Re: Tiefling and Aasimar: not just black & white

Nikolas Landauer <dacileva.flea@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> First, a note on something you said at the bottom of your post, then
> I'll get to the rest:
>
> Jim Davies wrote:
>>
>> Tieflings and Aasimars are probably fine LA+1 races,
>> except that the Daylight and Darkness abilities are
>> IMHO wrong.
>
> They're also (and more importantly, IMO) inappropriate.
>
> For that matter, the tiefling and aasimar planetouched *themselves*
> are inappropriate. Why are all humanoid creatures descended from
> celestials humans with /daylight/? Especially since there are a lot
> of celestials who don't have /daylight/ themselves?

[mondo snip -- not that this is any shorter]

Per conversation in IM, Nik and I came up with the following framework
for creating 'FooTouched' and 'Half-Foo' templates.

I say 'framework for templates' rather than 'templates' because we know
already that it falls down in some places and will need to be adjusted
manually... but this should give a decent start.

I will present in generic form the templates that would be created.

Some notes before I start:

.. 'common to members of the heritage' generally means 'at least three
monsters in the heritage have the item in question'

.. while written as offering choices in many places, the DM may choose to
make some or all of these choices for the campaign, rather than
allowing them to vary by creature.

.. if a heritage or parent lacks a particular ability to be granted (only
two immunities or resistances where three are granted, no additional
movement type, etc.) choose another appropriate ability.

.. where a Spell-like ability is granted by a template below, the
creature may gain a Supernatural ability as a Spell-like if
appropriate (for instance, Archons have Greater Teleport at will; a
Half-Archon could have /greater teleport/ spell-like ability). The
creature cannot be better than the heritage/parent is, so would have
the same limit of 'self and 50 pounds of objects'. Similarly, the
Angel's /protective aura/ could be taken instead as a /magic circle
against evil/ or /lesser globe of invulnerability/ as as spell-like
ability since the /protective aura/ produces both effects.

.. where a Spell-like ability is granted by a template below, a lesser
form of the 'inherited' Spell-like ability may be granted instead.
For instance, Solars can use /heal/ 3/day... a half-Solar might be
able to /cure light wounds/ instead. The replacement spell must
provide an absolute subset of the powers of the spell being replaced.
For instance, while /heal/ could be replaced with /cure light wounds/,
/suggestion/ cannot be replaced by /charm person/.


Touched Template

These humanoids have their blood tainted by some power in their
ancestry. It may be an Angel or demon as a distant ancestor, it
could be that their ancestors spent a great deal of time studying
negative energy and absorbed some of this power, or something else.
In any case, there is *some* power in the blood that surfaces from
time to time.

Creating a Touched Creature

'Touched' is an inherited template that can be added to any
humanoid (referred to hereafter as the base creature). Choose a
'creature type' (demonic, devilish, angelic, negative-energy,
etc.), referred to hereafter as the heritage.

[Note that because of the great differences between different
genie races that it's probably worth treating each as a
different heritage, though we don't do the same for demons -- no
'succubus-touched' -- Nik]

A touched creature uses all the base creature's statistics and
abilities except as noted here. Do not recalculate the creature's
Hit Dice, base attack bonus, saves, or skill points if its type
changes.

Size and Type: The Touched becomes a native outsider with the
Augmented Humanoid and $race subtypes.

[I'm not entirely happy that Planetouched (RAW) are treated as
native outsiders. Fiendish and Celestial aren't, and they
strike me as being more closely related to the outer planes
that mere traces of outsider blood. I'd be more inclined to
leave them as humanoids, myself. -- KJD]

Special Attacks: The Touched gains spell-like abilities, chosen
from those common to members of the heritage. The creature's
caster level is equal to one-half its hit dice, rounded down
(yes, it can be 0).

The Touched gains a spell-like ability no more powerful than
could be cast by a wizard of the same level (assuming the wizard
could cast such a spell -- /cure light wounds/ would be treated
as a 'first-level spell-like ability', though not avaialable to
wizards).

The Touched may use this spell-like ability once per day, or
less frequenty if the heritage grants it less frequently (such
as once per week).

[Option: the Touched may exceed the maximum spell level by
one, but use the ability only once per week.]

The Touched may add a new spell-like ability every time it
gains a 'new level of spell-like ability' (every odd caster
level, in other words).

A Touched may gain the same spell-like ability more than once,
increasing the number of uses per day (1/week -> 1/day -> 3/day
-> 7/day -> unlimited/day), to a maximum number of uses per
period equal to that of the heritage.

Special Qualities: The Touched gains three resistances or save
bonuses, based on those of the heritage. Examine the immunities
and resistances of the heritage.

Any energy immunity or resistance becomes a 5-point resistance
to that energy. Any immunity to non-energy effects (such as
poison or petrification) becomes a +4 bonus to saves against
those effects.

Pick three resistances. You must first pick from the energy
resistances derived from energy immunities (to a maximum of
three); any remaining may be chosen from the save bonuses
derived from non-energy immunities and the energy resistances
derived from energy resistances from the heritage.

Abilities: +2 to two ability scores, based on abilities commonly
granted bonuses among members of the heritage. For instance,
for demons it might be Str and Con, or Str and Cha; for devils
it may be Int and Cha.

Skills: The Touched gains +2 to all skill checks made with two
skills common among members of the heritage. For instance, for
demons it might be Bluff and Intimidate; for devils it may be
Diplomacy and Sense Motive.

Challenge Rating: +0

Alignment: The base creature and heritage will often be of
similar alignment; the template creature will often be of this
alignment.

Advancement: As base creature (by class, IOW).

Level Adjustment: +1


Planeblood Template

These creatures have a parent not only outside their own race, but
from outside their own *plane*.

Creating a Planeblood Creature

'Planeblood' is an inherited template that can be added to any
living, corporeal creature with an Intelligence of 4 or more
(referred to hereafter as the base creature). Choose a specific
monster type (succubus, solar, etc.), referred to hereafter as the
parent creature.

A planeblood creature uses all the base creature's statistics and
abilities except as noted here. Do not recalculate the creature's
Hit Dice, base attack bonus, saves, or skill points if its type
changes.

Size and Type: The Planeblood's type changes to outisde. Size is
unchanged. Planebloods are normally native outsiders.

[If I keep Touched as humanoid, I'd have Planebloods take the
Outsider type and subtypes as indicated in the Touched template,
rather than Outsider and no subtypes -- KJD]

Speed: The Planeblood gains one physical movement type of the
parent.

Armor Class: Natural armor improves by +1.

Special Attacks: The Planeblood gains spell-like abilities,
chosen from those of the parent. The creature's caster level is
equal to its hit dice.

The Planeblood gains a spell-like ability no more powerful than
could be cast by a wizard of the same level (assuming the wizard
could cast such a spell -- /cure light wounds/ would be treated
as a 'first-level spell-like ability', though not avaialable to
wizards).

The Planeblood may use this spell-like ability once per day, or
less frequently if the heritage grants it less frequently (for
instance, once per week). For every two caster levels higher
than needed for the spell-like ability, the creature may use the
spell-like ability once more per unit time, to a maximum number
of times equal to the heritage's uses in that unit time.

[Option: The Planeblood may gain a spell-like ability one leve
higher than would otherwise be allowed, but usable only once
per week.]

The creature may add a new spell-like ability every time it
gains a 'new level of spell-like ability' (every odd caster
level, in other words).

Special Qualities:

. Vision: The Planeblood gains one vision type of the parent.
If the Planeblood already has this vision type, it is doubled,
to a maximum of the parent's range.

. Immunity: The Planeblood gains one immunity of the parent.

. Resistances: The Planeblood gains three resistances (per the
Touched template, but 10-point resistances).

. Damage Resistance: DR 5 (if HD <= 11), DR 10 (if HD >= 12), to
a maximum of the parent's DR, and with the same vulnerability
(and always *or* form -- a half-pitfiend has DR10/good or
silver at 12th level).

. Spell Resistance: SR 10 + HD

Abilities: 20 points to increase ability scores, in multiples of
+2, to a maximum of the lesser of the parent's racial bonus or
+8 in each ability score.

Skills: The Planeblood gains skill points as an Outsider
(8 + mInt) * (HD + 3) for non-class Hit Dice, normal skill
points gained for class levels. Treat skills from the base
creature's list as class skills and all other skills as
cross-class skills.

Challenge Rating: HD 4 or less, as base creature +1; HD 5-10,
as base creature +2; HD 11 or more, as base creature +3

Alignment: Usually as parent.

Level Adjustment: +4


Keith
--
Keith Davies "Trying to sway him from his current kook-
keith.davies@xxxxxxxxxxxx rant with facts is like trying to create
keith.davies@xxxxxxxxx a vacuum in a room by pushing the air
http://www.kjdavies.org/ out with your hands." -- Matt Frisch
.

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