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With the release of Pact Worlds I have become obsessed with the new playable species, the bantrids of Hibb, especially with all the jokes and pop culture references you can make playing one ("They see me rollin'...", "Bantrids, ROLL OUT!", "Beep beep, bantrid comin' through!")! However, there's some aspects of their culture and physiology that I don't know if their entry in Pact Worlds doesn't go into enough detail about that I'm concerned might come up if I want to play one of these interesting little guys.
First, while they don't seem to have problems holding and manipulating objects by RAW, their illustration makes it seem pike they'd have a hard time carrying around or grabbing things without leaning into them, since they dont have conventional arms, just hand-like appendages coming right out of the tops of their heads. The only way I could see bantrids overcoming this issue would be augmenting themselves with robot arms or something...
Second, do bantrids have a concept of clithes? Given the introductory illustration to the playable races section shows Altronus and Raia meeting a group of bantrids on their homeworld, it seems that bantrids don't bother with clothes, which makes sense given their unique method of locomotion. But then what would bantrid armor look like? How would they have an environmentally sealed suit that doesn't restrict their rolling?
And finally, something that bugs me about ALL the entries in the book is the lack of example names for each race. What would I name my hypothetical bantrid PC?
well you want weird non-humanoid based aliens you get weird non-humanoid based aliens. Some examples would be nice but in the end you say they have the things because they can and leave it to your imagination. Their are a million ways to explain it, just be creative :)
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I imagined that the hand-like bundle of tentacles on their heads could stretch into long, thin prehensile tentacles, one with about the strength of a finger, and a bundle with the strength of a hand.
Just apply the rule for armor to any equipment purchased for oddly built aliens:
Page 196 CRB.
Armor comes in different sizes for different creatures, and you
might have to adjust a suit of armor to fit you if it wasn’t made
for your race.
...
When you buy armor new, the purchase price includes
any adjustments.
...
If you get secondhand armor that wasn’t tailored for you, you
can have it adjusted, which requires a successful Engineering
check (DC = 10 + 2 × the armor’s level). Alternatively, you can
spend 10% of the armor’s purchase price to have it adjusted by
a professional—typically an armorsmith or anyone with multiple
ranks in Engineering.
My understanding is that Bantrids, effectively, literally just came out of the Gap (they were in hybernation of some sort up until a few years ago). While my understanding is that people that come out of the Gap know their own names, they don't know 'why' they were named that. So you could argue that at least some of them would ignore this, or any (probably forgotten) tradition on naming convention, and makeup whatever they wanted.
That's at least my head-canon justification for calling my Bantrid Rollie Weeble McNosebeast.
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But they are noses.
They're noses with no nose that roll around on giant boogers. :P
(This game is immensely awesome, in no small part, because you can play something that is accurately described this way.)
/bow :)
Thanks. I try.
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My players can't seem to get over the fact that they are essentially sentient phalluses that get around on their giant balls...
Hard to get to such interesting topics as what their clothing or armor should look like or how it should operate, or how they would manipulate things, when no one can keep a straight face.
Even if they could get there, someone will inevitably bring up rain coats or hard hats or other euphemisms for protection.
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The fact that this thread exists tickles me to no end.
How come? Are the bantrids your creation? I ask because I see developer by your name...
My players can't seem to get over the fact that they are essentially sentient phalluses that get around on their giant balls...
Hard to get to such interesting topics as what their clothing or armor should look like or how it should operate, or how they would manipulate things, when no one can keep a straight face.
Even if they could get there, someone will inevitably bring up rain coats or hard hats or other euphemisms for protection.
...OH GODS I CAN'T UNSEE THAT NOW!!! D8
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My players can't seem to get over the fact that they are essentially sentient phalluses that get around on their giant balls...
Hard to get to such interesting topics as what their clothing or armor should look like or how it should operate, or how they would manipulate things, when no one can keep a straight face.
Even if they could get there, someone will inevitably bring up rain coats or hard hats or other euphemisms for protection.
dude.
dude.
that was... not cool.
EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED.
Developer
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The fact that this thread exists tickles me to no end.How come? Are the bantrids your creation? I ask because I see developer by your name...
