| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Torkael |
Posted - 01 May 2006 : 07:32:01
Has anyone tried introducing non-D&D races into the realms? I'm wondering how to create suitable stats for them, like say a full chapter of Space Marines from Warhammer 40k and a Zerg brood from Starcraft. I've always wanted to see how much more chaotic things can be. |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 19 May 2006 : 17:22:39
Well, it depends on weather you take their history into account from the comics (well, not saying that the character comes from their homewold, but that they have a similar genesis). In other words, in the comics, they were transfored into crystal warriors, so it would be an inherited template . . .
Hm . . . still thinking on this one. |
| Torkael |
Posted - 19 May 2006 : 17:20:07
Maybe they could be some sort of spinoff from the generic earth genasi? |
| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 14 May 2006 : 03:54:39
I've got an obscure race to see if anyone has some ideas on, and they are even fantasy based.
Anyone have any thoughts on the crystal warriors, malachite warriors, and magma warriors from the old Crystar comic book from Marvel? |
| Shadovar |
Posted - 05 May 2006 : 01:49:02
quote:
Originally posted by Torkael
True enough. Though we nerfed the Zerg as feasibly as we could, I can still imagine Ultralisks being mini-Tarrasques, so we're coming up with a counter balance. Also came into another issue to deal with; if Cerebrates can only be killed by a Dark Templar's energy, what's the equivalent to that energy in the realms?
The Dark Templars relied on the cold void for their weapon energies so I assume it as negative energy. I think if the Zerg are to really join FR, they should be wielding Weave magic as Weave magic wouldn't corrupt their orderly organic stuff, Shadow Weave powered Zerg would seem to corrupt their organic order and stuff so I prefer that the Dark Templar weapon energy to be powered by the negative energies of the Shadow Weave hence it would kind of balance the equation. Hence, the Zerg should have high to moderate damage resistance/reduction against Weave magic and Weave energies, depending on the how high the Zerg unit is in the hierachy.
Whether Mystra's Spellfire would really destroy the Cerebrate is another big question to think about.
Dark Templars in FR should be renamed and restyled as another new class of playable characters but wielding the negative energies of the Shadow Weave to truly kill the Cerebrate. Class name and abilities, let our loremasters and moderators here decide about it.
quote:
Originally posted by Lord of the Undead
Why not allow the introduction of PlanesWalkers from Magic the Gathering into the world of FR, at least there would be an answer to the imperial rule imposed by the Chosen of Mystra. How to go about that?
I would probably see these PlanesWalkers as the next best class of playable characters to fight the FR new Zerg, but about their magic and abilities, I am sure that can be worked out unless the PlanesWalkers magic are to be relied on an outsider source. But such a powerful class should be taken by high level epic mages and yet fighters. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 05 May 2006 : 01:29:56
Vae Victis
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| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 05 May 2006 : 01:17:29
Hm . . . I guess the first thing is to figure out how to give Kain his blood drain ability as a distance attack, lol. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 05 May 2006 : 01:14:56
quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR
You know, its not really a "new" race, but I would love to figure out ways to incorporate some of the vampire mutations that came out of the "Legacy of Kain" series. The weird other vampires that evolved from thousands of years of living in a certain area were pretty interesting.
I, and another poster on a D&D-related board, attempted some of that... mostly conversions of the major characters like Kain, Razial, Mobius etc into d20. We tried to develop the stats for the various vampire mutations as well -- with a strong emphasis on "tried". I'll see if I can find the thread (since its been a while and the forum in question has had both a purge and an upgrade)...
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| Sian |
Posted - 04 May 2006 : 19:32:27
quote:
Originally posted by Kaladorm
quote:
Originally posted by Torkael
quote:
Originally posted by Shadovar
But some upgrades and enhancements would be needed for the other Faerunian races to equal them with the new enhanced interloper race.
True enough. Though we nerfed the Zerg as feasibly as we could, I can still imagine Ultralisks being mini-Tarrasques, so we're coming up with a counter balance. Also came into another issue to deal with; if Cerebrates can only be killed by a Dark Templar's energy, what's the
Probably have damage reduction which can only be overcome with negative energy
poor goodie twoshoe clerics ... no undead armies to help them |
| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 04 May 2006 : 19:25:20
You know, its not really a "new" race, but I would love to figure out ways to incorporate some of the vampire mutations that came out of the "Legacy of Kain" series. The weird other vampires that evolved from thousands of years of living in a certain area were pretty interesting. |
| Kaladorm |
Posted - 04 May 2006 : 16:20:51
quote:
Originally posted by Torkael
quote:
Originally posted by Shadovar
But some upgrades and enhancements would be needed for the other Faerunian races to equal them with the new enhanced interloper race.
