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CHILDREN OF SERPENT AND STONE
HISTORY
The Petrafidi were once humans. Long ago in the distant past there was a mighty city of men. They were wise in the arts of magic, medicine, and science. They tracked the movements of the stars. They learned to open the doors between the worlds, and thence did their doom come.
The high priests of the great city worshiped a now nameless serpent goddess of secrets, wisdom, and planar travel. In probing the Starry Depths, they caught the attention of the Outer Gods, like a child waving a flashlight in an open field at night. They swept down upon these wise fools and laid their civilization to waste. They punished and slew their goddess. They took them, played with them, ruined them, changed them, and then left them, broken and lost, to die in the rubble and ashes of their once great civilization.
But the survivors did not die. They learned to use their strange new bodies, and stranger powers, to survive. Terrified that the Outer Gods may once again seek them out for punishment, they fled. They retreated to hidden enclaves and lived out their lives in secret for many countless generations.
In that time, their numbers grew. The Petrafidi became a true and separate species with their own traditions and unique culture. In this new age of rediscovery and adventure, some young Petrafidi are leaving their hidden homes and venturing out into the world, hoping to create a new future for their kind.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
With the right clothing, a Petrafidi could pass for human. Upon close inspection however, their strange nature can easily be discerned.
The petrafidi look, in almost all respects, human. They run the full gamut of human body types and ethnicities. What gives them away are the dozens of small snakes that sprout from their heads like living hair. These snakes are not independent beings, they are parts of the Petrafidi's body. They can appear as almost any kind of venomous snake and bear the unique color patterns and details of whichever species they resemble, from cobras to coral snakes. Among the Petrafidi, it is the details of these snakes that determine 'ethnicity', with parents passing on these traits to their children. When using their gaze attack, the eyes of the Petrafidi and all their snakes glow with silvery grey light.
SOCIETY
Because of their history, the Petrafidi are clannish and incredibly loyal to their families and communities. The locations of these communities are a closely guarded secret, and the Petrafidi will spare no expense to make sure any who learn of their hidden enclaves never ever reveal them to anyone. Petrafidi who leave their communities never speak of them and will gladly commit suicide if it appears that the only other option is to break and reveal such a location.
Petrafidi society is one that respects elders, wisdom, and both magical and martial proficiency. They have a deep love of art and beauty especially music, theatre, and sculpture. Petrafidi who leave their homes do so knowing they may never return, lest they lead others back. In almost all other ways Petrafidi display as much variety and dynamism as their human forebearers.
RELATIONS
Although secretive about their homes and clannish, adventuring Petrafidi are generally open and curious about new peoples and cultures. They tend to be cautious in their dealings with others, and prefer to keep a low profile. If one earns the trust of one of these people, one has earned a friend for life. Being isolated for so long, they have no strong relations or animosities toward anyone in particular, lest it be the Outer Gods themselves.
ALIGNMENT AND RELIGION
With strict adherence to traditions and a self perceived need for total isolation, Petrafidi lean toward neutral and lawful alignments. They are however just as diverse in their moralities and religions as humans.
ADVENTURERS
Petrafidi adventurers are almost universally outcasts from their clans and communities. Sometimes it is self imposed, a rebellious adventurer, following their wanderlust. Sometimes they are sent as explorers and scouts, updating the hidden enclaves on the state of the world. Either way, under normal circumstances they can expect to never be surrounded by their own kind again. Petrafidi tend toward adventuring roles that support their natural abilities and inclinations, such as Bards and Rogues, or highly self sufficient classes, such as Rangers.
NAMES
http://babynames.net/all/greek
THE PETRAFIDI (15RP)
Type: Humanoid (Petrafidi) - 0RP
Size: Medium - 0RP
Speed: 30ft - 0RP
Abilities: Human Heritage(+2 to any one ability score) - 0RP
Languages: Standard - 0RP
Racial Traits:
-Offensive Traits:
Snakes - As a Natural Weapon attack, a Petrafidi can cause the snakes that make up their hair to attack an adjacent foe en masse causing 1d6 piercing damage and delivering a debilitating poison. If the snakes hit and do damage, they inject their poison into the victim. Snake Poisoon: injury; save Fort DC 10+half the user's Hit Dice+the user's Con modifier; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1 Con; cure 1 save. - 2RP
Petrification: As a standard action, a Petrafidi may select a single living target within 30ft to subject to their petrifying gaze. The Petrafidi must have line of sight to the target, and they and their target must be able to see each other. Petrifying Gaze: save Will DC 10+half the users Hit Dice+the user's Cha modifier; frequency 1/hour for 1 hour; effect if they make their initial save, the target is Slowed for 1 round. If they fail this save they are turned to stone for 1 hour. After the hour is up they make another save. Upon a success they are returned to normalcy. If they fail they are turned to stone permanently. The Petrafidi may use this ability 1/day per point of Charisma bonus, minimum 1. - 8RP
-Senses Traits:
Low Light Vision - 1RP
All Around Vision: The continually writhing snakes that grow from the Petrafidi's head allow them to see in all directions around them including above and below. They cannot be flanked by visible opponents. This allows the Petrafidi to see even when their normal eyes are apparently closed or covered. If the snakes are somehow restrained or covered the Petrafidi loses this ability. - 4RP
RACIAL FEATS
Powerful Gaze
Requirements: Petrafidi, Character level 5, Charisma 16
Effect: The Petrafidi may unleash the full power of their gaze attack. As a standard action the Petrafidi may affect all susceptible targets within 30ft with their gaze attack for 1 round. this ability otherwise follows all the usual rules for gaze attacks.
