Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Add Reply
  • Pages:
  • 1
  • 2
  • 9
Homebrew Race - Unicorn; May God have mercy on my soul.
Topic Started: Jul 26 2015, 10:20 PM (2,053 Views)
weredrago2
Member Avatar
He Who Posts Too Much
Credit goes to Zed for statting out the original, and other users here and there for brainstorming the rest. I had a Pony version of this race, but I removed it. Go to the link above for Ponies.

Unicorns

Created by the Syrne as collectible pets, the Unicorns of the Equestrian Crystal Sphere have been isolated from the rest of the Great Wheel since the War in Heaven. Separated from their masters, the Holy Unicorn Diarchy (ruled by the immortal Lurue and Selene) took charge and founded a civilization of their own for Unicornkind. For over forty thousand years, the Unicorns had known a mostly uninterrupted era of peace. This peace was shattered when an Ork warship crashed into their Sphere, revealing the presence of the Unicorns to the Wheel at large. With the opportunity of a lifetime right outside their Sphere, many Unicorns left right away in search of adventure, companionship, and boatloads of money.

Your average Unicorn is both friendly and adorable, which means it takes a special kind of Unicorn to leave their homes and boldly face the horrors right outside their sheltered borders. It takes a really special kind of Unicorn to do this successfully, which means you won’t see many of them outside of their Crystal Sphere. A new and divisive player in the grand stage, the Council hasn’t had this much trouble on their hands since the Humans showed up.


Physical Characteristics

Average Height: 1.00-1.42 m
Average Weight: 100-150 kg
Languages: Trade, Equestrian
Common Personality Traits: Friendly, sweet, sheltered, easily startled, community-oriented.
Common Physical Traits: Hooved quadruped, large eyes, bright and varying coloration, expressive face.
Example Names: Chromatic Charger, Scarcity, Tendersky, Puce Pastry, Dazzling Solstice, Jack Daniels

Racial Statistics
Characteristic Bonus: +1 Fellowship or Intelligence
Skill Bonus: +1 Arcana and Charm
Power: My Little Quadruped: Unicorns have the Quadruped Trait. Their tactile telekinesis allows them to 'grip' things with their hooves, but they automatically fail any test that requires the use of fine manipulators. You can wield a melee weapon this way, but not fire a gun. Alternatively, you can hold a weapon in your mouth at a -1k1 penalty to hit.
Size: 3


Physical Qualities

Though Unicorns are strikingly similar to the domesticated ponies that inhabit humanity's homeworld, they exhibit much more expressive faces and a larger range of coat and mane colors. In fact, you can find a Unicorn in just about any color of the rainbow. While Unicorns are just as massive as many other inhabitants of The Wheel, their slight frames and quadrupedal structure gives them a lower profile.

Most adult Unicorns have a Talent Glyph, a magic icon on their flanks that represents their special talent. The exact nature of this phenomenon is unknown, but it is studied thoroughly by the scientific community. Most people throw their arms in the air and blame the Syrne. All that is really known about them is that they manifest when a Unicorn finds their purpose in life, and will aspire to become masters of their talent however they can. Unicorns that are unable to make their Talent Glyph work for them are known to slip into deep depressions or insanity.

Male Unicorns grow long beards, especially as they grow in age and power. Female Unicorns express their beauty with styled manes and tails. Unicorns of royal blood (such as the Diarchs) are easy to spot in a crowd, being notable taller and more majestic than their peers. There are other breeds of Unicorn, such as the Unicorn equivalent of a draft horse or Unicorns that explode into fire.


Playing a Unicorn

Unicorns are very restricted in what they can do, given that they lack hands. They can use their hooves for simple manipulation, but they are still left at a significant disadvantage. There are Unicorn specific tools available, but they are much rarer than their normal counterparts. You should think long and hard before choosing to play as a race that can't fire a gun under most circumstances.

Unicorns also make for very good specialists, doing what they are good at with the expectation that their teammates will cover their backs. Though Unicorns are naturally pacifistic, they can get violent like anything else in the Wheel when threatened. Being a naturally harmonious lot, Unicorns generally worship the Blessed Pantheon. Some do, however, prefer the freedom of Chaos to the security of Order. Due to the Diarchy's association with the sun and moon, worship of Pelor and Luna are incredibly popular.

Oh, and your group will probably hate you if you play as a Unicorn. You’ve been warned.


