+Weaker and faster than humans.

+Better senses of sight and hearing.

+Elves can speak to animals.

+Elves can become unseen and unheard to non-elves who aren't looking for them hard enough, so long as they don't do anything too obvious or touch anyone. Once a non-elf has seen them, their invisibility wouldn't work on them until a month has passed. It also doesn't work on anyone who knows the elf's name, and under certain other conditions (such as during twilight). Talking or even shouting doesn't usually break the spell, unless the non-elf happens to follow the sound and look right at them.

+Elves can wreath themselves in eerie elf-fire (even while invisible. Especially while invisible, for extra effect), or conjure up to a few floating wisps of it about as bright as a candle-flame, which can be moved around nearby. Though misleading and indirectly dangerous (most humans react with fear or wonder), they are physically harmless and will vanish if they so much as touch anything solid.

- Elves cannot use their magic (and it all fails) in the presence of large amounts of iron, or small amounts of cold iron – nor can they effect a person wearing as much. They can't escape iron bonds, can't pass through a portal protected with iron, and being struck with an iron weapon will almost certainly kill them. Cold iron will also cause them to lose their magic abilities for a long period of time.

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Dwarfs, as the name implies, are far shorter than humans and generally weaker – they are not fighters, and usually try to solve conflict by running away, outwitting their opponent, or ideally, not getting into it. They are a race of miners, traders and craftsmen who live underground (for good reasons), trading gold and precious gems, as well as their marvelous craftworks for most of their food and drink. Though very ugly themselves – small, hairy, and oddly proportioned, dwarfs ironically have an obsession with anything beautiful – extending to human women, which they tempt with jewels, music, and all sorts of finery to them, since there are no dwarf women. While less universally assholish than the elves, dwarfs are very greedy and won't think too much of sneaking into your village at night to burn everything if somebody paid them well enough. Or if they have a good enough reason to suspect you might be hiding your gold from them. Nothing angers dwarfs like withheld payment, so some communities are wary of dealing with them.

+Weaker and faster than humans.
+Better senses of sight and hearing.

+Dwarfs can speak to animals, but only burrowing ones.

+While elves and trolls and all the others have their specialties, nobody generally beats the dwarfs when it comes to making things, especially beautiful things. Magical beautiful things. Cloaks of invisibility, rings of protection, ropes that tie themselves, never-emptying bottles of wine and swords that light on fire when held by a true warrior. It might take them months or years or even decades, but they can usually manage, so long as they have access to the right materials.

+A respectable dwarf has a hoard of gold and gemstones and other such riches, usually hidden away where nobody else can find it and quite well protected. This makes all but the lowliest of dwarves rather wealthy by human standards, though they are loath to spend any of it (and not entirely due to greed).

+Little known fact about dwarfs: they don't gather all this gold just because they like it. Or rather, they like it for more than the sparkle. Dwarfs generally don't live over a thousand years, but a dwarf who's made it this far and has amassed a truly phenomenal amount of treasure just so might metamorphose into a dragon. Not all dragons were originally dwarfs (a fatal mistake to make), but some were, explaining their suspiciously similar inclinations. Dwarfs thus transformed may change back into their original forms when they feel like it, but most don't very often. They also become immortal, which is a nice bonus, because it means they have all the time in the world to gather more gold and beautiful maidens.

- Dwarfs turn to rocks if hit by too much direct sunlight, basically forever, and it seems to be quite painful if the screams are anything to go by. There's a reason they're always hiding underground (and another reason they're all eager to turn into dragons).

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Trolls are like a combination of dwarfs and bears, but less dwarfish and not quite bearlike. They're taller than a very tall human by half on average (about 3 meters), and quite a bit wider, owning to layers of prodigious muscles, fat, rough skin, and body hair, usually with little pieces of vegetation stuck in it, because most aren't big on personal hygiene. Though they've gotten a reputation for stupidity, the truth is that for the most part they aren't any dumber than humans, although they do tend to be ill-tempered and uneducated, sometimes to their detriment. They can subsist on pretty much anything so long as there's a whole lot of it, but by far prefer human flesh. They can go for a month without eating anything else on just a couple humans. How this works metabolically nobody can say, in part because metabolism hasn't been invented yet.

