Pony Tales: Aspirations of Harmony
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.

Stairc's Personal Project - Core Fantasy Races

5 posters

Go down

Stairc's Personal Project - Core Fantasy Races Empty Stairc's Personal Project - Core Fantasy Races

Post  Stairc -Dan Felder Wed Sep 05, 2012 4:05 pm

Yo folks, some of you might have heard about this by now - but I've enjoyed playing in Pony Tales so much that I'm building a slightly modified version of the rules to run my college D&D Campaigns as well. However, those adventures are set in such worlds as Dragonreach and Evertide (my custom campaign settings) rather than Equestria - and thus one of the changes is that I need to remake the races to work for Humans, Dwarves, Elves and so on. I'm trying to keep things as close as possible to Pony Tales' races, but there are some key changes that make that impossible.

1) Everyone has a Cutie Mark. It's just called an Expert Skill in Living Legends (the non-pony system's playtest name).

2) There are no race-specific utility talents. Everyone can take any talent they like.

3) The flavor of Humans, Dwarves and Elves is just plain different than unicorns, pegasai, griffons etc. It doesn't always fit or make sense.

Spoiler:

My current questions/concerns regarding the races are as follows.

1) The elf race currently sucks. Need to fix that.

2) Should the minotaur's, "Taking the Bull by the Horns" trait be a Magic or still just a Daily?

3) Can the minotaur's, "Raw Ferocity" trait be improved somehow? Seems weird/breakable right now. I like the basic idea of it though. Perhaps change it to a bonus when attempting tasks with DCs of 30 or higher?

4) Is the wolven race cool yet?

5) Is the gnomish race design even sane?

6) Seriously, how do we fix elves? We could move the Dwarven, "Fire the Forge" ability to them - makes sense they'd have kinship for Magic - but then the dwarves would need something new anyway. Doesn't solve the problem.

If you'd like to help out developing these races/adding more, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.
Stairc -Dan Felder
Stairc -Dan Felder
Lead Designer
Lead Designer

Gender : Male
Posts : 3099
Join date : 2012-07-19

Back to top Go down

Stairc's Personal Project - Core Fantasy Races Empty Re: Stairc's Personal Project - Core Fantasy Races

Post  SilentBelle Wed Sep 05, 2012 6:22 pm

Just a small thought that occurs to me while quickly skimming that list over. One thing in particular struck me, (and I'm pretty sure you've probably already considered this) you said that there are no race-specific utility talents, which is good. But it does create some complications. Now, here's an idea that came to me in regard to all the unicorn talents, how about if you have a utility talent that allows the equivalent of ponykinesis and basic magic cantrips which you would use as a precursor to any of the unicorn's talents. Those talent would be a shame to be rid of. (Though I'm not quite certain if you could salvage as many of the pegasus talents so readily)

I'll keep an eye on this project of yours and add contributions every now and then, colour me intrigued. Maybe in half a year my group might decide to give it a shot once our current campaign finishes up.
SilentBelle
SilentBelle
Monster Overseer
Monster Overseer

Gender : Male
Posts : 1162
Join date : 2012-07-19
Age : 36
Location : Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

http://www.fimfiction.net/user/SilentBelle

Back to top Go down

Stairc's Personal Project - Core Fantasy Races Empty Re: Stairc's Personal Project - Core Fantasy Races

Post  Stairc -Dan Felder Wed Sep 05, 2012 6:27 pm

SilentBelle wrote:Just a small thought that occurs to me while quickly skimming that list over. One thing in particular struck me, (and I'm pretty sure you've probably already considered this) you said that there are no race-specific utility talents, which is good. But it does create some complications. Now, here's an idea that came to me in regard to all the unicorn talents, how about if you have a utility talent that allows the equivalent of ponykinesis and basic magic cantrips which you would use as a precursor to any of the unicorn's talents. Those talent would be a shame to be rid of. (Though I'm not quite certain if you could salvage as many of the pegasus talents so readily)

I'll keep an eye on this project of yours and add contributions every now and then, colour me intrigued. Maybe in half a year my group might decide to give it a shot once our current campaign finishes up.

