trevelyan1983 said:
Lord Raine said:
In essence, yes. And depending on the balance, they may also be able to stand in the middle of a blizzard in a loincloth and ask their companions why they're shivering so much.
Bad. Ass.
It gets better (at least in my opinion).
You see, in D&D, all weapons, objects, and creatures have a size. From smallest to largest, these sizes are Fine, Diminutive, Tiny, Small, Medium, Large, Huge, Gargantuan, and Colossal.
The default size for an adventurer is Medium (i.e. human sized), and the majority of weapons tend to be automatically fitted for you, which means they're Medium as well. The thing is, though, this isn't always the case. After all, if you kill a Giant that happens to be Huge, all of their possessions are likely to be Huge as well. Huge armor, Huge weapons, a Huge fint and tender, ect. (This is also, BTW, why the Dungeon Master's Guide states that it's a good idea to assume that anything magical automatically resizes to fit the wearer/user. That way, not all the loot you get off a Storm Giant is useless. The important/valuable things (i.e. the magical things) automatically resize once you touch them.)
So, take a look back at Powerful Build. Having it means that you are treated as being one size category larger than you actually are for any purpose that is beneficial to you (like resisting grapple, bull rush, and trip attempts, or avoiding being eaten by something like a Tyrannosaurus).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur_(Dungeons_&_Dragons)' target='_blank'>Yes, this is an actual picture of a T-Rex in D&D.</a> Mine is a more primal world, so expect them to be as common as any mundane animal species.)
([url=http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww319/Lord_Rain/Scans/4b71746c.jpg[/img]
This includes wielding weapons.
To give you an idea of what I'm getting at, take a look at some pictures of a canonical D&D race (Goliaths, Medium size) that happens to have Powerful Build, along with a human that has the ability to use Large Weapons without penalty due to being a Scion of Strength:
[img]http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww319/Lord_Rain/Scans/bf1e9d04.jpg
So yeah. We aren't just talking a werebear bronze-age bard viking druid architect race with celtic knot tattoos and extreme cold tolerance. We're talking a werebear bronze-age bard viking druid architect race with celtic knot tattoos and extreme cold tolerance that use
really big weapons.
Oh, come off it.? I don't disagree that harshly - or that often - with your
worldbuilding.?
Well, yeah, but you're still a pretty discriminating person, so I know that when you praise something, you really mean it. It's not just shallow OMG THS IZ AWESOMES.
Anyway, to answer your question - in the literal sense, yes, they are definitely shapeshifters.? In the context of D&D rules, though, they could probably fit under a number of titles, depending on the rules and the specifics.? I know just enough about D&D to know that I don't know enough to answer that question properly.
Well, it does kind of matter, because Shapeshifter is a specific subtype that is given to beings that possess the innate ability to change their shape.
Beyond that, I have a few minor critiques. You should indicate outright what their claw damage will be (probably 1d6), rather than just noting what it'd be in line with.
Fair enough.
Also, the bit about their nonmagical armor needing a save for when they change forms seems unnecessary - they aren't changing size, and their basic body shape remains roughly humanoid, so that seems like an unnecessary complication, and one that slows down play.
Well, in theory, they
are changing size. It's just not enough of a size change to make them go up a category.
I was actually thinking about making it so the Powerful Build only comes into effect while Delfah are in Bearform, but I thought that it would be too annoying for them to have to lug around weapons too big for them to use until a fight starts.
Further, the Bearform power should probably be tagged as (Su).
There's actually a reason I didn't. In a sentence, an Antimagic field shuts down all spell, spell-like, and
supernatural abilities, and I don't want their transformations to be dispellable by Antimagic. If the Delfah's Bearform was (Su) or (Sp), then they would immediately revert back to human form the instant they cross into an Antimagic area.
I also wanted to underline the fact that what the Delfah are doing is not normal shapeshifting, so that's also a part of it.
If you think that's too strong, though, I'll make it a (Su) ability.
Finally, the note that traveling on all fours constitutes running is confusing, and seems to generate more problems than it solves. Can they run while just on two legs? Can they travel on all fours without having it be a run action? And such. I'd recommend cutting that line.
Mm, fair enough. Looking back, it was a weird thing to put in anyway.
There are a few books out there that have stats for half-breeds between the existing core races. Just lift those, if they suit you.
Yeah, but do any of them have a stable, if faint, Fey bloodline running through their race?
I'm taking a leaf out of Tolkien's book in this one. Remember why the Hobbits of the Took lineage sometimes displayed a "terribly un-Hobbit-like" perchance for adventure? Because one of the original Tooks allegedly took a
Fairy wife.