Piercing Gaze
Rquirements: Petrafidi, Charisma 14
Effect: The range of all uses of the Petrafidi's gaze attack is doubled to 60ft.
Twining Snakes
Requirements: Petrafidi
Effect: When making a grapple, the Petrafidi's snakes wind and twine around their opponent, granting the character +2 on their CMB when making opposed grapple checks.
Millions of P.E.A.C.E.s, P.E.A.C.H.E.'S for me...
Please give me feedback and constructive criticsm. I have an actual reason for every choice I have made, so if you have any questions please do ask.
Thanks in advance!
AtD
As a creature the party will encounter, fine. As a playable race, I don't like it.
Let's start at the top.
Snakes: A 1d6 natural attack (type unknown) with autopoison? That's more than 2 rp worth of stuff. If we treat it as a bite attack, it should be 1d4 damage for 2 rp, if we treat it as a gore attack, it can be 1d6 damage for 2 rp. Either way, the natural attack alone is 2 rp. Toxic is 1 rp, can only be used a number of times per day equal to your constitution modifier, and still has to be applied to a weapon as a swift action. This one is automatic, and unlimited. That's significantly better than both traits combined, so it's at least 4 rp, probably more given the unlimited poison attacks per day.
Petrification: Terrifying. It's a gaze attack, so it bypasses a lot of defenses. It slows anyone who succeeds at their save, making it effective against almost everything regardless of how high their saves are. Anything that fails the save is effectively dead, regardless of whether they make their second save, because the party will have had an hour to go to town on them with a sledgehammer. And you can potentially use this ability 4 or 5 times a day at level one. As a level 1 fighter, you are better at offensive magical abilities than a wizard 3 times your level. I don't care if you get rid of everything else, this is a big enough issue to disqualify the race for anything other than high level play.
Lowlight vision, fine.
All-around vision, if the rest of the race were toned down, would be fine. It's a very useful ability, but not one that is overpowered. After all, whether they get bonuses or not, being surrounded by attackers is not a position you generally want to be in.
feats: Because the gaze attack wasn't enough already. The question is, does taking both allow you to affect everyone within sixty feet?
Bottom line: Seperate the natural attack and the poison so that it isn't automatic and unlimited. Go back to the drawing board on how to incorporate medusa's gaze in a playable race. Consider adding some skills or other noncombat abilities for greater flavor and versatility. Maybe even make all-around vision something that takes a feat to get and replace it with a lesser bonus.
The issue isn't so much that the rp is too high, it's that the abilities here stretch the limits of what race points can account for, much like fast healing or multi-armed. The system isn't prepared for PCs to have unlimited poison attacks, and definitely not highly lethal save and suck gaze attacks.
So to start off I would say this race is a "little" on the strong side, and I probably wouldn't call this a 15RP race
First up the snakes. They themselves aren't overpowered but I would probably call them more like 3 or 4 RP as the poison is effectively unlimited use and if you want you can also milk it and give it to your party as well. Also the poison doesn't have to deal the same attribute damage type but don't Medusi deal Strength damage?
Now on to the major thing that sticks out Petrification. Firstly a question, why is it a will save instead of fort? Both Medusi and Flesh to Stone are both Fort saves so it would make a lot more sense and maybe reel in the power somewhat. Second this is effectively a save or die that can potentially be used multiple times per day(and face it, if someone were to play this they'll probably at least have a decent CHA score) and no playable race as far as I know has an ability coming even close to that. Something I do appreciate though is the fact that you give a 2nd save if the target somehow doesn't get smashed to bits after being pretrified. As for assigning an RP value to it, a theoretical 1/day nonattacking or damaging 6th level spell would cost 6 RP. This is effectively flesh to stone with a shorter range which is an offensive spell 6th level spell and there is the potential to use it more than once a day so I would call it 12+ RP easy
The second major thing that sticks out is Powerful Gaze. It turns a single target save or die into an aoe save or die that can also hit your allies, and as far as I can tell you can use this feat on every use of Petrification if you want to. Even without taking Piercing Gaze that can be a whole lot of foes having to rolls saves or "die".