Unicorn Heroes

Long ago, a little Unicorn filly found herself lost in a magnificent garden, deep in the frightening forest right outside her family’s farm. There were hundreds of beautiful fruit, but only the golden apple caught her eye. There were dozens of signs warning her of the cost, but she took the risk and ate the apple to taste it’s temptation. The forbidden fruit granted the filly terrible power, branding her flank with a Golden Apple Talent Glyph. It’s been years since she broke the taboo and ate the apple, but the arrogance that came with Golden Apple’s sin has only made the sorcerous mare thirst for even more power.

The top of her class in the Equestrian Military Academy, the Unicorn Starlight had a bright future ahead of her. Her future seemed so bright, that nobody expected her life to be cut short by a reckless driver splattering her across a Sigil highway. With the medical talents of the enigmatic Dr. Madaraki, Starlight's crippled body was fitted into a horse shaped mechanical shell. The Unicorn was successfully revived, but not unchanged by the harrowing experience. Any ambitions or goals Starlight had before her death were wiped away by her harrowing accident, the robot Unicorn's new purpose only to forever move forward.

Valve Turner is your average, nondescript Unicorn plumber trying to make ends meet on the hellish hive he lives in. At least, Valve Turner was your average, nondescript Unicorn plumber. That all changed when he made contact with the abused machine spirits of his planet while snaking a drain, bonding with them so that he could better bring justice to his lawless home. By day, he is Valve Turner. By night, he is an engine of destruction. From his porcelain throne at the center of his Panzer, Valve Turner fights for what's right... with all of the grace and poise you would expect out of a machine made from shit and plasteel.


Racial Feats

Beast of Burden [Unicorn]
You're a lot bigger and stronger than a Unicorn has any right to be. Increase your Size by 1, and treat your Strength as 1 higher for the purposes of pulling, lifting, or carrying things. You can carry multiple allies on your back, as long as their combined Sizes do not exceed yours by 2.

Celestial Charger [Unicorn]
You have been blessed by the Goddess-Diarch Lurue, and her power flows through your blood. Your horn is long and sharp, granting you a natural attack with the following profile (2k1 R, Pen 4). You can also use your horn as a Torch.

Nyxian Courser [Unicorn]
You have been blessed by the Goddess-Diarch Selene, and her power flows through your blood. Gain the Dark Sight trait. You can envelop yourself or your friends in protective darkness. This functions as the Armouring Aura spell, using your Level + Composure instead of the normal magic test.

Psi-Pony [Unicorn, Paragon]
After countless horse-hours of practice and training, you have honed your natural telekinesis above and beyond its original parameters. You can now telekinetically manipulate objects at a range of (Wisdom*5) meters and use Willpower and Wisdom in the place of Strength and Dexterity. Along with lifting or moving objects, your telekinesis can be used to perform attack actions.

Rapidash [Unicorn]
Some Unicorns have a burning passion for running under an open sky. In some cases, literally. No Unicorn knows how or why the ability manifests, but some foals are born with a mane of flame and a need for speed. Your Run actions are x8 Speed instead of x6. In addition, you can burst into flames as part of a Run action, dealing (Willpower)k3 E Incendiary damage to everything within melee range of your path. This can be done once per level per scene.

Talent Glyph [Unicorn]
At some point in their lives, a Unicorn can develop a mark on their flanks that represents their special talent. Choose one skill. A Unicorn can go up to 6 dots in that particular skill and gains a free specialty. This Glyph is critically important to its owner, as it represents their purpose in life. If a Unicorn character fails a test using this skill by more than 15, they must succeed a TN 20 Willpower test or gain 1d10 Insanity Points.
Edited by weredrago2, Mar 29 2016, 10:39 AM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Replies:
Eisenritter
Member Avatar
Old Iron Knight
weredrago2
Jul 26 2015, 10:20 PM
Talent Glyph [Unicorn]
At some point in their lives (often before or during adolescence), a Unicorn will develop a mark on their flanks that represents their special talent. Choose one skill. A Unicorn may go up to 5 dots in that particular skill and gain a specialty, even at character creation. If a Unicorn character fails a test using this skill by more than 15, they must succeed a TN 20 Willpower test or gain 1d10 Insanity Points.
Judanas mentioned in Zed's thread that this one should be a "go to SIX" thing, and I agree. As it is, it's nigh worthless if not taken at chargen.

Quote:
 
Love ‘Em or Loathe ‘Em [Unicorn]
Saying that reactions to Unicornkind have been mixed would be like saying Sigil is a big city. You in particular have a very polarizing personality, so NPCs always start as either Helpful or Hostile. The TN to change their minds is an additional +5 higher than usual.

