Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Halflings, Children, and other Innocuous Characters

I've never really been a fan of any of the 'classic' nonhuman races, but I've always been even more skeptical of the value of the little guys. A stealthy human, with some darkvision, no big weapons, maybe some magical tricks? I liked The Hobbit too, but you don't have to be 3 feet tall to be an underdog, and if all being 3 feet tall means is no big weapons and like, -2 Strength, who cares, especially if you're swimming in other bonuses like +4 vs ogres and so on. That just makes you an inexplicably durable badass tiny tank.

I'm also a great fan of this post
http://udan-adan.blogspot.com/2016/01/new-class-noncombatant.html

Anyway I tried to make a Little Person class that encourages actually playing like a 6-foot tall guy with a sword is as dangerous to you as a giant is to that 6-foot guy. Works for children characters as well, because you occasionally get someone who wants to be a kid. Or even just someone with a pacifistic noncombatant role.

Little Person
Each template of Little gives you-
-1 HP
-1 Encumbrance Slot
-1 Damage dealt
-1 Move (but only for running speed, agility is unaffected)
Also, d8 weapons probably take 2 hands, and d10 weapons are just too big to wield.

Or if you're using HD, d4 hd

A- Beneath Notice
B- Mostly Harmless
C- Good Karma
D- Willing Meatshields

Beneath Notice- If you're trying to hide from something bigger than you and have a reasonable hiding spot, it won't find you*. This applies to magic crap as well- if Dark Beige Wizard Sauronemon tries to scry for you in his crystal ball, so long as you're trying to be stealthy and not rampaging around in combat or a party, he shouldn't be able to find you.
*But I'm trying to encourage a certain kind of gameplay, so. If you've attacked someone when you had the option to sneak by or otherwise avoid them, you lose this protection against them. So sure, go ahead and backstab wildly, but once you're stained with blood, well, whatever you've offended will be coming to get you and you are no longer Beneath Notice. Maybe you should have just taken a thief level.

Mostly Harmless- You get +1 to reaction checks for each level of Little Person (to a max of +4 in case you're translating this to a bigger system) when attempting to appear harmless, sympathetic, innocuous, etc. People let their guard down around you and don't expect you to be some sort of psycho killer or uber wizard (pretty much the only options for characters) and are more prone to treating you nicely and both doing you favors and asking you to do favors for them. In combat, you'll usually be the last choice of target (unless you just shanked someone in the junk) and even stuff like maneating alien squidmonsters from beyond whose first action against Gruff McStuff would be to eat his face will probably ignore you so long as you don't bother them or interfere with their plans and don't linger about TOO long. Also, if you surrender, you will be captured but able to escape in 1d6 hours by loosening your bonds or befriending the jailer or whatever.
Again, this sort of protection vanishes once you break the 'truce.'

Good Karma
Whenever something notably bad happens to you (like getting smacked for max damage or having your in-laws show up to visit), you get a Fate Point. You're not actually playing Fate but that's okay, you're playing a janky frankenstein homebrew. You can only have 1 Fate Point at a time, and it's technically called Good Karma because copyright, just in case. Spend it to tweak a roll by +1 or -1, or do narrative Fate Point stuff, like declaring the window has curtains to hide behind or you remind the cultist of his dead daughter whose death turned him to dark rituals of resurrection in the first place or something.

Willing Meatshields
Retainers, pet dogs, sympathetic NPCs, etc can sacrifice themselves for you like a sundering shield (-1d12 damage)+the ability to move you a few feet out of harms way, so long as they've grown to have even a little fondness for you. This lets them also take the hits from things like basilisk gazes you failed your save against, or being crushed by a boulder, or whatever. Other players can do this too if they wish, taking the damage/awful effect themselves- they aren't automatically killed, but do automatically fail saves and have 0 defense. If you become a ruthless murderhobo exploiting the nurturing instincts of others for the sake of mechanical benefits you lose this level and have to take something else, you little monster. This is for good little children/hobbits/goblins who make connections with the world and learn the value of friendship, not munchkins.

Though come to think of it, it could be funny to go that route. Howzabout there can be a 'Manipulative Psychopath' class that has a nasty version of this ability so you can continue your NPC sundering with fake smiles and a cold heart. But that's for later.

BFRPG version as per request of one of my players.
The Noncombatant- You receive all the above abilities at level 1. You cannot use weapons that deal more than 1d6 damage, but may inflict melee damage as nonlethal subdual damage for no penalty. Wearing armor heavier than leather or a shield makes you look threatening enough to remove your 'mostly harmless' abilities, and may be too loud and clanky for you to stay 'beneath notice.' You can utilize magic items as a wizard, though you do not cast spells yourself- magic tends to be as friendly towards you as anything else.

Finally, you also should have some sort of skill or background. You could be an indolent elf princess, a canny dwarf horse merchant, a halfling baker, an undergrad human psychologist from another world, etc etc. This skill shouldn't be an adventuring skill, but you never know when it might come in handy anyway. If you build a stronghold (generally at level 9ish), you'll attract 2d6 1st level noncombatants related to your skill, +1d6 unusual friends you made during your adventures who give up their old dungeon habitats in favor of hanging out at your house, or at least nearby if they're a manticore who won't fit though the door or something.



Exp.

Level- to hit
Points
Hit Dice
1- +1
0
1d4
2-+1
1,250
2d4
3-+2
2,500
3d4
4-+2
5,000
4d4
5-+3
10,000
5d4
6-+3
20,000
6d4
7-+4
40,000
7d4
8-+4
75,000
8d4
9-+5
150,000
9d4
10-+5
225,000
9d4+2
11-+5
300,000
9d4+4
12-+6
375,000
9d4+6
13-+6
450,000
9d4+8
14-+6
525,000
9d4+10
15-+7
600,000
9d4+12
16-+7
675,000
9d4+14
17-+7
750,000
9d4+16
18-+8
825,000
9d4+18
19-+8
900,000
9d4+20
20-+8
975,000
9d4+22

Saves
Level
Death Ray or Poison
Magic
Wands
Paralysis
or Petrify
Dragon
Breath
Spells
1
11
12
14
16
15
2-3
10
11
13
15
14
4-5
9
10
13
15
14
6-7
9
10
12
14
13
8-9
8
9
12
14
13
10-11
8
9
11
13
12
12-13
7
8
11
13
12
14-15
7
8
10
12
11
16-17
6
7
10
12
11
18-19
6
7
9
11
10
20
5
6
9
11
10

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