Ability Score: +2 one stat of players choice Size: Medium Speed: 7 Vision: Low-light Languages: Common Skill Bonuses: +2 Endurance, +2 Nature Defense Bonus: +1 Reflex, +1 Will Feral Spirit: Similar to Lycanthropic humans, Meltheri are feral in spirit. Gain +2 on checks navigating natural settings. Pack Hunter: the Meltheri are social creatures, teaming up to survive. Grants +1 to attack and damage rolls to allies within a close burst 5. Racial Power: Feral Fury
Feral Fury / Racial Power With a bloodcurling howl, the Metheri sends itself and allies into a frenzy. Encounter ♦ Primal StandardClose Burst 5 Targets: Allies effected by Pack Hunter Effect: the Metheri and each of it's allies in range can make a free basic attack against a target of their choice in range at a +2 attack bonus.
I wanted to make a race that is feral and animalistic. I personally dont like the shifters in 4E all that much, so i decided to take a shot at making a race Be gentle as its my first shot at this lol
Well, pack hunter is overpowered. +1 to attack and damage to all allies between a close burst 5? That's too much. Also, you have to specify that this bonus doesn't stack with other pack hunters ability, otherwise a party of Meltheri would be extremely broken. And for the same matter, the racial power is overpowered. A free basic attack with a bonus to all allies? Too much.
Let me see... For the pack hunter, you can grant the Meltheri a bonus to attack or damage if it has an adjacent ally attacking the same creature (or that attacked the same creature in the last turn). And for the racial power, I have no idea what could work to fill your fluff.
I'm pretty sure these races still need loads of work, but for now, I'm happy with the Moogle, Bangaa, and Viera races, aside from a couple minor gripes with the the Moogle racial power, which irks me for some reason. My main homebrewing base is on Giant In The Playground, at this link *FINAL FANTASY RACES*
Well I am going to help you with your races today.
First off is the Viera. Thrill of the Hunt is a bit clunky. Something that would require less paperwork for viera PCs and NPCs is to make it just a static +1 to damage rolls when bloodied.
As for Viera Mobility, it would be better served as an encounter power, since players will likely have a high enough ability score to let them use it 3-4 times a day, which is how many encounters they usually have anyways. SO, just make it an encounter power, which also reduces having to keep track of uses. Also, the power seems to be useful just for opportunity attacks and Action Point usage, but a character likely won't have those every encounter, so change it to this:
Viera Mobility - Viera Racial Power You dance around your foe, harrying your opponent while you press your attack. Encounter Minor Action; Personal Effect: You shift 1 square in any direction and gain a +2 bonus to Attack rolls. This bonus lasts until the end of your next turn. This bonus increases to +3 at 11th level and +4 at 21st level
I like what you've done with the Moogle. They need an extra major ability, since Mog Ingenuity is a minor ability (not all have access/will take Ritualist or Alchemy). An ability such as Wild Step from the elves would be fitting (hover over rough terrain/debris). Add the statement of, "This movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks. You must land at the end of this movement," to their racial power and maybe increase the speed by 1 square, and it should be fine.
Wanderlust is a nifty power, and I like it. Even though the bonuses are +2, those are two pretty common conditions (in my experience), and it can be used to make a save when there isn't one.
As for the Baanga, their racial power needs some tweaking. Temp HP lasts such a short time and go away at the end of an encounter anyways, that there is no need to place a time limit on them.
As for the rest of the race, it looks pretty good. I think they need one more major ability that is a bit class universal, since melee classes will likely have the weapon proficiencies already, and not too many characters wear heavy armor. Increase their speed to 6 squares. Here is my edit of the Blood of Dragons power:
Blood of Dragons - Bangaa Racial Power With a mighty roar, you call upon the power of your blood to lend you the strength of your ancestors. Encounter Personal; Minor Action Special: You must be bloodied in order to use this power. Effect:You spend a healing surge and also gain 5 temporary hit points. The temporary hit points go increase to 10 at 11th level, and 15 at 21st level.
