Beren and Luthien's child Dior). They each get to choose which heritage they adhere to, after which they are treated as that race entirely (so Elros's descendants are entirely human - well, Dunadain, but that's not half-elf, that's 'human and special'. Arwen is an elf, not a half-elf. Etc...).
True, but D&D doesn't have Half-Elf, High Men, Common Men and Mixed Men between Elves and Human. I still think that Half Elves would suit Dunadain best...
Regarding the "good saves," you wouldn't have to look up anything, even in the case of multiclass characters. ALL classes have at least one good save. Just copy that number to your fort or reflex save. Since it's always a "good save" no matter what class you are, you don't need to mix and match saves as you level up. If you wanted to reflect the fact that your Fighter dwarf is even tougher than the regular dwarf, just take Great Fortitude.
Giving Half-orcs a penalty to Cha instead of Int is more fitting the background fluff. Penalizing Int also hurts fighters and barbarians, who need a 13 int for good combat maneuvers. All classes hurt from lower Int, no need to make the half-orc the worst choice.
I was thinking of giving the human favored class flexibility to all the half-breeds. Another idea is to make Favored class for the half-orcs Barbarian and Monk, 2 classes that support an existence away from mainstream society.
I sort of disagree with the half-orcs being in touch with nature or the gods (so cleric is out). If you were born an outcast, ugly half-breed brute you would probably hate the gods and society.
Let's face it, while half-elves may be the product of "loving couples," half-orcs are most likely the product of wartime rape. Few humans would willingly marry or mate with an orc, while feral orcs are all too willing to "take what they want," if you know what I mean.
Making them stupid makes them unattractive as player characters. Making them sullen and aggressive, yet intelligent makes for a more interesting character type and the penalty to Cha reflects this.
I also wanted to make Half-orcs more attractive to players who wanted an unorthodox fighter-type. There is no reason why half-orcs wouldn't make as good fighters or monks as they would barbarians. They would also make good rogues because they would likely have no problem with stealing and murdering the "beautiful people" who hate them and shun them. I couldn't decide what favored class would fit the half-orc, so I let them choose a favored class.
Regarding the "good saves," you wouldn't have to look up anything, even in the case of multiclass characters. ALL classes have at least one good save. Just copy that number to your fort or reflex save.
You assume I'm talking about players updating their character. I'm not. I'm talking about GMs updating NPCs from adventures and such. For that, you have to know what the base saves are, since stat blocks don't show them.
PC races used as npc's will have a level. An npc dwarven rogue level 12 would simply copy his reflex save into his fort save. If you must look it up, go to any pc class in the Classes section of PRPG. Find any good save. Look up what the base number is at the appropriate level. This is no harder than looking up his HD.
You are right, barbarian makes less sense for a half-orc the more I think about it. Monks may be accepting of half-orc students, seeing that they are an odd group of people who are probably avoiding the greater part of society to begin with.
I also wanted to reflect that half-orc PC's should be sympathetic characters rather than borderline nonsentient brutes.
I found this illustration online: http://www.carybishop.net/stom_palimont.htm
and I must say - this is by FAR the best picture of a half-orc I have ever seen, anywhere. He doesn't look like a pig or a demon, but the odd physique and facial distortion give him an inhuman appearance. The eyes and face are intelligent and very likeable, alien in a fantasy-sort of way without making him look "fey."
The usual depictions of half-orcs make them look like demons or goblinoid pigs. The "orc" part of their heritage is over-emphasized a lot of the time. I could never envision such a monstrous PC as having any sort of potential for acceptance. Might as well play a full-blooded orc.
Stom, on the other hand, has an emphasized humanity. I could see this guy winning over the hearts and minds of humans and elves with his heroics. The character bio isn't what I would have gone with as a backstory (he should've stayed 100% monk), but I really wanted to focus on the way the artist portrays his features. THAT is the kind of half-orc I want in Golarion. Not a troll-green-skinned, dumb, demonic-looking pig.
PC races used as npc's will have a level. An npc dwarven rogue level 12 would simply copy his reflex save into his fort save.
No NPC stat block lists how the save bonuses are put together. Just replacing fort with ref - two kinds of saves with two different key abilities and maybe even different extra bonuses from feats and so on. - won't do.
If you must look it up, go to any pc class in the Classes section of PRPG. Find any good save. Look up what the base number is at the appropriate level.
Too complicated. I like "add 3 to the value" better. Especially since the mechanic of giving them always strong fort saves instead of granting them a bonus isn't nearly useful enough to warrant the extra effort. Pathfinder is making things easier right now (no more calculating skill ranks and skill costs with class/cross-class, no more recalculating BAB with divine power, things like that....), so it doesn't make sense to make things more complicated without getting a big chunk of goodness back.