Author Topic: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime  (Read 308824 times)

Offline Garryl

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #800 on: March 23, 2017, 01:38:19 AM »
Based on the Mantis race from FTL: Faster Than Light. I already have Engi, Lanius, and Zoltan as part of my Power of Cybernetics material. That just leaves the (unimaginatively named) Crystal, Rockmen, and Slug races.

Mantis race
Mantis are a warlike insectoid race. Their society places little value on individual lives, and makes extensive use of slave labor.

Due to their unusual shape and grasping limbs, Mantis require non-standard weapons and armor. Weapons made for Mantis use differ from normal weapons solely by how they are held (typically with an altered grip or hilt). They have the same market value as normal weapons (although they are typically sold at a greater price outside of Mantis lands due to their rarity). Non-Mantis using weapons designed for Mantis do not suffer any additional penalties once they have familiarized themselves with the altered grip. Mantis armor is designed for their quadrupedal form. It has a market value twice that of Medium armor designed for humanoids.

Mantis Racial Traits
  • +2 Str, -2 Dex
  • Medium Vermin: Mantis are Medium sized Vermin. Unlike most Vermin, they are not mindless, and are typically as intelligent as the average human.
  • Base Speed 40 feet: A Mantis's four hind legs allow it to move faster than most bipeds.
  • Darkvision: Mantis can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and Mantis can function just fine with no light at all.
  • Impeded Tool Use: Although Mantis claws are capable of fine manipulation, they are far less dextrous than many other races. A Mantis suffers a -2 penalty on all skill checks involving the use of tools.
  • Impeded Weapon Use: Although Mantis claws are capable of fine manipulation, they are far less dextrous than many other races. A Mantis suffers a -2 penalty on all attack rolls with manufactured weapons. This penalty is negated when wielding weapons specifically made for use by Mantis claws.
  • Natural Attacks: Mantis have claw-like forelimbs, overtly similar to those of a praying mantis. They can use these as a pair of natural claw attacks, dealing a base damage of 1d4 each.
  • Quadrupedal: As a quadruped, a Mantis has increased stability and carrying capacity compared to other Medium sized creatures. This grants the Mantis a +4 bonus on checks to resist being bull rushed, overrun, or tripped, and allows the Mantis to carry 1-1/2 times as much as a bipedal Medium sized creature.
  • Skills: Mantis have a +2 bonus on all Hide, Intimidate, Spot, and Survival checks.
  • Favored Class: Warblade.
  • Automatic Languages: Common, Mantis.
  • Bonus Languages: Draconic, Engi, Giant, Sylvan, Undercommon.
Rock
- -2 Dex, +2 Con
- 20' Dwarf speed (not slowed by armor/encumbrance)
- Fire resist 5
- Nonflammable: Cannot catch fire, although equipment still can.
- +1 natural armor

Slug
- +2 Cha, -2 Wis
- 30' speed
- Telepathy 100 feet
- No legs. Stability and carrying as quadruped.

Crystal
- +2 Con, -2 Wis
- 25' Dwarf speed (not slowed by armor/encumbrance)
- SLA: 1/day Hold Portal
- Reduced suffocation? Gonna have to look up those rules again. Also drowning and inhaled poisons.
- +1 natural armor
« Last Edit: March 23, 2017, 01:41:57 AM by Garryl »

Offline Garryl

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #801 on: May 22, 2017, 11:16:26 PM »
A rewrite of Divine Metamagic.

Divine Metamagic [Divine]
You can channel energy into some of your divine spells to make them more powerful.
Prerequisite: Ability to turn undead or rebuke undead, any metamagic feat.
Benefit: When you take this feat, choose a metamagic feat that you have that increases the level of the spell slot the spell requires. This feat applies only to that metamagic feat. When you apply the chosen metamagic to a spell, you can choose to apply it in such a way that it does not increase the level of the required spell slot. Instead, as part of casting the spell or otherwise making use of it (such as losing the spell to spontaneously cast a cure or inflict spell), the caster must also spend on turn or rebuke undead attempt, plus an additional attempt for each level the metamagic would otherwise increase the spell slot's level. Failure to expend the required number of turning or rebuking attempts causes the spell to be lost to no effect.
Special: This feat may be taken multiple times. Each time you take this feat choose a different metamagic feat to which to apply it.