Both, really. I wrote a total of three pages as freelance for this book (the bantrids and the corporate agent and wild warden themes), but the rest of it has my developer fingerprints all over it.
I was tasked with writing a "weird" nonhumanoid alien for the book and took some inspiration from the illustration of the Polarian from Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials. The fringes on the tops of their "heads" is meant to evoke blue sea slugs (Glaucus atlanticus).
Of course, we also got shapechanging starfish people with eyes on their knees, so the bantrids have some competition in the weirdness category!
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The fact that this thread exists tickles me to no end.How come? Are the bantrids your creation? I ask because I see developer by your name...Both, really. I wrote a total of three pages as freelance for this book (the bantrids and the corporate agent and wild warden themes), but the rest of it has my developer fingerprints all over it.
I was tasked with writing a "weird" nonhumanoid alien for the book and took some inspiration from the illustration of the Polarian from Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials. The fringes on the tops of their "heads" is meant to evoke blue sea slugs (Glaucus atlanticus).
Of course, we also got shapechanging starfish people with eyes on their knees, so the bantrids have some competition in the weirdness category!
were you just in the know direction beyond interview? because that was a great ep of it.
also i love barlows guide.
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The fact that this thread exists tickles me to no end.How come? Are the bantrids your creation? I ask because I see developer by your name...Both, really. I wrote a total of three pages as freelance for this book (the bantrids and the corporate agent and wild warden themes), but the rest of it has my developer fingerprints all over it.
I was tasked with writing a "weird" nonhumanoid alien for the book and took some inspiration from the illustration of the Polarian from Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials. The fringes on the tops of their "heads" is meant to evoke blue sea slugs (Glaucus atlanticus).
Of course, we also got shapechanging starfish people with eyes on their knees, so the bantrids have some competition in the weirdness category!
I have a copy of Barlowe's, and the Polarians was IMMEDIATELY what I thought of when I saw the bantrids! Cool!
So...how do you envision them wearing armor and reaching things on shelves? Also, how do they handle...um...using the restroom?
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So...how do you envision them wearing armor and reaching things on shelves? Also, how do they handle...um...using the restroom?
They just go and spread it around using their sphere. The wet trails in the hallway of the ship are normal.
I honestly can't wait to see how artists tackle bantrid NPCs and how players justify them holding rifles and whatnot.
I too would love to see them in some more art interacting with things and wearing things.
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Forget bantrids with guns, I wants to see Unarmed Strike bantrids driving into big monsters REAL FAST.
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Why does this tentacled nosebeast keep rolling into me? It's starting to hurt.
Why does this tentacled nosebeast keep rolling into me? It's starting to hurt.Now I want to create a blitz soldier bantrid that mounts a pike to its back, tilts its head down, and rolls full speed into its enemies.
You know I would imagine this would be exactly what a game developer would want to hear. Someone who is really excited about something that is kind of crazy... :)
I love bantrids! But it would be helpful to see an artist's depiction of a bantrid in armor and wielding a weapon. Everything I imagine is somewhat comical.
Part of me is wondering if they use some kind of mechanical harness that's controlled via their nervous system. Or that the tentacle things on the sides can somehow extend into manipulators. Or maybe they're all just slightly telekinetic.
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Developer
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The fact that this thread exists tickles me to no end.How come? Are the bantrids your creation? I ask because I see developer by your name...Both, really. I wrote a total of three pages as freelance for this book (the bantrids and the corporate agent and wild warden themes), but the rest of it has my developer fingerprints all over it.
I was tasked with writing a "weird" nonhumanoid alien for the book and took some inspiration from the illustration of the Polarian from Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials. The fringes on the tops of their "heads" is meant to evoke blue sea slugs (Glaucus atlanticus).
Of course, we also got shapechanging starfish people with eyes on their knees, so the bantrids have some competition in the weirdness category!
were you just in the know direction beyond interview? because that was a great ep of it.
also i love barlows guide.
That was me alright! Thanks!
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Developer
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Bantrids usually get weapons specially fitted for their little flange hands, which are fully prehensile. I imagine their armor looks like tubes of fabric they simply wrap around their midsection.