Twinning Snakes: This is a subpar feat and I feel that even a dedicated grapple build would probably ignore this for most if not all of it's career. It's got some nice flavour though
Low-light Vision: I'm a little surprised it wasn't darkvision
All-Around Vision: +4 Perception and immunity to flanking is nice, but definitely not overpowering, and it fits with the idea that the snakes are a part of them
Overall while I do like the idea of trying to make a playable Medusa, I think I can safely call this a race I wouldn't allow in a game I would run.
An idea to bring the power level down would be possibly to replace the ability to turn people to stone from the start with an ability based off of the slow spell or something similar useable once per day to represent the fact that their natural ability to turn people to stone isn't as strong as a Medusa. Then you make a feat that could say allow that ability to be used say CHA Mod(min 1) additional times per day, and in addition it would give the ability to turn a foe to stone 1/day. It could still be rather strong but not quite as much as the original
The lore's pretty decent.
You need to remember that a playable race needs to have abilities appropriate for a 1st level character or a creature with 1 HD. A powerful save or die effect that still disables on a failed save, all around vision, and an at-will poison dealing Constitution damage are not appropriate. The snakes should be a bite attack. 1d6 is too much damage. Even a medusa's snake bite attack only deals 1d4.
Personally, I'd have the gaze attack be something that causes a Dexterity penalty or halve someone's movement speed or have it work like a ranged Scorpion Style. Change the snakes so they only deal a bite for 1d4 and do not poison. Add the ability to use the snakes like a "hand" (like prehensile tail).
Much better than the piece of crap I tried. My $.02:
Gaze: This is the big one. In order to get the powerful attack down to a reasonable level, I made it a Slow effect at first, with feats and level bumps to increase DC, effect, duration, range and such.
Snake hair: The snake bit you used is well written (better than mine), but I had tribes based on the snake hair. I only used cotton mouths and rattlers. Poison was limited to 3 plus Con modifier (min 1). This represented the poisonous snakes with remaining poison being blocked in the mass attacks. We also penalized the DC by one for each attack.
Looking over your work, I like were you're going. There was a 3.0 3rd party book on medusas that may be of use. If I remember when I get home tonite, I'll raid it for you. Unless I go to sleep. Unless I can't find the book. Unless I can't ...
THE PETRAFIDI [14 RP]Type: Humanoid (Petrafidi) - 0RP
Size: Medium - 0RP
Speed: 30ft - 0RP
Abilities: +2 Con, +2 Cha, -2 Wis - Standard 0RP
Languages: Common - Standard 0RP
Racial Traits:
-Offensive Traits:
Snakes - As a Natural Weapon attack, a Petrafidi can cause the snakes that make up their hair to attack an adjacent foe en masse causing 1d4 piercing damage - 1 RP
Weakening Venom - If the Petrafidi's snakes hit and do damage, she can inject their poison into the victim as a swift action. She can make this decision after knowing if she has hit. She can use this ability a number of times per day equal to her Con modifier (min 1).
Snake Poison: injury; save Fort DC 10 + half character level + Con modifier; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Str damage; cure 1 save. - 1 RP
Gaze of Stone: As a standard action, a Petrafidi may select a single living creature within 30ft to target with their gaze. The Petrafidi must have line of sight to the target, and they and their target must be able to see each other. A target that save is immune for 24 hours.
Gaze of Stone: save Fort DC 10 + half character level + Cha modifier; effect target is paralyzed for 1 round - 6 RP
-Skill Traits:
Skill Bonus - The Petrafidi's snakes' extra eyes assist it in viewing its surroundings, and they are experts at working with stone, +2 Perception and Knowledge (engineering) - 4 RP
Stonecunning - Being intimately familiar with various stone works, the Petrafidi has almost a sixth sense regarding stone traps and secret doors - 1 RP
-Senses Traits:
Low Light Vision - 1RP
So, here are some suggestions to adhere more to the Race Builder (though it isn't a perfect system, in itself).
Now the snakes adhere to the normal damage for natural attacks (substituting for a Gore), the Venom uses the rules for Toxic, the Petrifying Gaze uses Frightful Gaze, and I added some skill stuff for added flavor/rounding out.
I also changed the stat bonuses because if they were humans transformed into something else, they aren't really human anymore. But these bonuses made the most sense to me.
A few notes:
A real Medusa's snakes only do 1d4 damage, so there's no reason for the Petrafidi's snakes to do more.
For the gaze, starting off small and having a race feat to improve it is better (from a PC race point of view) than having a too strong ability. Also, stat requirements for feats are almost always odd.
To improve the Gaze of Stone ability, have a feat
Petrifying Gaze
Pre reqs: Petrafidi, level 5, Cha 15
Effect: The Petrafidi's gaze attack now paralyzes the target for 1 round/level. The target gets a new save each round. You can use your gaze attack 2 more times per day.
I wanted to go back, the Gaze should result in petrification for 1 round. Didn't realize that was an actual status effect.
Since it's temporary, the result should be pretty similar.
And I really like the name, Petrafidi.