...This makes me think that one of the listed heroes must be The Great and Powerful Trixie. :$

Quote:
 
Alicorn [Unicorn, Paragon]
You can trace your lineage directly to the Alicorn Diarchy, which can be seen in your stardust mane. You gain +1 Resilience, Flight equal to your ground speed, and Aura equal to your level. Alicorns can survive in the vacuum of space as if they had voidsuits.

Remember that Quadruped has weird interactions here, as seen with the Sphinxes. Yes, it should be common sense that four legs don't help with flying, but you might want to mention that if that's your intent.

Quote:
 
Nightmare [Unicorn]
You (or your ancestors) have been blessed by the Goddess-Diarch Selene, and her power flows through your blood. You have the ability to burst into flames as a free action, gaining a (Willpower)k3 E Incendiary aura that deals damage to everyone in melee range of you at the end of your turn. This ability can be used for a number of rounds per scene equal to your level

I feel like this should have something to do with fear and darkness, rather than fire? Something like Dark Sight and forcing a Fear test feels more appropriate, here.

Quote:
 
Celestial Charger [Unicorn]
You (or your ancestors) have been blessed by the Goddess-Diarch Lurue, and her power flows through your blood. Your horn is long and sharp, granting you a natural attack of 2k1R with Pen 4.

Add something about being able to function like a living Torch and I think this one's golden.

Quote:
 
Faithful Student [Unicorn]
You are a student of one of Equestria’s many magical colleges. Begin play with one free rank in any Magical School. The character may purchase ranks in that Magical School as if they appeared in any class progression they possessed. You may treat your own horn as a magic implement, and your telekinesis no longer suffers a penalty when fine manipulation is needed.

Only objection I have to this is that "free magic school" is usually an Exalt asset. :$
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ReptileViking
Member Avatar

Eisenritter
Jul 27 2015, 10:40 AM
I feel like this should have something to do with fear and darkness, rather than fire? Something like Dark Sight and forcing a Fear test feels more appropriate, here.
D&D Nightmare

Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Eisenritter
Member Avatar
Old Iron Knight
ReptileViking
Jul 27 2015, 10:59 AM
D&D Nightmare

Posted Image
I'm aware, but it's also tied to the Moon in fluff (by way of Selene = Greek moon goddess). The Moon is associated with the night and with madness.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ReptileViking
Member Avatar

Eisenritter
 
I'm aware, but it's also tied to the Moon in fluff (by way of Selene = Greek moon goddess). The Moon is associated with the night and with madness.


I'd rather change the fluff a bit than change the Nightmare power then.
Edited by ReptileViking, Jul 27 2015, 11:30 AM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Eisenritter
Member Avatar
Old Iron Knight
ReptileViking
Jul 27 2015, 11:29 AM
I'd rather change the fluff a bit than change the Nightmare power then.
Problem with that is that there's no fluff to change. All we actually know about Equestria is that it's a diarchy and it's where Unicorns come from. We don't know which one's the sun princess or the moon princess save for inference based on Selene being the Greek goddess of the Moon. Literally all we have to go on for fluff is the source material until weredrago writes otherwise, and that source material goes with "nightmare = fear and darkness."

And, honestly, Moonbutt's portfolio makes for a more interesting set to draw from than "D&D nightmares are fire lol." ^o)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ReptileViking
Member Avatar

Eisenritter
Jul 27 2015, 12:08 PM
ReptileViking
Jul 27 2015, 11:29 AM
I'd rather change the fluff a bit than change the Nightmare power then.
Problem with that is that there's no fluff to change. All we actually know about Equestria is that it's a diarchy and it's where Unicorns come from. We don't know which one's the sun princess or the moon princess save for inference based on Selene being the Greek goddess of the Moon. Literally all we have to go on for fluff is the source material until weredrago writes otherwise, and that source material goes with "nightmare = fear and darkness."

And, honestly, Moonbutt's portfolio makes for a more interesting set to draw from than "D&D nightmares are fire lol." ^o)

I'm the one that wrote the placeholder fluff for the Nightmare Unicorns, Weredrago just didn't change it when he fixed up and unified the various unfinished ideas.
Originally, I was going to have a trinity, with a sun (Celestia-analogue) and two moons, one fire and one ice. It was based on how the Planets in Robot Unicorn Attack are Skyworld, Iceworld and Lavaworld.
Between never coming up with a good power for Asperi(ice/crystal) Unicorns and Crazyjabberwok saying they were taking over I never posted it.