Offline Garryl

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #802 on: July 04, 2017, 10:53:59 AM »
Simplified Initiative Tracking and Special Initiative Actions
This is a slightly simplified way of handling initiative. Basically, it drops the actual initiative count numbers and simplifies things to a pure order of actions. It's the way I ran combat with my tabletop group when I was DMing, albeit refined a bit. I still haven't figured out how to handle new creatures joining an encounter in the middle yet, unfortunately.

Once an encounter starts and initiative has been rolled, drop all actual initiative counts. Make a list of all combatants in the order they act, plus the special initiative marker indicating the start of the round. Whenever an effect with a duration is produced or anything else that requires tracking time from round to round happens within an encounter, add an initiative marker for it to the initiative list.

To actually run this, just make a list (actually a queue, for us computer science folks), starting with the start of round and continuing with all combatants in order. Start from the top of the list. Whenever a creature comes up, it takes its turn, then cross it off and write its name at the bottom of the list. Likewise, whenever a special initiative marker comes up, do whatever needs to be done for that event, then cross it off and rewrite it at the bottom of the list (unless it's an effect that's ended, in which case you don't need to keep tracking it).

Delay: When your delayed turn triggers, your place in the initiative order moves to immediately after the event that triggered it. If multiple creatures delay in response to the same event, make opposed initiative checks to determine the new order.

Ready: When your readied action triggers, your place in the initiative order moves to immediately before the event that triggered it. If multiple creatures ready in response to the same event, make opposed initiative checks to determine the new order.

Moment of Alacrity
Diamond Mind 6 (Boost)
You can improve your initiative count for the next round and all subsequent rounds. When you initiate this maneuver, your place in the initiative order for the subsequent and following rounds moves to immediately after the start of the round.

Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #803 on: July 04, 2017, 12:54:47 PM »
But what if I want stack-based initiative? :P

Offline Stratovarius

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #804 on: July 04, 2017, 12:57:55 PM »
Has anyone actually considered going through this thread and pulling out all of the material that's actually finished? There's a lot of "Ideas I actually fleshed out but didn't stick in a separate thread" in here.

Offline FireInTheSky

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #805 on: July 04, 2017, 01:19:11 PM »
Has anyone actually considered going through this thread and pulling out all of the material that's actually finished? There's a lot of "Ideas I actually fleshed out but didn't stick in a separate thread" in here.

The first post has an Index in it, though it's only of Garryl's stuff, and last updated 3 years ago.

Offline Stratovarius

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #806 on: July 04, 2017, 01:41:29 PM »
The first post has an Index in it, though it's only of Garryl's stuff, and last updated 3 years ago.

We can call that a "No", I think.

Offline FireInTheSky

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #807 on: July 04, 2017, 01:49:40 PM »
The first post has an Index in it, though it's only of Garryl's stuff, and last updated 3 years ago.

We can call that a "No", I think.

 :P

Offline Garryl

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #808 on: July 04, 2017, 02:03:19 PM »
Has anyone actually considered going through this thread and pulling out all of the material that's actually finished? There's a lot of "Ideas I actually fleshed out but didn't stick in a separate thread" in here.

I did that for most of my more complete ideas a while ago. The bigger things, like classes, have their own threads. Individual feats and whatnot I put in Microbrews. Again, though, that's just my own personal material.

I don't know about everyone else, but my finished-looking stuff here tends to come in two categories:
1) Ideas that I fleshed out and finished up over time, editing in the original space.
2) Ideas that were technically complete, but that I hadn't even looked at the balance of. Playable, but potentially broken.

The first post has an Index in it, though it's only of Garryl's stuff, and last updated 3 years ago.

One of the advantages of being the thread starter is that your post gets to start the thread.

Offline Nytemare3701

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #809 on: July 04, 2017, 04:38:51 PM »
The few things I fleshed out from other people's recommendations are in my extended sig. I'll probably be making another pass through here at some point for more inspiration.