I thought that was a very interesting little tidbit of information, one that Tolkien canon never really went anywhere with (at least not that I'm aware of). So when I decided to try and combine the Hobbits and Gnomes into a single race of "little folk," I resolved to work Tolkien's concept of the Tookish bloodline into the race as a whole.
So in this setting, the Hobbits (because I can't really think of a better name for them, tbh) all have a faint, but consistent, fey bloodline. This accounts both for their dualistic nature*, and the fact that they have a small array of supernatural and spell-like abilities.
* This is a major selling point for the race. As I'm sure you know, one of the major turn-offs for D&D Halflings and Gnomes is the flavor for the race. D&D Halflings have become immensely sterotyped as fast-talking theives and hucksters, and D&D Gnomes have next to no coherent racial identity, though not for a lack of everyone and their mother trying to give them one.
So, when I decided to do this racial fusion, I thought long and hard about what I wanted the race to have that would make them stand out. This is what I came up with.
The race's core is it's dualistic nature. Everything from their attitudes, their personalities, and their lifestyles, even to their gods, is dualistic in nature. Exactly why this is is unknown, but the most common theory is that the fey blood in their veins has something to do with it.
One the one hand, they enjoy comfort, and frequently settle down in their own little towns, hamlets, and communities, which sometimes boarder settlements of other races. On the other hand, many (let's call them Halflings for now) Halflings experience occasional bouts of wanderlust, which compels them to wander and adventure, sometimes for years, before it wears off seemingly overnight, and they desire to return to their homes.
On the one hand, they feel comforted and at home underground, but on the other, they long to see the sky and the trees, and relish natural sunlight far more than artificial candle or torchlight. Thus, they typically build their homes halfway buried into hills and cliffs, allowing them to be underground and yet still possess windows, balconies, platforms, and doors that exit directly outside, and let fresh air and sunlight come in unhindered. Some have even been known to erect artificial mounds if the land is too flat for their taste.
This also extends to their nature and personality, which seems to drift back and forth between quietly comfortable, laid-back, and non-confrontational, the ideal homebody, to bold, daring, or even reckless, the attitude of a bold warrior, a charismatic speaker, or a clever rogue.
Even their gods exhibit this. Yondalla, their chief goddess, is well known amongst certain circles to possess a dual nature, seemingly being two gods in one. Openly, she is an idealized version of a homemaker and wife (Neutral Good), and yet she possesses a darker, more ruthless side more akin to a rogue and assassin than a mere housewife, which cares only for protecting her people and securing their well-being, no matter what that might entail (Chaotic Neutral).
Their chief god and the on-again-off-again paramour of Yondalla, Garl Glittergold, is little different. Though he himself is singular in nature, being a deity of light, song, and merriment, his archnemeisis Gelf Darkhearth is literally the evil version of himself, being a dark, twisted reflection of everything that Garl Glittergold stands for, a deity of revenge and entropy. Where Garl is witty and mirthful, Gelf is blunt and humorless. Where Garl laughs, Gelf snarls. Where
Indeed, when they first met in ages past, Garl was taken aback, for Gelf appeared to be exactly as Garl, and yet was made of shadows, with glowing red eyes, and played only notes of jarring discord on a beaten and broken lute. They did not even need to speak. They merely looked at each other for a long while, before Garl, normally a paragon of delight and humor, declared that they could never reconcile with each other, and would be doomed to fight unto death.
Even the two gods together, Yondalla and Garl, represent a dualist nature of duality, as Yondalla has reconciled with her conflicting half, while Garl has rejected his to the point of literal division, and is in bitter conflict with Gelf to this day. Individually, they are each dualistic in nature, and taken together, they represent the dual paths their children (and indeed all who possess a dual nature) might walk. A Halfling might choose to embrace their fey blood and the power that comes with it, or they might choose to fight it, and remain conflicted.
It is a deeply personal choice, and it resonates with every aspect of the Halflings as a race. It reflects in their art, their technology, their inclinations and drives, their occupations, and even in their religion. Theirs is a race of tinkerers and dreamers, bards and alchemists, philosophers and wanderers, warriors and homemakers.
They are a playful dichotomy, an oddball enigma. To an outsider who does not understand them, they may seem at times infuriatingly passive and laid-back, while at others almost disturbingly bold, determined, and manic in their passions.
They are what they are. Though as a priest of Yondalla might say with a faint smile, not all that is necessarily meets the eye.
Technically, they would fall under that subtype, so I don't see why not.
I figured as much. Seeing how they can change their shape, they ought to be given the Shapeshifter subtype.
Also, just out of curiosity, where did you get this information?
The only major mechanical impact that subtype grants is that it lets you shake off the effects of a baleful polymorph spell in 1 round.
I've looked in the Monster Manual and the Dungeon Master's Guide, and I can't seem to find a comprehensive list of what benefits and drawbacks specific Types and Subtypes impart.
