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Homebrew Race - Unicorn; May God have mercy on my soul.
Topic Started: Jul 26 2015, 10:20 PM (2,052 Views)
weredrago2
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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.
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Eisenritter
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Old Iron Knight
"Shadow Stalker" might run into some nominal confusion with the Duskling's feats, now that's finished as well. Maybe "Nyxian Courser"?
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ReptileViking
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I really like the sound of that.

Do you think Rapidash having 8x run speed is too much? I noticed a lot of speed based craziness happening in the Raging Locomotive thread but I admit I don't really understand it.
Edited by ReptileViking, Jul 27 2015, 04:14 PM.
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Eisenritter
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Old Iron Knight
Uh, you're talking about a change to the Run action, though. The craziness over in Raging Locomotive is more due to one of the advantages essentially multiplying your base Speed by six if you max out on it. :(
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weredrago2
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He Who Posts Too Much
I was away for most of this debate (running a game), so let me figure out what's going on.

Nightmare is being changed (getting Nightmare Moon powers as the Nyxian Courser), Faithful Student is being removed, and Rapidash is getting Nightmare's old fire powers and a need for speed. That correct? We also doing anything for Asperi?

Remember, you guys can pitch ideas any time you like without asking for permission.
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Eisenritter
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Old Iron Knight
Emphasis ice: Play up cold tolerance, an affinity for ice and snow. These might be a bit cold-hearted (puns!), get some form of bonus to CMP and/or specialties that help against being swayed by emotional pleas. Cold tolerance is probably something along the lines of "shaggy fur makes you comfortable in cold weather" plus a CON specialty.

Emphasis crystal: Glassworking and Wraithbone may be in your wheelhouse. Crystals are associated with internal energies and emotions, as well. Might have bonuses to R damage, MD, sight-based illusions (light refraction) or emotion-affecting abilities (New Age healing).
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ReptileViking
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Eisenritter
Jul 27 2015, 04:06 PM
Uh, you're talking about a change to the Run action, though. The craziness over in Raging Locomotive is more due to one of the advantages essentially multiplying your base Speed by six if you max out on it. :(
Yeah. Right then, since Charge and Run are two different actions it shouldn't be a problem.

Ok so then finalized suggestions:

Nyxian Courser (Unicorn)
You (or your ancestors) have been blessed by the Goddess-Diarch Selene, and her power flows through your blood. This grants you an affinity for darkness and the ability to become as insubstantial as moonlight.
Gain the Dark Sight trait and you may use the Phasing trait once per scene, the incoporeality lasting a maximum of one round per level.

Rapidash (Unicorn)
Some Unicorns have 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.
Your run actions are x8 speed instead of x6. In addition you may 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.

Note: I realize I've made Ripidash's ability quite a bit more powerful but keep in mind Run actions provoke and grant a bonus to be hit by melee. It's a risk vs. reward thing.
Edited by ReptileViking, Jul 27 2015, 04:50 PM.
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weredrago2
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He Who Posts Too Much
Alright, I'll apply some of these changes later. I'm playing around with PSI Ponies from RIFTs and making them have better telekinesis than other unicorns. Also trying to fit in Asperi and these other suggestions.

Wow, who knew there could be so many Unicorn varieties in D&D?
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ReptileViking
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Cool, I think it all looks great!

Now we just need to flesh out the fluff a bit and add two more heroes.

I propose we take Starlight (from Rainbow Brite), kill him and have a mad scientist named Lisa Franken resurrect him as the Robot Unicorn.

Posted Image
Edited by ReptileViking, Jul 27 2015, 06:15 PM.
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Eisenritter
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Old Iron Knight
Nah, needs an off-handed reference to a Dr. Madaraki, I think. :P
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ReptileViking
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That's actually why I decided to say Lisa Franken instead of go all the way to Frankenstein!

That Manga gives me the willies BTW.
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