Yep, we have utility talents for telekinesis, flight, weather-crafting - the whole shebang. =)

Here's a link to the current Living Legends Player's Handbook, for those that would like to see for themselves. It's not fully developed yet, as my current struggles with the races make obvious, but it's already being playtested. We're having a ton of fun with it too. Also, we're currently developing a board-based version of the combat system for those that want more traditional tabletop play.

Stairc -Dan Felder
Stairc -Dan Felder
Lead Designer
Lead Designer

Gender : Male
Posts : 3099
Join date : 2012-07-19

Back to top Go down

Stairc's Personal Project - Core Fantasy Races Empty Re: Stairc's Personal Project - Core Fantasy Races

Post  Zarhon Fri Sep 07, 2012 9:44 am

Hmm. Perhaps you could have players assign themselves as "fighters", "rogues", "magicians" or "psions" at character creation, which would affect what types of utility talents they can take / have to take?

"Fighters" can take any talent that isn't for unicorns, in other words, 5 everypony/pegasus talents.

"Rogues" are forced to take one pegasus talent OR one unicorn talent that doesn't require magic points + 4 other everypony/pegasus ones.

"Magicians" are forced to take at least two unicorn talents + 3 other everypony/pegasus ones.

"Psions" are forced to take at least three unicorn talents, one of which costs a magic point to use + 2 other unicorn/everypony talents.
Zarhon
Zarhon
Smile Smile Smile
Smile Smile Smile

Gender : Male
Posts : 3531
Join date : 2012-07-19
Age : 33

Back to top Go down

Stairc's Personal Project - Core Fantasy Races Empty Re: Stairc's Personal Project - Core Fantasy Races

Post  Stairc -Dan Felder Fri Sep 07, 2012 1:38 pm

Zarhon wrote:Hmm. Perhaps you could have players assign themselves as "fighters", "rogues", "magicians" or "psions" at character creation, which would affect what types of utility talents they can take / have to take?

Definitely possible. But why would that be a good thing?
Stairc -Dan Felder
Stairc -Dan Felder
Lead Designer
Lead Designer

Gender : Male
Posts : 3099
Join date : 2012-07-19

Back to top Go down

Stairc's Personal Project - Core Fantasy Races Empty Re: Stairc's Personal Project - Core Fantasy Races

Post  Jason Shadow Sun Sep 09, 2012 7:22 pm

I'd certainly love to help with this, and apparently you really, really want help with the elf race, so I'll throw my two cents in, regarding that.

...Hmm, it does seem tough thinking up something for them. Really, all we know about them (according to this) is that they're long-lived, long-winded, and perhaps a little inherently magical. That's not much to go on.

Now that I think about it, if we ignore the Drow, then the codified "fantasy elf" falls into one of three archtypes. Can these elves be considered "Sylvan Elves"; dwelling in huge forest-cities and seamlessly melding with the natural world? Are they "Lofty Elves"; arrogant schemers at the center of every metropolis and royal court, expertly pulling and plucking at the "strings" of those around them? Or are they "Sidhe Elves"; capricious, enigmatic, and enchanting members of the Fae? I realize that you want to leave it as ambiguous as possible in order to maximize the potential for PC and DM "flavor", but a simple word or two of direction can go a long way.

Well, here's a couple of somewhat-generic (though flavorful) ideas for elf racials anyway. Feel free to add or switch them with the current ones as you see fit.

Enchanting Glamour - 3/Day
Your elven blood gives you an innate, albeit modest, control over mind-altering magic. Pick one of the effects from the list below. When you use this ability on a creature, that effect occurs. The selected effect is chosen at character creation and cannot be changed.
Charm - Target creature regards you as a very dear friend for five minutes. While it retains its original alleigiances, it will obey most suggestions and instructions from you, so long as they are not something that they wouldn't normally do for a friend.
Memory Lapse - Target creature forgets everything that has experienced in the last five minutes, and acts accordingly.
Slumber - Target creature falls asleep for five minutes, and cannot be roused by anything short of supernatural means.
This ability cannot be used during combat. [OPTIONAL ADDENDUM: The duration of every effect increases to fifteen minutes at Level 5, and further to fourty-five minutes at Level 10.]