We have two options again. Either Weredrago gives me the go ahead to finish that or you can write up a new nightmare power. Either is fine with me!
Edited by ReptileViking, Jul 27 2015, 12:35 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Eisenritter
Member Avatar
Old Iron Knight
ReptileViking
Jul 27 2015, 12:27 PM
We have two options again. Either Weredrago gives me the go ahead to finish that or you can write up a new nightmare power. Either is fine with me!
Posted Image

Nightmare [Unicorn]
You (or your ancestors) have been blessed by the Goddess-Diarch Selene, and her power flows through your blood. Gain the Dark Sight trait, and once per Scene you can spend a Full Action crafting an illusion that warps your face into a monstrous predatory visage, gaining Fear (2) for the rest of the Scene.

...for my initial critique, would call to mind Nightmare Moon's legend. Alternately, for a more "sacred darkness" feel...

Nightmare [Unicorn]
You (or your ancestors) have been blessed by the Goddess-Diarch Selene, and her power flows through your blood. Gain the Dark Sight trait, and you can envelop yourself or your friends in protective darkness, as the Armoring Aura spell, using your Level + Composure instead of the normal magic test.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ReptileViking
Member Avatar

I like the second one better I guess.

I'll still miss the D&D reference since the Unicorn version is specifically trying to be more than just "LOL, MLP" and this feels like it's missing the point to me. The strength of DtheD is fusing as many things as possible and I feel like a lot of the homebrew forgets that.

I think I will work more on my own idea and let a third party choose which is better since apparently I'm not fine with either :P
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Eisenritter
Member Avatar
Old Iron Knight
Well, it also doesn't help that this whole spiel started from a difference of opinions anyway. You pretty much dared me to write one myself, I delivered, only seems fitting the argument ends there. :P

And D&D nightmares (at least in 3.X) don't have flaming auras anyway; if you're going to insist on keeping that, might be better to say it shifts your unarmed strikes to E damage and gives them the Incendiary property (their hooves deal extra fire damage and set combustibles alight).

EDIT: Random thoughts: Lurue's full name includes "Morningstar." Selene's includes "Scarlet." Implications, and all that, at least puts up more moral greyness on Lurue's side. :blink:
Edited by Eisenritter, Jul 27 2015, 01:20 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ReptileViking
Member Avatar

Eisenritter
Jul 27 2015, 12:55 PM
Well, it also doesn't help that this whole spiel started from a difference of opinions anyway. You pretty much dared me to write one myself, I delivered, only seems fitting the argument ends there. :P

And D&D nightmares (at least in 3.X) don't have flaming auras anyway; if you're going to insist on keeping that, might be better to say it shifts your unarmed strikes to E damage and gives them the Incendiary property (their hooves deal extra fire damage and set combustibles alight).
Yeah, I know and I'm sorry. I think I'm on edge from some unpleasantness I had yesterday. I'm not being an ass intentionally, my calm is just severely damaged!

The Pathfinder version have auras of burning smoke, so I took it a step further to a full fire aura.


Anyway, I've thought about it some more and I have a couple ideas.

Nightmare: I propose we get rid of the name entirely.

Shadow Stalker: It has a nice alliterate symmetry with Celestial Charger, the other God Empress descendant feat.
Gain Dark vision and you can use the Phase trait 1 round per level per scene.
Fluff: You carry the blood of the Goddess Selene in your blood. This grants you an affinity for darkness and the ability to become as insubstantial as moonlight.
Reasoning: It's closer to your suggestions, does something new(I think? Does any other race have limited phasing?) and references another property, in this case Worm.

Rapidash: It keeps a fiery horse around (because I really like the imagery dang it!) and I can't believe I didn't think of this before. It's already a GD flaming unicorn!
As the current version but also grants a speed boost while the aura is active. Flat +meters? x5 speed instead of x4?
Fluff: Some Unicorns are born with a burning passion for running under an open sky. Literally. No Unicorn knows how or why the ability manifests but some foals are born with a flaming mane and a need for speed.

Faithful Student: remove it! I agree with your earlier statement that it's so far entirely an Exhalt thing. Maybe it should stay that way.



I think everything is up to Weredrago of course. I could have taken over the project myself and I didn't. I just have to let it go :P
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · Archive · Next Topic »
Add Reply
  • Pages:
  • 1
  • 2
  • 9

Theme created by "Josh Hall/Alpha.". Find more great designs at the ZetaBoards Theme Zone.