Homebrew Race: Wildkin
Jul. 19th, 2009 07:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alexandraerinSo, Dragon Magazine released a new race, the Wilden. The first time our group saw it was the picture in the character generator, on a laptop with not the best screen, and we thought the artwork looked a little cat-like, like a lynx or something. Then we read the description and saw that it was basically Swamp Thing via the Feywild: plant creature made to save the environment from aberrations from the Far Side Realm.
...thus continuing a 4E trend none of us in our group really like of having new races who seem to be entire breeding populations of people with an origin that better fits a unique being like a superhero.
But before we read the description,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
gamingdragon came up with a character and in fact a whole background and tribal society for a Fey race of cat people. I liked her idea better, so I took the existing race's stats and tweaked them, and we came up with the Wildkin.
Wildkin are a "short medium" race... i.e., they count as medium sized creatures but they're shorte than humans. Like Dwarves. Because her character is a falchion-wielding Barbarian and the image of a tiny catgirl wielding a sword as big as herself and charging down the plains amused us.
Here are the basic traits:
Attributes: +2 Con, +2 Dex
Skill Bonuses: +2 Nature, +2 Stealth
Languages: Common, Elven.
Origin: Fey.
Untameable: +1 to Will defense. +2 to save vs. the Dominated condition or any power with the Charm keyword.
Prairie Runner: Add +1 to Speed when charging or running (total running is thus speed +3) in combat, though running still grants combat advantage and a penalty to their own attacks as normal. Out of combat, Wildken may run for prolonged periods without ill effects... figure overland movement as if their run speed were their base speed.
Encounter Powers:
Once per encounter, Wildken may use either Springer's Strike or Uncageable Spirit (not both in the same encounter)
SPRINGER'S STRIKE: Trigger - You hit a target with a melee or ranged attack. You teleport three squares. You and one ally within line of sight gain combat advantage against that target until the end of your next turn.
UNCAGEABLE SPIRIT: Move Action. If afflicted by an immobilized or slowed condition, it is ended. Teleport 3 squares.
I think they stack up pretty well balance wise. I just tweaked the attribute bonus from Wis and Con to Dex and Con and modified the defense bonus. Springer's Strike is basically a version of one the Wilden's three racial encounter powers, Voyage of the Ancients, but modified to make it better for strikers than controllers (previously it was triggered by area powers). Uncageable Spirit started from the same template but came out of the waygamingdragon roleplayed when her character kept getting hit with ice shackles and caustic glue. Unlike the Wilden, who have to choose one encounter power when they wake up, Wildkin have both but can only use one per encounter, like the Drow's Lolth-touched abilities. The Prairie Runner ability is less powerful than either an Elf's extra speed or an Orc's extra two squares of charging speed, but the "overland movement" component adds a bit of flavor. We pictured this race as nomads charging across the plains of the Feywild... and she consistently declined to ride a horse.
The Dex bonus and high mobility obviously disposes them well to be strikers.
I may play with the balance more as I go. There's another variation of the encounter power we came up with: using Springer's Stride in place of the movement of a charge. I was thinking that would require a feat called Springer's Pounce... there's a similar feat for Eladrin. If I go in that direction, I might make it so that you only get one version of the teleport encounter power and Uncageable Spirit requires a feat, as well.
We also talked about a Forest Stalker variant of the race, that replaces the run/charge bonus with extra speed when climbing and jumping.
...thus continuing a 4E trend none of us in our group really like of having new races who seem to be entire breeding populations of people with an origin that better fits a unique being like a superhero.
But before we read the description,
gamingdragon came up with a character and in fact a whole background and tribal society for a Fey race of cat people. I liked her idea better, so I took the existing race's stats and tweaked them, and we came up with the Wildkin.Wildkin are a "short medium" race... i.e., they count as medium sized creatures but they're shorte than humans. Like Dwarves. Because her character is a falchion-wielding Barbarian and the image of a tiny catgirl wielding a sword as big as herself and charging down the plains amused us.
Here are the basic traits:
Attributes: +2 Con, +2 Dex
Skill Bonuses: +2 Nature, +2 Stealth
Languages: Common, Elven.
Origin: Fey.
Untameable: +1 to Will defense. +2 to save vs. the Dominated condition or any power with the Charm keyword.
Prairie Runner: Add +1 to Speed when charging or running (total running is thus speed +3) in combat, though running still grants combat advantage and a penalty to their own attacks as normal. Out of combat, Wildken may run for prolonged periods without ill effects... figure overland movement as if their run speed were their base speed.
Encounter Powers:
Once per encounter, Wildken may use either Springer's Strike or Uncageable Spirit (not both in the same encounter)
SPRINGER'S STRIKE: Trigger - You hit a target with a melee or ranged attack. You teleport three squares. You and one ally within line of sight gain combat advantage against that target until the end of your next turn.
UNCAGEABLE SPIRIT: Move Action. If afflicted by an immobilized or slowed condition, it is ended. Teleport 3 squares.
I think they stack up pretty well balance wise. I just tweaked the attribute bonus from Wis and Con to Dex and Con and modified the defense bonus. Springer's Strike is basically a version of one the Wilden's three racial encounter powers, Voyage of the Ancients, but modified to make it better for strikers than controllers (previously it was triggered by area powers). Uncageable Spirit started from the same template but came out of the way
gamingdragon roleplayed when her character kept getting hit with ice shackles and caustic glue. Unlike the Wilden, who have to choose one encounter power when they wake up, Wildkin have both but can only use one per encounter, like the Drow's Lolth-touched abilities. The Prairie Runner ability is less powerful than either an Elf's extra speed or an Orc's extra two squares of charging speed, but the "overland movement" component adds a bit of flavor. We pictured this race as nomads charging across the plains of the Feywild... and she consistently declined to ride a horse.The Dex bonus and high mobility obviously disposes them well to be strikers.
I may play with the balance more as I go. There's another variation of the encounter power we came up with: using Springer's Stride in place of the movement of a charge. I was thinking that would require a feat called Springer's Pounce... there's a similar feat for Eladrin. If I go in that direction, I might make it so that you only get one version of the teleport encounter power and Uncageable Spirit requires a feat, as well.
We also talked about a Forest Stalker variant of the race, that replaces the run/charge bonus with extra speed when climbing and jumping.
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no subject
on 2009-07-20 02:18 am (UTC)Second, the part of me that's been devouring Discworld books at a rate of about one a day has an interest in playing a Wilden with an irrational and overwhelming fear of ruminants.
no subject
on 2009-07-20 02:45 am (UTC)no subject
on 2009-07-20 05:07 am (UTC)no subject
on 2009-07-20 08:41 am (UTC)she means my answer was to try and find a way to charge even when immobilized, :p for those who might not have figured it out my toon charges then backs up and charges again.
no subject
on 2009-07-20 03:55 pm (UTC)