Little Helpers - 1/Day
Whether they are woodland animals, a troop of pixies, or a band of imps, you may summon a small group of creatures to do your bidding. While they will not fight for you, they can fetch objects; deliver written messages; open doors; clean; mend; and perform other forms of menial labor. Due to their small size, all of them must focus on a single task at the same time. They will assist you for one hour; at the end of this time, they return to whence they came.

Huh, maybe these would work better as utilities. Oh, well. I'll keep thinking about it, and if I come up with something more, then I'll be sure to mention it.


Last edited by Jason Shadow on Mon Sep 10, 2012 1:11 am; edited 1 time in total
Jason Shadow
Jason Shadow
Very Special Somepony
Very Special Somepony

Gender : Male
Posts : 244
Join date : 2012-07-18
Age : 28
Location : Barely outside your field of vision

Back to top Go down

Stairc's Personal Project - Core Fantasy Races Empty Re: Stairc's Personal Project - Core Fantasy Races

Post  Xel Unknown Sun Sep 09, 2012 10:15 pm

Stairc -Dan Felder wrote:
Zarhon wrote:Hmm. Perhaps you could have players assign themselves as "fighters", "rogues", "magicians" or "psions" at character creation, which would affect what types of utility talents they can take / have to take?

Definitely possible. But why would that be a good thing?
For one thing, I for one think it'd help add more flavor to the "Fantasy Races" and help limit their choices So they have special choices to pick out Utility Talents? Cause if they can just pick any old talent they want from any race they run the risk of feeling just being like a non-shapeshifting changling I'd bet. Also add a feel that they're different then the normal Equestria Races for the setting adding to the Otherworldlyness that I'd guess they could use cause ideally they're just D&D characters that have somehow ended up in Equestria and their bodies and magic are now following new rules or something like that I gather?
Xel Unknown
Xel Unknown
Freakin' Alicorn Princess

Gender : Male
Posts : 7019
Join date : 2012-08-30
Age : 33
Location : Somewhere, nowhere

http://us3.herozerogame.com/?resource_request=23219_2_1

Back to top Go down

Stairc's Personal Project - Core Fantasy Races Empty Re: Stairc's Personal Project - Core Fantasy Races

Post  Zarhon Mon Sep 10, 2012 1:58 pm

Is there a specific reason why the flight talents have been added another "tier" of flying? As they stand, there's virtually no reason to take the advanced flying utilities as a non-hawkling, due to the sheer amount of talents you use up in the process (You need all 5 talents to get a meager +5 bonus to flying checks, or 4 talents to avoid having a penalty. And since this is flying, a failed check due to a penalty can kill you).

At best, someone would take the lowest tier flying to just gain the wimpy flight ability (because it's still better than zero flight ability, utility-wise) and simply avoid making any checks with it whenever possible.

Non-hawkling races that want to fly either have huge penalties (making it dangerous and not worth using for skill checks), or are one-skill wonders that are good for flying and nothing else (which usually leads to boring characters and/or bored players).

Regarding the elves, I got a few ideas:

Big giant ears - Passive/Daily
Sure, elves may be mocked regularly due to their rather large ears (especially by dwarves), but the benefits granted by them more than make up for it. You automatically detect when a non-miniscule* object or creature generates a noise (through movement or other noise-creating action), within 30 feet of you. Identifying the cause, source, direction or other qualities of the noise requires a DC20 perception check. Once a day, you can listen carefully, doing one of the following:
- Extending the range of the ability to 100 feet, for one minute.
- Allowing you to fully identify noises within 30 feet (as though you rolled a critical success), for the next 30 seconds.