Nu Mou can be tough to nail because they are almost exclusively casters, but the melee option is needed in 4e for race balance. Firstly, their speed possibly needs to be reduced, since their classes had low movement. Secondly, their Arcane Heritage ability really needs to be redone, primarily because enemies don't have power sources like PCs do.
The racial power needs to be changed a little bit. Instead of rounds, it should be save ends. Also, the origin square in Close Bursts are already unaffected by the power unless stated otherwise. Changing it to the daze condition seems like a better idea and fits the same ("leaving foes dazzled"). Sticking to one "set" of ability scores seems to be the standard procedure, so change Con to Cha in the power. Changing the damage to 1d6 without ability modifier would work the same, especially since you are trading it out for a condition.
Deluge of Power - Nu Mou Racial Power Tapping deep into the core of your being, you unleash a flood of energy that leaves your foes dazzled. Encounter Minor Action Close burst 1 Target: Each creature in burst Attack: Intelligence +2 vs. Reflex, Wisdom +2 vs. Reflex, or Charisma +2 vs. Reflex
Effect: 1d6 damage and the target is Dazed (save ends). Increase to +3 bonus and 2d6 damage at 11th level, and +4 bonus and 3d6 damage at 21st level.
Special: When you create your character, choose Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma as the ability to use with this power.
I'm not going to go back and answer every individual post in this thread since last I was here, but why are there so many people posting in this thread without reading the first post?
Standard Action racial powers are ALWAYS BAD. Some status effects are too powerful to put on a racial power (ex: petrification or blinding that last longer than until the end of your current turn). If you really think that your race needs to be able to do something that is overpowered, then maybe it should be a monster race and not a PC race.
And if you're going to give your race a bonus to something, make sure that that something actually exists; there's no such thing as a saving throw versus disease, saving throws versus status effects don't work (slowed, immobilized, petrified, etc.), and "arcane" is not a damage type to gain resistance against.
Speaking of things that were badly designed, please check out this thread for my Minotaur fix. What have the critics said, you ask? "If any of my players ask to play a Minotaur, I'm definitely offering this as an alternative to the official version." - EmpactWB "If I ever feel like playing a Minotaur I'll know where to look!" - Undrave "WoTC if you are reading this - please take this guy's advice." - Ferol_Debtor_of_Torm "Really full of win. A minotaur that is actually attractive for more than just melee classes." - Cpt_Micha
Also, check out my recent GENASI variant! If you've ever wished that your Fire Genasi could actually set stuff on fire, your Water Genasi could actually swim, or your Wind Genasi could at least glide, then look no further.
Finally, check out my OPTIONS FOR EVERYONE article, an effort to give unique support to the races that WotC keeps forgetting about. Includes new racial feature options for the Changeling, Deva, Githzerai, Gnoll, Gnome, Goliath, Half-Orc, Kalashtar, Minotaur, Shadar-Kai, Thri-Kreen, Warforged and more!
They interfere with action economy and are highly likely to cause a character to act out of role. The standard action is the action that a character should be using to fulfill their party role, so a standard action racial power interferes with this. Further, I've never seen before a standard action racial power proposed that didn't completely channel a race towards certain types of classes or else end up with a useless racial power. Take the Minotaur's Goring Charge, for example; it completely channels the race towards a melee class, because ranged characters would have to act out of role to use the power, and that's bad.
I'm not saying that there is no possible mechanical way for a standard action racial power to be well designed. I can actually think of quite a few right off the top of my head, but they're not the sorts of power that people actually tend to use in practice when they're creating their home-brews. When I see a power that's an exception, I'll commend it, but so far, I've only ever seen it happen once. The power was a modified Total Defense action, and the reason that was allowed to slide was that if a character is going to be using the Total Defense action, it would be acting out of role anyways. Other possible exceptions would be a modified Second Wind power or a power that was a modification upon another attack power you possess from your class.