True enough. Though we nerfed the Zerg as feasibly as we could, I can still imagine Ultralisks being mini-Tarrasques, so we're coming up with a counter balance. Also came into another issue to deal with; if Cerebrates can only be killed by a Dark Templar's energy, what's the
Probably have damage reduction which can only be overcome with negative energy |
| Torkael |
Posted - 04 May 2006 : 06:54:43
quote:
Originally posted by Shadovar
But some upgrades and enhancements would be needed for the other Faerunian races to equal them with the new enhanced interloper race.
True enough. Though we nerfed the Zerg as feasibly as we could, I can still imagine Ultralisks being mini-Tarrasques, so we're coming up with a counter balance. Also came into another issue to deal with; if Cerebrates can only be killed by a Dark Templar's energy, what's the equivalent to that energy in the realms?
quote:
Originally posted by Lord of the Undead
Why not allow the introduction of PlanesWalkers from Magic the Gathering into the world of FR, at least there would be an answer to the imperial rule imposed by the Chosen of Mystra. How to go about that?
It would be very interesting, definitely. There'd be some problems with the FR's Weave vs MtG's colors of magic though. |
| Lord of the Undead |
Posted - 04 May 2006 : 01:29:43
Say, people. Why not allow the introduction of PlanesWalkers from Magic the Gathering into the world of FR, at least there would be an answer to the imperial rule imposed by the Chosen of Mystra. How to go about that? |
| Shadovar |
Posted - 04 May 2006 : 01:28:01
quote:
Originally posted by Torkael
quote:
Originally posted by Shadovar
*chuckles* Zerg presence in Anauroch would be a very interesting thing to see, but it would prove a huge boon to the local Empire of Shadows and a bane to the local Bedine people. The Empire of Shadows can create a new version of shadowy army from the Zerg and better than any Faerunian army. I like that.
Remember though that Zerg could assimilate the Netherese into their gene pool as well. All it takes is one or two captured Shade warrior and you could end up with the first of many... Shadowlisks? Shadelings? The Zergs with access to the Shadow Weave...interesting.
Hmmm..assimilating Shades' DNA into the genepool? Those creeps wielding Shadow Weave magics? Very interesting I say, very interesting. But some upgrades and enhancements would be needed for the other Faerunian races to equal them with the new enhanced interloper race. |
| Torkael |
Posted - 03 May 2006 : 04:46:33
quote:
Originally posted by Shadovar
*chuckles* Zerg presence in Anauroch would be a very interesting thing to see, but it would prove a huge boon to the local Empire of Shadows and a bane to the local Bedine people. The Empire of Shadows can create a new version of shadowy army from the Zerg and better than any Faerunian army. I like that.
Remember though that Zerg could assimilate the Netherese into their gene pool as well. All it takes is one or two captured Shade warrior and you could end up with the first of many... Shadowlisks? Shadelings? The Zergs with access to the Shadow Weave...interesting. |
| Shadovar |
Posted - 03 May 2006 : 03:52:12
*chuckles* Zerg presence in Anauroch would be a very interesting thing to see, but it would prove a huge boon to the local Empire of Shadows and a bane to the local Bedine people. The Empire of Shadows can create a new version of shadowy army from the Zerg and better than any Faerunian army. I like that. |
| Sian |
Posted - 02 May 2006 : 16:23:11
hmm ... why do i feel like that it should be Malar or Talona that should drop the Cerebrate :D
would make an interesting play with that the shades goes out to the others (and to Halaruaa) and suggest a (temp.) truce to battle the Zergs together ... planing to turn ageinst the rest when the time is right :D |
| Torkael |
Posted - 02 May 2006 : 15:40:12
What we had planned was to drop a Zerg cerebrate somewhere in Anauroch, probably assimilate some of the local blue dragons, become a huge threat to everyone around the desert and in it, and maybe see one of those alliances between everyone to combat the Swarm. Where the Space Marines come in, I don't know. Still waiting on the guy that came up with it to elaborate. Maybe they'd go head-to-head against the Swarm? *Shrugs*
To anyone wondering, our current tabletop has this DM rotation system thingy. 4 DMs taking turn to DM the game, each DM makes up his/her own adventure to add to the campaign. Then come playtime, we get lots of randomness, quick shifting plots, chaos, etc. Not easy, but kinda fun when you get used to it. |
| Hoondatha |
Posted - 02 May 2006 : 07:01:43
I think the zerg issue depends entirely upon how they're converted. How powerful is a zergling compared to your average human warrior? How does a hydralisk compare to a manticore? Exactly how fast do they come out of the hatcheries? I think the Realms would have the largest problem with the various fliers, to be honest, though it again depends on how low you rule they have to get to attack ground targets. Is an attacking mutalisk within short bowshot range? Long range? Can they only be attacked by other aerial units while still killing things on the ground?
