Hey Forum people, this is my first Thread ever. So the title says it all, I need help making a lizardfolk race and one that people want to play, not to say that the current lizardfolk from ARG or various other sources is bad but...they tend to be kinda dull(my own opinion).
So the idea would be a decently power race, I don't want to make these guys Drow nobles or Serpentfolk but they need some umph. So for all of us using ARG as a model for building races I want thinking somewhere in the range of 16-20 RP. As for the lizardfolk themselves, I've always liked a connection to Dinosaur or a mixture of dinosaur with a hint of Dragon( don't want to steal too much of that from the Kobolds). Also we can make several Sub-types of lizard; swamp,desert,mountain,jungle,Etc. Another idea was maybe a "super Lizard" one that can live in any environment(not arctic).
Anyways I am open to ideas and suggestions , feel free to post any ideas for feats or alternative racial traits, favoured class bonuses, Etc.
Well happy posting and I hope this thread thrives with all sort of ideas!
P.S: Forgive my grammatical errors, I freely admit that I am not too smart.
And here I thought I was a big lizardfolk fan. Interesting Teiidae.
I'm not sure I have any more ideas on this just at the moment, apart from stealing direcly from:
* a dino-Saurial heritage, creating subtypes of lizardfolk descended from various branches - velocis, tyrannos, triceris, stegos, ankylos etc - with associated racial traits - claws, teeth, armor etc.
However I'm not too sure you haven't moved far beyond lizardfolk into Saurians.
*Another approach might be to focus on the environments as you say - arctic, tropical, tundra, rainforest and create racial traits from those.
*A last approach I can see would be a socio-cultural/mental traditions concept, with the racial traits being more "socio-cultural-racial" traits perhaps stemming from a rigid caste system? Or perhaps disciplined high civic society.
Or a mix of all the above. Hope that helps!!!
Thanks OSW, I`ve been working on somestuff for these guys, it wont be put up for abit...I have a lot of school work :(
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Are you familiar with Saurials? The Saurials were a race of dinosaur people in the Forgotten Realms and shared ancestry with the lizardfolk. They go way back to 2nd Edition, but you can get a copy of the 3rd Edition rules for them in Dragon #292. From there, you can make a few Pathfinder updates to the existing saurials or just cherry-pick ideas you like and make your own, possibly using the Advanced Race Guide rules.
This is very true, so I made a roughly outline...and to my surprise...I made a race of Godzilla like lizardfolk.
I just posted some admittedly generic lizardfolk feats in my race feats thread if anyone wants to PEACH them
Btw guys..what would you guys think about a lizardfolk racial paragon that turn them into Lizard kings, im running through ideas right now like: maybe increase in size, better NA, maybe exotic weapon prof wartrident.
What they need is a cultural identity, not just physical distinctions. May I suggest the Maya, Inca, and Aztec tribes as inspiration?
Also, the saltwater crocodile lizardfolk would make great pirates. They wouldn't even need a ship!
Flaws: -2 vs Cold Spells.
Lizardfolk Cavaliers riding dinosaurs and huge crocodiles.
Komodo Dragon Lizardfolk would get Improved Grapple and a Diseased Bite attack. Legend has it that when Japanese saw Komodo Dragons wrestling for mating rights, it inspired sumo wrestling.
That's all I got for now.
My group has had a few Lizardfolk PC's, we really just use a repurposed Nagaji with a swim speed.
What they need is a cultural identity, not just physical distinctions. May I suggest the Maya, Inca, and Aztec tribes as inspiration?
Also, the saltwater crocodile lizardfolk would make great pirates. They wouldn't even need a ship!
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I know what you mean, both the physical and cultural distinctions are equally as important. as for cultures... i've always liked Mesoamerican, not too sure about Inca, i cant really say much about Peru, but I've been to Chile and it can be pretty cold. Now Polynesian culture would be perfect, Picture a Tribe of Barbaric lizardfolk, with scarred and tattooed scales with tribal marking, travelling from island to island in massive Warbands.
Now as for salties, I've never played one...I did however play a Nile crocodile Lizardfolk named Gustave, he was a real killer...not one good thing about him.
here is a link to my lizardfolk feats
here ya go
well i am working on a couple variant types of lizardfolk, so this is probably where i am going to put them.
Lizardmen / lizardfolk were traditionally portrayed as savages that ate travellers and each other (for example), but I am happy that sources in the last decade or so have at times portrayed them with more variety. Some are still "savages", but others can be isolationists or semi-social but not otherwise demonstrate "evil" tendancies. I much prefer making it a difference between tribes or regions.
i actually made an entire campaign centered on a number of warring tribes of lizardfolk. im actually pretty excited to know that someone else has love for the scalykind. :D
when it comes to different cultures, its generally understood that lizardfolk (generic) had a once vast empire, but were basically out-bred by the "warm-bloods". this is why they are generally tailored to the Aztec/Mayan/Incan types of cultures (history of the Americas and the conquest of the world /le sigh).
as for different species, there may not be too much of an evolutionary shift over a few generations, but there would definitely be some adaptation, depending on how long lizardfolk have had to evolve and adapt to different locations and environments.
so basics would be to add appropriate movement speeds for those different locations (climb=jungle, burrow=mountain, swim=island/swamp, higher base move=plains). from there, develop the type of culture the particulate lizardfolk is a part of and adjust ability bonuses based on what abilities those cultures "prize" (ur barbarian warbands would probably have +2 STR and -2 CHA, while ur tree-dwellers have +2 DEX and -2 CON). then, look at the whole picture (environment & culture) and tailor 1 or 2 racial abilities that fit (hold breath, poison use, improved natural armor, increased damage on certain natural attacks, etc).
and then add a little cosmetic love and BOOOM! u got options for lizardfolk and the remnants of civilizations and empires of scalykind.
Hope this helps :D
I did a quick and dirty rule set for Lizardfolk PCs in my homebrew world (where they are very closely linked to Dragons and Kobolds) here
These rules were for a one-shot with an all-lizard party (before ARG was published) so power level may be a bit off.
Feel free to take a look and steal what you need.