Speaking of things that were badly designed, please check out this thread for my Minotaur fix. What have the critics said, you ask? "If any of my players ask to play a Minotaur, I'm definitely offering this as an alternative to the official version." - EmpactWB "If I ever feel like playing a Minotaur I'll know where to look!" - Undrave "WoTC if you are reading this - please take this guy's advice." - Ferol_Debtor_of_Torm "Really full of win. A minotaur that is actually attractive for more than just melee classes." - Cpt_Micha
Also, check out my recent GENASI variant! If you've ever wished that your Fire Genasi could actually set stuff on fire, your Water Genasi could actually swim, or your Wind Genasi could at least glide, then look no further.
Finally, check out my OPTIONS FOR EVERYONE article, an effort to give unique support to the races that WotC keeps forgetting about. Includes new racial feature options for the Changeling, Deva, Githzerai, Gnoll, Gnome, Goliath, Half-Orc, Kalashtar, Minotaur, Shadar-Kai, Thri-Kreen, Warforged and more!
After much planning and editing here's a dretch playable race write up I made. It was previously hammered out in the "Dretch character race idea" thread. My two big questions are, is this race playable and balanced?
Dretch
RACIAL TRAITS Average Height: 3'-6"-4'-0" Average Weight: 60-75 lb.
Languages: Common, Abyssal Skill Bonuses: +2 Dungeoneering, +2 Intimidate Flexible Resistance: After an extended rest, select one: Acid, Necrotic, Radiant, Thunder, Force, Lightning, Poison, Fire, or Cold. Gain resistance 2 + 1/2 level of the selected type until your next extended rest. Demonic Origin: You are considered an elemental creature for the purpose of effects that relate to creature origin, and you have the demon subtype. Seen it All: +5 to saving throws vs. Fear Sickening Miasma: Choose one at character creation: You can use the Sticky Miasma racial power once per encounter, or you can use the Repulsive Miasma racial power once per encounter. You cannot change this choice.
Sticky Miasma Encounter * Poison Minor Action Close Burst 2 Target: Each creature in burst Attack: Str, Con, or Dex +3 vs Fortitude Hit: The target takes 1d6 + Str, Con, or Dex modifier damage the next time it takes a move action before the end of your next turn. Increase the bonus to +6 and the damage to 2d6 at 11th level, and increase the bonus to +9 and the damage to 3d6 at 11th level. Special: When you create your character, choose either Strength, Constitution, or Dexterity as the ability to use when making this attack. That choice remains throughout your character's life.
Repuslive Miasma Encounter * Poison Minor Action Personal Effect: At the start of your next turn, make an attack against each enemy in close burst 2. Attack: Str, Con, or Dex +3 vs Fortitude Hit: The target takes 1d6 + Str, Con, or Dex modifier damage. Increase the bonus to +6 and the damage to 2d6 at 11th level, and increase the bonus to +9 and the damage to 3d6 at 11th level. Special: When you create your character, choose either Strength, Constitution, or Dexterity as the ability to use when making this attack. That choice remains throughout your character's life. Heroic Tier Race Feats: Explosive Miasma: Expand the range of your sickening Miasma power to close burst 3. Smokey Stink: After using your Sickening Miasma power you gain concealment until the end of your next turn. Expansive Resistance: Your Flexible Resistance class feature now provides two different resistances after each extended rest.
Paragon Tier Race Feats: Choking Miasma: Each creature hit by your Sickening Miasma power is slowed until the end of your next turn. Brainless Grit: After succeeding on a fear saving throw you gain 5+constitution modifier temperary hit points. Friendly Stink: Any allies that are the target of your Sickening Miasma power gain +5 to their fortitude defenses against the attack.
Races that get both of their ability score boosts towards ability scores that improve the same defense generally get a +1 racial defense boost to make up for it. For example, the Eladrin with +2 DEX and +2 INT gets a +1 bonus to Will, and the Goliath with +2 STR and +2 CON gets a +1 bonus to Will as well.
Vision: Darkvision
Darkvision is supposed to be avoided except in a very limited number of circumstances, and I don't see why this should be one. Low-Light should be good enough.