Really, it depends entirely upon what role you want them to play in your campaign; they could easily be pulled to one end or the other of that spectrum. Still, it might be an interesting idea: a small hatchery falls from space, and the heroes are in a race against time to destroy them before they figure out how to utilize Realmsian resources instead of the standard crystal and gas. |
| Arivia |
Posted - 02 May 2006 : 06:29:46
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
Actually Arivia... I wouldn't mind seeing your take on this either. Though, I'll admit I'm stronger in my understanding of the d20 Future rules than D&D rules... so I may even be able to properly interprete the conversion.
That's a good thing; I haven't done much in the d20 Modern ruleset yet, so I'm not as experienced there as I am with D&D.
EDIT: Wooly! The document! |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 02 May 2006 : 03:09:41
quote:
Originally posted by Shadovar
Hmmmm....one question, if the idea of WH Space Marines and Starcraft Zerg were to be incorporated into the FR world, wouldn't that call for a high jump up the current technological tree of the current FR world in order to adjust the realms for the arrival of thes new races? A low tech ladder for these new races doesn't seemt to fit them into the FR world.
It depends on how they arrive. A warp storm throwing a marine vehicle off course and into the Realms would mean they'd arrive with their tech -- so there's no need to adjust the rest of the Realms for it. Of course, repairing their tech and resupplying their ammo would become a problem, after a while... |
| Shadovar |
Posted - 02 May 2006 : 02:57:16
quote:
Originally posted by Hoondatha
I don't know about 40K, but the Zerg at least have a superficial resemblance to an orc horde. They're organic and don't really rely upon technology like the Terrans or Protoss do. Depending on how they're converted, you wouldn't need to up FR tech to compensate. What you'd need are a lot of battle mages. Or bionoids...
Hmmm...correct, the Zerg were organic based and their tech is reliant on their biochemistry and biology but given their highly powered biological power, I find that the realms kingdoms and Chosen are not well equipped and ready to handle the enormous power and relentlessness of the Zerg, hence it is wise the realms' tech tree go up a few notches to balance the equation. |
| Hoondatha |
Posted - 02 May 2006 : 02:35:19
I don't know about 40K, but the Zerg at least have a superficial resemblance to an orc horde. They're organic and don't really rely upon technology like the Terrans or Protoss do. Depending on how they're converted, you wouldn't need to up FR tech to compensate. What you'd need are a lot of battle mages. Or bionoids... |
| Shadovar |
Posted - 02 May 2006 : 02:22:10
Hmmmm....one question, if the idea of WH Space Marines and Starcraft Zerg were to be incorporated into the FR world, wouldn't that call for a high jump up the current technological tree of the current FR world in order to adjust the realms for the arrival of thes new races? A low tech ladder for these new races doesn't seemt to fit them into the FR world. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 02 May 2006 : 02:04:49
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Arivia
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Hmm... Maybe I should send that Anatomy of A Space Marine file to Arivia, and see what kind of rules she can come up with... She's our goddess of crunch. 
Go for it; just looking through that list I can see a lot of things that can be implemented in much simpler terms(the larramans organ, for example, seems like the definition of how fast healing works.) I might not do it all in D&D --- might give me a reason to break out the d20 Modern/Future stuff, which I haven't touched for awhile.
Actually Arivia... I wouldn't mind seeing your take on this either. Though, I'll admit I'm stronger in my understanding of the d20 Future rules than D&D rules... so I may even be able to properly interprete the conversion.
Torkael, I'll note also that the WH40K project over on the Future WotC boards has attempted conversions for many of the Space Marine Chapters (some even in D&D stats). You might want to consider looking there also.
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| The Sage |
Posted - 02 May 2006 : 01:51:40
quote:
Originally posted by Arivia
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Hmm... Maybe I should send that Anatomy of A Space Marine file to Arivia, and see what kind of rules she can come up with... She's our goddess of crunch.
Go for it; just looking through that list I can see a lot of things that can be implemented in much simpler terms(the larramans organ, for example, seems like the definition of how fast healing works.) I might not do it all in D&D --- might give me a reason to break out the d20 Modern/Future stuff, which I haven't touched for awhile.
Actually Arivia... I wouldn't mind seeing your take on this either. Though, I'll admit I'm stronger in my understanding of the d20 Future rules than D&D rules... so I may even be able to properly interprete the conversion.
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| The Sage |
Posted - 02 May 2006 : 01:49:59
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Oddly, Smurfs seem to come up periodically on the BattleTech-related forum I'm on... I've decided that the Smurfs are the ones responsible for the Jihad (getting rid of Mechs means their villages don't get squashed as often).  