That said, here's one: Salt in a lot of lores stops supernatural beings from passing. An ancient cataclysm/divine intervention causes a planet to have an atmospheric salt layer, and subsequently no ghosts or demonic influences. Falling stars herald the coming of evil in this world because (unknown to the people below) the salt barrier is temporarily broken and things slip through. Paladins are trained as quick response teams and the priests are astronomers who try to predict the coming evils.

Until one day, a meteor shower occurs and all hell breaks loose. The paladins can't respond to the overwhelming number of reports and the world as a whole is totally unprepared to deal with supernatural menaces (nobody but the paladins have holy/ghost touch weapons)

I'm pretty sure this is at LEAST one anime plot.

Twist: Salt desert where the last bastion of "humanity" is actually a mostly necropolitan city run by a benevolent(?) Dry Lich council.

Offline sirpercival

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #810 on: July 04, 2017, 07:57:35 PM »
3-level prc, requires Swallow Whole or something similar. You swallow willing creatures and fuse with them, gaining their abilities until you spit them out.

Basically,

(click to show/hide)

plus

(click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: July 05, 2017, 07:28:36 AM by sirpercival »
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Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #811 on: July 04, 2017, 08:11:14 PM »
Whatever the second one is.

Offline sirpercival

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #812 on: July 04, 2017, 10:32:18 PM »
Whatever the second one is.
Did you read Worm?
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Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #813 on: July 04, 2017, 11:04:24 PM »
No, but my concern was more how blurry it is :P

Offline Garryl

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #814 on: July 04, 2017, 11:51:00 PM »
Whatever the second one is.
Did you read Worm?

Wait, that's supposed to be Noelle? I would not have guessed that. It looks more like something out of a 3rd-party Cthulhu book for d20 Modern.

Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #815 on: July 04, 2017, 11:54:51 PM »
Whatever the second one is.
Did you read Worm?

Wait, that's supposed to be Noelle? I would not have guessed that. It looks more like something out of a 3rd-party Cthulhu book for d20 Modern.


I thought it was a 2E MM picture.

Offline sirpercival

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #816 on: July 05, 2017, 07:28:19 AM »
Whatever the second one is.
Did you read Worm?

Wait, that's supposed to be Noelle? I would not have guessed that. It looks more like something out of a 3rd-party Cthulhu book for d20 Modern.

Indeed.

I don't know why it turned out so blurry, honestly. I'll update the link.
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Offline RedWarlock

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #817 on: July 05, 2017, 07:44:09 PM »
The few things I fleshed out from other people's recommendations are in my extended sig. I'll probably be making another pass through here at some point for more inspiration.

That said, here's one: Salt in a lot of lores stops supernatural beings from passing. An ancient cataclysm/divine intervention causes a planet to have an atmospheric salt layer, and subsequently no ghosts or demonic influences. Falling stars herald the coming of evil in this world because (unknown to the people below) the salt barrier is temporarily broken and things slip through. Paladins are trained as quick response teams and the priests are astronomers who try to predict the coming evils.

Until one day, a meteor shower occurs and all hell breaks loose. The paladins can't respond to the overwhelming number of reports and the world as a whole is totally unprepared to deal with supernatural menaces (nobody but the paladins have holy/ghost touch weapons)

I'm pretty sure this is at LEAST one anime plot.

Twist: Salt desert where the last bastion of "humanity" is actually a mostly necropolitan city run by a benevolent(?) Dry Lich council.

Reminds me of Thread from Dragonriders of Pern. Sort of inverted in reasoning, but very similar concept.
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Offline sirpercival

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #818 on: July 13, 2017, 06:22:46 AM »
Memelord base class.

Possible CFs:

Rage Face - rage
Doge - animal companion
All your base are belong to us
Rickroll
one true god (capstone. become nick cage aka divine rank 0)
I am the assassin of productivity

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It's begun — my things have overgrown the previous sig.

Offline Garryl

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #819 on: July 14, 2017, 02:26:21 AM »
Sometimes, an ability outside of one class or another lets you recover a maneuver. Usually, this has to have some sort of special text to account for crusaders who also need their maneuvers to be granted, not just readied and unexpended. I'm trying to figure out a good way of writing it. Most of the methods I've come up with in the past have felt a little clunky.

The best I have so far is: "If a recovered maneuver was withheld, it is also granted to you."