Flexible Resistance: After an extended rest, select one: Acid, Necrotic, Radiant, Thunder, Force, Lightning, Poison, Fire, or Cold. Gain resistance 2 + 1/2 level of the selected type until your next extended rest.
Instead of listing every damage type out, why don't you just say "Select a damage type"? You've got everything but Psychic on that list anyways, and I don't see any reason to bar it to begin with, so...
Raical powers in general: I think that Close burst 2 is too much for either of those powers if they're going to do that much damage. Either make them Close burst 1 or change to damage to only the damage die or only an ability score modifier but not both.
Hit: The target takes 1d6 + Str, Con, or Dex modifier damage the next time it takes a move action before the end of your next turn.
I understand neither the flavor nor the mechanic behind this power. What's supposed to be going on here conceptually? Also any move action? Even move action that don't actually move you like standing up? What about teleporting? Does this even affect shifts? I don't know, this seems awefully general to the point where I don't get what it's supposed to be doing or why.
Effect: At the start of your next turn, make an attack against each enemy in close burst 2.
Again, I don't get what the point of this power is supposed to be. It doesn't seem to actually repel anything at all, and I don't understand what's up with this delayed attack thing. You need to clarify what this power is supposed to be doing and why from a flavor perspective, because right now, it just looks like a random mechanic without any obvious flavor behind it.
Speaking of things that were badly designed, please check out this thread for my Minotaur fix. What have the critics said, you ask? "If any of my players ask to play a Minotaur, I'm definitely offering this as an alternative to the official version." - EmpactWB "If I ever feel like playing a Minotaur I'll know where to look!" - Undrave "WoTC if you are reading this - please take this guy's advice." - Ferol_Debtor_of_Torm "Really full of win. A minotaur that is actually attractive for more than just melee classes." - Cpt_Micha
Also, check out my recent GENASI variant! If you've ever wished that your Fire Genasi could actually set stuff on fire, your Water Genasi could actually swim, or your Wind Genasi could at least glide, then look no further.
Finally, check out my OPTIONS FOR EVERYONE article, an effort to give unique support to the races that WotC keeps forgetting about. Includes new racial feature options for the Changeling, Deva, Githzerai, Gnoll, Gnome, Goliath, Half-Orc, Kalashtar, Minotaur, Shadar-Kai, Thri-Kreen, Warforged and more!
Raical powers in general: I think that Close burst 2 is too much for either of those powers if they're going to do that much damage. Either make them Close burst 1 or change to damage to only the damage die or only an ability score modifier but not both.
I understand neither the flavor nor the mechanic behind this power. What's supposed to be going on here conceptually? Also any move action? Even move action that don't actually move you like standing up? What about teleporting? Does this even affect shifts? I don't know, this seems awefully general to the point where I don't get what it's supposed to be doing or why.
Again, I don't get what the point of this power is supposed to be. It doesn't seem to actually repel anything at all, and I don't understand what's up with this delayed attack thing. You need to clarify what this power is supposed to be doing and why from a flavor perspective, because right now, it just looks like a random mechanic without any obvious flavor behind it.
The reason they are such a large burst and actual damage is that the target has the option to not take the damage. In the case of Sticky, they can just not move. In the case of Repuslive, they can just move away (hence the delayed attack).
The general idea is they emit a noxious, poisonous cloud. In the case of the first option it is based directly on the MM entry. It is more poisonous, and causes pain to those who move. Perhaps the condition should be changed to "when target moves or shifts". But after I saw the power, I realized it was pretty much only useful for defenders or those acting in a similar role. In order to maintain a sort of "universal" usefulness, I created the opposite version, one that would keep people away. This is done through, flavor-wise, a potent and demonic stench that can actually rot your flesh. Hence, once the power is activated, everyone with any sense is getting the hell out of the way. The idea is to keep people off of you for a round or two. If you have a better way to reproduce this effect, we're all ears.
Be gentle as its my first shot at this lol