Tranquil- 3/day
When making a skill check, you can choose to negate penalties caused by interference, interruptions, personal afflictions/ailments or similar factors that might hamper your skill attempt** and make critical failures have no extra negative effects for that check. This does not negate penalties caused by the nature of the attempted skill, or your method to perform it***, nor does it grant immunity to the effects of ailments, afflictions or similar effects.****

* Anything larger than a common insect.
** For instance, ignoring the discomfort caused by tear gas, whilst trying to unlock a door, or .
*** Such as lack of skill, lack of knowledge, faulty/improper tool use, or attempting to do a sight-mandatory task whilst blind)
**** Using this while being lit on fire does not prevent damage/hp loss/losing consciousness/death from the fire, it only removes penalties caused by the fire burning you.
Zarhon
Zarhon
Smile Smile Smile
Smile Smile Smile

Gender : Male
Posts : 3531
Join date : 2012-07-19
Age : 33

Back to top Go down

Stairc's Personal Project - Core Fantasy Races Empty Re: Stairc's Personal Project - Core Fantasy Races

Post  Stairc -Dan Felder Mon Sep 10, 2012 3:49 pm

Great thoughtful responses guys. I'll respond to them when I get some more time. For now, Just going to shoot off a quick reply to Xel.

Xel Unknown wrote:Definitely possible. But why would that be a good thing?
For one thing, I for one think it'd help add more flavor to the "Fantasy Races" and help limit their choices.[/quote]

I'm not sure how it would do that, since it sounds like the suggestion involves picking a class - which would be independent of race. But let's assume you're talking about race-specific utility talents again, so I can respond meaningfully - since it sounds like that's what you're talking about.

Xel Unknown wrote:So they have special choices to pick out Utility Talents?

We definitely might make some race-specific talents, but as a genuine principle I like to avoid that whenever possible. Every race-specific talent cuts down the cool character building options. If a talent can be taken by everyone, it can go in 6x as many builds (as there are six races). If it's race-specific, only 1/6th as many players can take it. So if I'm going to cut options away from 5/6ths (more later, as we're going to add more races) of the players - it seriously limits the possibilities of the system and requires many, many more talents being designed than otherwise to make the options feel expansive. Also, it doesn't make much sense - as the system is all about malleable flavor for talents. If you're supposed to rename and reflavor your talents at will, how can we say something is race-specific? Just last night, Karilyn tried out a minotaur called, "Bovine Fett" with flight - flavoring her ability to fly as a jetpack. I don't think her experience would have been improved by telling her she couldn't take flight.

Xel Unknown wrote:Cause if they can just pick any old talent they want from any race they run the risk of feeling just being like a non-shapeshifting changling I'd bet.

Well, the changelings are actually one of my ways to cheat the limits of the race-specific talent system to give players more options. Changelings in most settings don't have such abilities anyway, it was just a convenient excuse to let players take extra talents in Pony Tales. In the core fantasy version of the game, there wouldn't be any need for changelings to have that special ability. They'd get something else instead.

Ultimately, it sounds like you want the races to feel flavorful (as do I!) and are trying to make sure they do by giving them special utility talents. However, I think we can make them feel flavorful by just giving them special racial traits... Which are kind of like special-utility-talents-you-get-for-free anyways. jocolor

Is there a specific reason why the flight talents have been added another "tier" of flying?

Just because I feel that it makes sense for Hawklings to be much better fliers than the competition. If others fly, I expect it to take a lot more investment than a hawkling. I'd like to open the option for players to take a flight skill or two, but I'd still like Hawklings to have a superb natural advantage. Hence the extra tier of flying. I'm not sure this is the right decision, it might be overkill, but it seems solid in principle. It definitely limits other races ability to fly, but not quite so much as making it utterly impossible for them to fly in the first place. I think it makes sense for flight to be somewhat special.

JasonShadow wrote:Well, here's a couple of somewhat-generic (though flavorful) ideas for elf racials anyway. Feel free to add or switch them with the current ones as you see fit.

I really like them as utilities, with perhaps some polishing of course.

Zarhon wrote:Big ears and similar ideas

These are interesting too. Thanks everyone, I'll play around with em more.
Stairc -Dan Felder
Stairc -Dan Felder
Lead Designer
Lead Designer

Gender : Male
Posts : 3099
Join date : 2012-07-19

Back to top Go down

Stairc's Personal Project - Core Fantasy Races Empty Re: Stairc's Personal Project - Core Fantasy Races

Post  Sponsored content


Sponsored content


Back to top Go down

Back to top

- Similar topics

 
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum