Halloween is here!
Well, in 23 days, depending on when you're reading this.
In any case, this month is the perfect time for me to develop some spooky/scary character options. Previous years, I've done the Awakened Undead and the Vampire. This year, Scarecrows (and maybe something else secret, if I can get around to it)!
Scarecrows, as with their representation in the Monster Manual, are living spirits bound to constructs of wood and hay, created by nefarious practitioners of the Old Ways of magic. Used as dispensable minions, scarecrows naturally become unbound from the will of their masters upon their masters' death. Now animated abominations that wander the world, scarecrows often find some small solace in the ability to achieve a perfect disguise as an ordinary, inanimate version of themselves.
FEATURES:
- Lore, names, and backstory! All the elements of a well-rounded race writeup.
- Frighten your enemies with a glance. If it works on crows, it should work on orcs.
- Modified Living Construct feature, to illustrate with more clarity what does and does not work on the character.
- Never, ever worry about disease or poison, but you should probably worry about fire.
CONCERNS:
- Though I previously gave the same feature to ghouls under the Awakened Undead, I'm still concerned that Claws may be a little much. The alternative would be to give proficiency in the sickle, and make the sickle count as a finesse weapon.
- I can't tell if the benefits this race receive are too weighty. Race balance is still hard for me.
WHAT I LEARNED:
- Spooky/Scary month is apparently a thing now. Figures that my favorite time of year should have some of my favorite content!
That's a nice one!very interesting race. The fire vulnerability is really a major point to consider, but overall, really nice race option.
ReplyDeleteYeah - to my knowledge no other race has a vulnerability, which made me think twice before adding it.
DeleteIf it ends up being too powerful a drawback, my backup plan was to do something like "Whenever you take fire damage, take 5 extra damage of that type."
If you're made of straw, fire should be reeeeeally scary.
Yeah, what i thought was a disadvantage on saving throws on spell and effects that deal fire damage or you always receive maximum damage on fire effects ( 3d8 fire damage = 24 damage) would be nasty but not THAT nasty
Deletescarecrow rogue incoming
ReplyDeleteClaws are fine to be honest. 1d4+dex isn't that good damage, pretty much everyone who actually uses a weapon is going to have a better one. Even daggers can be thrown.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I'd say this race is fine, if maybe on the stronger side. Fire vulnerability is /cripplingly/ bad. Fire damage is extremely common and fire abilities normally do above average damage so that's a pretty terrible weakness.
>Fire vulnerability is /cripplingly/ bad
DeleteYeah, that seems to be what I'm hearing a lot. Definitely gonna scale it back in the next pass.
Fire is extremely common, but so is poison. I think they balance each other out.
ReplyDeleteThe fire vulnerability is a huge drawback, but perhaps it just leaves room for the race to be buffed otherwise... I think adding disease immunity along with the poison immunities could help with that.
ReplyDeleteDisease immunity is already in there, in the Living Construct text.
DeleteFire vulnerability IS a huge drawback, though. I'll do something about it in the next pass.
I love what you're doing! They're all quite balanced and really give an extra kick to your d&d world. Keep up the good job and thanks! ;-)
ReplyDelete