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It took some time but I finished a new race. The fluff on this one isn't finished but the crunch is so I thought I'd go ahead and post what I had.
Let me know what you think. Critique is appreciated.
Walzen v.1
NEW RACE: WALZEN (humanoid, half construct) (7 RP): The Walzen were created by the human nation of Vex to be a permanent slave race, based on historical artifacts found dating back to the days of the fall of the Akkadian civilization. They were magically fused with constructs and grown artificially so that their numbers could be controlled. They were also kept largely ignorant, only educated enough to perform the tasks needed and no more; though it was thought that the magic used in the creation of the Walzen prevented their intelligence from developing beyond that of the lowest intellect humans. Few were even given actual names as they were seen as mere property and treated as poorly as one would expect.
This began to change when one wizard, finding that none of his normal assistants could withstand the dangers of his experiments, found that he was forced to better educate his Walzen slave so that it could be his research assistant. As this Walzen learned he grew to understand his situation and that of his people, and he grew to utterly hate the humans of Vex. Secretly he took the name Kaiser and very slowly began spreading education and knowledge to the other Walzen. As the Walzen did not need to eat or sleep this gave him ample opportunity to move quietly and secretly begin to spread what he was learning and to awaken his people to what they were.
Eventually the Walzen, while keeping their heads down and maintaining a facade that they were still ignorant automatons, were forced to action when Kaiser was to be publicly beaten for the indiscretions of his master's son. When told this by his master, the wizard Valmont, Kaiser finally had enough and raised his head to look Valmont in the eye and declared “No”. Angered, Valmont tried to strike at what he believed to still be his slave, but Kaiser grabbed the wizard by the throat before he could begin casting his magic and simply strangled him to death. This was the beginning of the long war of liberation for the Walzen. It lasted nearly fifty years and the citizens of Vex took a heavy toll. They were not prepared for guerilla warfare in their own cities, coming from beings that knew the streets more intimately than even the guards. The Walzen had been forced, by the necessity of their former positions, of knowing every street and side alley so that they could perform their duties to the best of their abilities and the humans of Vex, who had grown dependent on certain services were suddenly reminded just why the Walzen were also to have been used as city defenders if any had attacked them.
Eventually the King and Queen of Vex announced a decree “freeing” the Walzen but also banishing them from Vex permanently. The Walzen, not particularly caring about the country that had enslaved and made them into a living mockery left en masse, leaving behind then a bitter enemy dreaming of revenge.
The Walzen's greatest and most closely guarded secret is that they are capable of reproducing naturally with other Walzen. With any other race they are utterly infertile and that is the appearance they maintain. They never speak of their child bearing in public, even with close friends. Secrets cannot be taken from the grave if the corpse does not know them.
(still writing the fluff history)
Appearance: The Walzen appear as humanoids roughly 6'7” tall and weighing around 275-300lbs due to their construct parts. Females tend to be three inches shorter with corresponding weight. Their skin tends to be a pale grey, and their hair runs from white to human normal. Eyes run violet to human normal, though calico (bi-colored) eyes are not unheard of among those that are magically active.
Racial Qualities:
Half Construct (7 RP)
+2 racial bonus on saving throws against disease, mind affecting effects, poisons, and effects that cause either exhaustion or fatigue.
Cannot be raised or resurrected
Do not eat, breathe or sleep, unless they want to gain some beneficial effect from one of these activities.
Medium Sized (0 RP)
Normal Speed (0 RP)
Specialized (1 RP)
+2 Str
+2 Con
-2 Cha
Standard Language (0 RP):
?, Common, (Elven, Dwarven, Soelig, Halfing, Gnome, Draconic, Vindani)
Hatred: Slavers (special): (4 RP)
+1 to attack those positively identified as slave traders
+4 Know checks to identify slave traders
See in Darkness (4 RP) (built in for city defense purposed originally)
Unnatural (2 RP)
Unique: Walzen that die are utterly immune to speak with dead. This was a built in defense from their slave days.
Static Feat: Skill Focus: (any) as a sign of their new found freedom many Walzen take to a particular skill and seek to master it as a means of connecting with those around them. As a very new race they are finding their way and experimenting with and mastering different skill sets seems to make them feel more comfortable.
Life Span: Unknown. It is known that the first Walzen were made over two hundred years ago and that if a family tired of one it was destroyed and remade. The current living Walzen are those that escaped captivity and won their freedom in their war with Vex. By the current time line that was sixty-five years ago. For all the Walzen know they may live a very, very long time.
I'd recommend you try and do something with a range of 10 to 12 RP if possible. This would make it more in line with the core and other non-standard races.
As it stands now, he'd be rounded to 20 and have an adjustment of 1 level.
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I'd recommend you try and do something with a range of 10 to 12 RP if possible. This would make it more in line with the core and other non-standard races.
As it stands now, he'd be rounded to 20 and have an adjustment of 1 level.
I was really, really trying to pull it in with these guys. As it stands I really only tried to give them the few things I thought made sense. The static feat is really more flavor than anything else, but many of the others were built into them because of what their original purpose was.
I could conceivably drop the unnatural aspect, though I do wish there was a way to keep the penalty to interaction with animals, but not gain the benefits (maybe they provoke predatory animals because of what they are) given that the Walzen were created artificially.
Their hatred of slavers is based on the magehunter trait, that's why I put it at 4 RP, though I guess that might be a tad high since slavers probably don't have access to high level magic. Maybe 2-3 RP?
I could conceivably drop the unnatural aspect, though I do wish there was a way to keep the penalty to interaction with animals, but not gain the benefits (maybe they provoke predatory animals because of what they are) given that the Walzen were created artificially.
For my homebre race, the Zidaens, here's what I cooked up:
[REDACTED] Stoicism: A zidaen's brain is a fusion of [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] physiology, resulting in an unemotional alien mindset that provokes perplexion and mild aversion in animals and non-[REDACTED]folk humanoids. Zidaens receive a -2 racial penalty to all Bluff (excluding feints in combat), Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Perform, and Sense Motive (excluding feints in combat) checks when interacting with these creatures. They also receive a -2 racial penalty to Use Magic Device skill checks to emulate a non-[REDACTED] or non-[REDACTED] race.
I priced it as a -1 RP racial quality, which probably isn't enough for you. As you are creating a half-construct race, you might use the Android (Inner Sea Bestiary) as a base, then modify it for your Walzen race.
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I could conceivably drop the unnatural aspect, though I do wish there was a way to keep the penalty to interaction with animals, but not gain the benefits (maybe they provoke predatory animals because of what they are) given that the Walzen were created artificially.For my homebre race, the Zidaens, here's what I cooked up:
[REDACTED] Stoicism: A zidaen's brain is a fusion of [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] physiology, resulting in an unemotional alien mindset that provokes perplexion and mild aversion in animals and non-[REDACTED]folk humanoids. Zidaens receive a -2 racial penalty to all Bluff (excluding feints in combat), Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Perform, and Sense Motive (excluding feints in combat) checks when interacting with these creatures. They also receive a -2 racial penalty to Use Magic Device skill checks to emulate a non-[REDACTED] or non-[REDACTED] race.I priced it as a -1 RP racial quality, which probably isn't enough for you. As you are creating a half-construct race, you might use the Android (Inner Sea Bestiary) as a base, then modify it for your Walzen race.
It's a good idea. I'll take a look and see what I can do with it. Of the ones I've done so far, this one was the hardest to keep in line based on what was in my head, and what had to work mechanically.
Maybe the see in darkness thing, just give them Darkvision instead? Would help reduce the RP.