Monsters Make The Best People
Besides lamenting about monsters not matching up to folklore, I also spend my time developing my own game system and setting. I have been in a serious playtest mode in the last year, and have found something to be rather interesting. Human has been selected as a race all of 1 time, as opposed to the 2 wood elves, 2 dark elves, 1 light elf, a mound troll, 2 kobolds, 3 gnomes, a gnoll, and a centaur.
It is great to see a majority of players giving the abnormal races a good go for a change. The main three standard races Human, Elf, and Dwarf are much less represented than races typically reserved for a monster manual or expansion book. I will likely see many more odd group combos as I host 12 hours of playtest sessions at FenCon in Dallas Oct 5-6. My wife is also hosting a dozen hours, but she will make sure no one plays a hominid, she has crafted half a dozen dragons who will have to find out who, or what, has been invading their territory and picking off the other lesser dragons.
Why would players not pick human? Possibly because they don't get immediate overtly desirable traits. There is no bonus feat or skill points, just a few abilities that make human a regularly viable race like the others.The get a boost to determination, a system not unlike the drama dice in 7th Sea, they get a boost to an artisan skill, and a boost to an aggression skill (Combat or Magick). They also get to disperse their bonuses to their attributes as they see fit to account for human natural variation. Here is the Human stat block from the TaleMix: Sagas of Olde
RACE: Human
COST: 35
LIFESPAN: 70, upper limits of 120
MALE: H: 5'4"-6'4" W: 140-240
FEMALE: H: 5'-6' W: 100-200
SPEED: Normal
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Step 1: Find a mirror. Step 2: Look in the mirror.
CULTURAL DESCRIPTION:
STATS: Human Variance, add 5 points in 4 stats and remove 5 points in 2 stats
STRENGTH: 10
COORDINATION: 10
AGILITY: 10
ENDURANCE: 10
FORTITUDE: 10
WILLPOWER: 10
KNOWLEDGE: 10
INSTINCTS: 10
CUNNING: 10
PRESENCE: 10
RACIAL ADVANTAGES:
Human Nature: Humans want to be immortal in their mortal lives, +10 specialized in 1 Artisan Skill
Human Spirit: Humans just seem to have an unnatural will to succeed, +1 Determination Die
Human Condition: Humans have a lust for power, even or especially if that means taking it by force., +10 specialized in 1 combat OR magick skill
RACIAL SKILLS:
Human Variance: Choose 5 skills at 5 points
And for comparison, here is the Mound Troll, pictured above tearing the beak off a minor Kraken. Actually happened in a game at Texicon this year.
RACE: Troll: Mound / Haugtroll
COST: 56
LIFESPAN: 100-200 years
MALE: H: 3'-4' W: 80-150
FEMALE: H: 3'-3'8" W: 50-120
SPEED: Normal
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:
CULTURAL DESCRIPTION:
STATS:
STRENGTH: 20
COORDINATION: 10
AGILITY: 10
ENDURANCE: 20
FORTITUDE: 10
WILLPOWER: 10
KNOWLEDGE: 05
INSTINCTS: 10
CUNNING: 20
PRESENCE: 10
RACIAL ADVANTAGES:
Healthy: 2 Bonus Body Levels
Claws: Nails as hard as iron, +1 body level damage on unarmed attacks.
Fangs: Extra die of damage on bites.
Discriminatory Smell: Can smell so acutely that it becomes as much of a location sense as sight or hearing.
Regeneration: 1 Body Level a Minute (1 every 6 rounds)
Ultra-vision: Vision into the ultraviolet spectrum. +10 vision in normal light, and no deficits in complete darkness.
RACIAL DRAWBACKS
Dayburn: Sunlight, or a magical equivalent, weakens Haugtrolls. Making them move half speed and -1 Assertive and Defense action a round. Unlike their much larger cousins, they do not turn to stone.
Ravenous: Each day the troll must make a moderate Willpower check to not kill and eat the first thing it sees. Making the check negates the pure blood lust but the hunger for raw flesh is still there. Other trolls are not included in this hunger.
RACIAL SKILLS:
Brawl: 15
Disguise: 10
Traps: 10
Tunneling: 15
If you are interested in hosting a playtest with your home group, email me at LucasPuryear on gmail, and I can set you up with a copy of the playtest rules.