As for bathroom stuff, let's say they have an excretion hole on the lower part of their backs, if that's important to you.
When a bantrid steps in something they must really step in it!
I can see the starship bumper stickers now, complete with an illustration of a bantrid sliding through a slick of gunk while swearing loudly.
In the images shown, what are their mouths and what are their eyes and ears?
If I'm reading the text right, the big black things that look like eyes might actually be the mouths, and the six holes below them are the sensory organs.
I thought their mouth was on the top of their head (between their tentacle hands).
I imagine them as browsers that pick low hanging fruits and stuff from trees/bushes (mostly) overhead.
It would also fit in with their semi anemone theme small hands feeding the central "stalk".
And I thought goblins in power armor were funny.
I like to think that their balls are not just locomotion but incredibly sensitive organs that "taste" the ground and feel texture and vibration in ways that are poorly understood by others.
I like to think that their balls are not just locomotion but incredibly sensitive organs that "taste" the ground and feel texture and vibration in ways that are poorly understood by others.
I've often wondered what they're like. Are they spongy and bouncy? Are they hard like rock? Will they tear up my lawn or expensive tile flooring? Do they have a protective "shoe" equivalent?
Are they physically attached; is it possible for the bantrid's source of locomotion to get away from them?
Does a bantrid cyborg who invests in speed upgrades end up with a steel sphere, or a large wheel system complete with a racing tire?
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oh my gods, it just hit me, the wheel on a bantrid is their WASTE! Like dung beetles, they roll a giant ball of crap around! It just doesn't smell bad due to incredibly efficient digestion of odors.
You don't have to allow bantrids as player characters.
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You don't have to allow bantrids as player characters.
Who wouldn't want to play a bantrid!? They's so adorable!
You don't have to allow bantrids as player characters.
Okay, but why?
You don't have to allow bantrids as player characters.Okay, but why?
I don't know, why would you ban them? Because they look like a certain organ of the male anatomy and roll? Or perhaps it's because they are unlikely as a race? Maybe because they are too bizarre?
Why would you ban them? I listed all the reasons why I would.
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You don't have to allow bantrids as player characters.Okay, but why?I don't know, why would you ban them? Because they look like a certain organ of the male anatomy and roll? Or perhaps it's because they are unlikely as a race? Maybe because they are too bizarre?
Why would you ban them? I listed all the reasons why I would.
That's very specieist of you. You should ashamed. Bantids can't help how they were born, and they're every bit as capable as any other species despite your lack of imagination.
jk ;-)
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Yeah, but I'm such a rollplayer that the thought of "how do I even wield weapons" is more though than I give to human PCs.
A "roll"player? Really? When we're talking about a race with wheels?
Really???
:D
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You don't have to allow bantrids as player characters.Okay, but why?I don't know, why would you ban them? Because they look like a certain organ of the male anatomy and roll? Or perhaps it's because they are unlikely as a race? Maybe because they are too bizarre?
Why would you ban them? I listed all the reasons why I would.
I wouldn't.
Seriously this game is built for weird races and civilizations with bizarre abilities and anatomies. It's custom made for the players who want to play the distinctly inhuman. Unlikely as a race doesn't even factor in for me as I've met plenty of unlikely things walking on two legs to discount the rolling nose monster.
oh my gods, it just hit me, the wheel on a bantrid is their WASTE! Like dung beetles, they roll a giant ball of crap around! It just doesn't smell bad due to incredibly efficient digestion of odors.
Yeah, it can't actually be a part of them, physically. My assumption was that they made it with some sort of secretion, either mucous or waste (or both). That's why I keep referring to them as booger riding nose beasts.
Dung anemones also works.
This game occasionally reminds me of trips in college...for unrelated reasons.
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The RACE looks interesting, bug It is the worst playable race i have ever read in any RPG. You are forfeiting half roleplayers Who play mostly for the rules:: Darkvision, stand from prone, inmunity to stinky cloud and 10 extra move with almost no drawback at all because there is no special rule for having no proper hands, head or feet. Seriously?
Everyhting you have done well in core starfinder regarding game balance you have screewed up with some features in this book, It looks as you are trying to lure back munchkings into the game