Papa Smurf as Thomas Marik! Hmmm... I'm not quite sure about that one... Depending upon how you view the WoB, Tommy could be either Greedy or Harmony.
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| Arivia |
Posted - 01 May 2006 : 17:38:47
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Hmm... Maybe I should send that Anatomy of A Space Marine file to Arivia, and see what kind of rules she can come up with... She's our goddess of crunch.
Go for it; just looking through that list I can see a lot of things that can be implemented in much simpler terms(the larramans organ, for example, seems like the definition of how fast healing works.) I might not do it all in D&D --- might give me a reason to break out the d20 Modern/Future stuff, which I haven't touched for awhile. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 01 May 2006 : 17:32:48
quote:
Originally posted by Kaladorm
I wonder what other races we could see in the world. I'll bet someone somewhere has statted out a smurf 
That's just sacrilege.
But how would you decide how tall they are? They were always referred to as being "three apples tall", but they lived in mushrooms and barely came to the top of their human friends' feet. Three apples tall should be several inches, at least, but they always appeared to only be a couple of inches tall, maybe three inches at most...
Oddly, Smurfs seem to come up periodically on the BattleTech-related forum I'm on... I've decided that the Smurfs are the ones responsible for the Jihad (getting rid of Mechs means their villages don't get squashed as often). |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 01 May 2006 : 17:27:39
quote:
Originally posted by Torkael
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
A Space Marine would be horribly unbalanced... Those guys are walking tanks, even outside their armor.
So a whole chapter in the Realms wouldn't be a good idea? Aww heck. We were thinking of having xenophobic Space Marines going on a mad purge in the Realms. Wonder what they'd think about the Netherese, human enough or xeno?
Heh.
They're prolly see the Netherese as tainted by Chaos.
Seriously, even without their armor and weapons, they are very powerful... Going down the list, drawn from I believe one of the older Codexes (likely the Ultramarines one), and doing a quick conversion:
Secondary Heart. That would likely give a serious boost to endurance.
Ossmodula. (The bone strengthener.) Maybe a bonus to avoid damage from blunt weapons, and less chance of a backstab (since their ribs are fused)
Neuroglottis. This would allow them to track by scent and to detect poison
Haemastamen. (The blood maker.) Far more efficient blood? Again, the endurance thing.
Larramans Organ. (The healer.) So when they receive a wound, it heals over very quickly. Less damage, mayhaps, and definitely a bonus versus things like wounding weapons.
Catalepsean Node. Being able to make just half of the brain sleep has odd game ramifications: it could allow for spellcasters to regain spells without resting, and it would also give a bonus against sleep spells.
Preomnor. A "pre-stomach" that neutralizes ingested poisons.
Omophagea. Eat flesh, gain memory... I'd keep it simple, and say that eating someone's flesh would allow them the same knowledge gained from a speak with dead spell, and/or maybe a freebie feat.
Multi-lung. Water-breathing, and neutralizes inhaled poisons.
Lymans Ear. Better balance and better hearing... So a bonus to Dexterity and Listen checks, I suppose.
Sus-an Membrane. (The suspended animation organ.) 'Nuff said.
Melanchrome. (The pigment organ.) Maybe a bonus to hide in shadows?
Oolitic Kidney. And in case all the other organs don't kill the poison, this one will.
Biscopea. (The muscle builder.) Serious Strength bonuses.
Mucranoid. (The skin-sealer.) Could provide a limited bonus to extreme temperatures.
Betchers Gland. (The poison bite.) They can spit an acidic poison. Lots of uses, there.
Progenoids. (The gene-seeds.) For D&D, these and the interface are about the only useless things (and the interface is only useless if you decide their tech doesn't work)
Occulobe. Really good eyesight, and night vision.
Oh, and these guys are well-trained for various forms of combat, they're large, and they're really strong... Seriously over-balanced.
Hmm... Maybe I should send that Anatomy of A Space Marine file to Arivia, and see what kind of rules she can come up with... She's our goddess of crunch.
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| Torkael |
Posted - 01 May 2006 : 12:06:04
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
A Space Marine would be horribly unbalanced... Those guys are walking tanks, even outside their armor.
So a whole chapter in the Realms wouldn't be a good idea? Aww heck. We were thinking of having xenophobic Space Marines going on a mad purge in the Realms. Wonder what they'd think about the Netherese, human enough or xeno?
quote:
Originally posted by Kaladorm
Can just stick a hefty LA on them to fix that :)
I wonder what other races we could see in the world. I'll bet someone somewhere has statted out a smurf
The mage in our group has a furby for a familiar if it means anything to you |