>>24642663
>large amounts of iron, or small amounts of cold iron
You say that like they are different things.

+Bigger and massively stronger than humans, and a heck of a lot tougher. If they missed you with that log they just picked up, there's a troubling possibility that that dinky sword of yours might not even break through their skin. Even more worryingly, they're not really that much slower.
+Hearing about the same as human on average, eyesight a tad bit worse. They have noses that put bloodhounds to shame, though, being able to track, say, a running human through the woods on a rainy night without much difficulty. They can even smell your feelings, unless you're too dirty. Then they don't really notice much because dirt is what they smell all the time.
+Trolls can speak to animals. In case this isn't clear by that point, humans are actually one of the only races that can't. In the humans' defense, most animals don't have much interesting to say anyway, and they're really about as smart as they look (except for the occasional raven who ate a wizard's heart, who's going to fuck you up when you aren't looking).
+No innate magical talents to speak of, but troll magicians are by no means rare and some are quite powerful. They've also been known to create magical items, though not as good as dwarf made ones. Far bigger, however, if that's any consolation.
-Like dwarfs, trolls (even troll-maidens) turn into rocks (big ones this time) when hit by too much sunlight. Most would rather avoid such a fate, for obvious reasons.

+Troll females are a strange thing. Male trolls are born big, angry, and strong, and only become bigger, angrier and stronger as they grow up. While troll-women are generally just as big and ugly as the men (though they tend to favor more indirect methods of capturing their prey, and are far more likely to dabble in magic), for some unknown reason troll-maidens (females who have never given birth to a troll child) look pretty much human. Some of them are even stunningly beautiful (unfortunately, though less strong they are still far stronger than the average human and their craving for human flesh isn't any weaker). Some troll maidens even go to lengths to find a human husband to marry and sire children for (who turn out to be regular humans, if at times stronger than average) in order to remain beautiful forever. This usually fails as soon as the neighbors' livestock starts disappearing mysteriously.

>>24642698

Depends on who you're asking. Could be another name for the same thing, could be some kind of magical metal, could be iron that was treated some special way (or none at all).

>>24642680
>Dwarves turning to stone in sunlight
What the fuck?

I'm thinking of doing nixes next (I want there to be four main non-human races. It's like one of those rules). Anybody got a better idea? I'm trying to stick to a theme here, as you can see. Besides, nobody ever does nixes.

>>24642759

Believe it or not, but it was there in the original Norse myths. Tolkien chose to leave it out, for obvious reasons, but I felt like it's a nice and unusual touch.

>>24642759
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_dwarves

>>24642764
>Anybody got a better idea?
How traditional are you trying to be?

>>24642804

Just enough for it to feel like it. You saw I took some pretty big liberties, like dwarfs actually being dragon larva (I did base it on the story of Fafnir, of course, but there was nothing to say that all dwarfs turned to dragons, or that it had anything to do with the size of their hoard).

I want the game to work, too. Which is part of the reason I tried to carefully balance the various races' powers (the ones that most trouble me right now are elves, although I think I did add enough limitations there to not make them completely OP).

>>24642837
Instead of nixes I would go with brownies/knockers/hobs. Nixes just seem too much like water elves to me.

But I don't know if tiny little house helpers would really work for PCs.

>>24642651
>virtually the whole race turning out to be selfish pricks who don't even understand why people are angry at them.

Lost interest. Google 'Kender'

>>24642916

Interestingly enough, Norse Elves were pretty much Kenders, except more outright malicious. On the flipside you could buy them off so they'd stop bugging you.

And now you know why the Vikings went out looting and pillaging with such gusto.

>>24642916

I'm imagining them as sort of like kenders on PCP. They don't steal your shit. They steal your shit, then they steal you, then they rape you, then they make paintings on the trees with your blood for shit and giggles, and when they get bored they dump your desecrated corpse back on your doorstep and wait to see your wife's reaction.

And they really don't understand why this makes the humans go all "LET'S BURN DOWN THE WOODS AND SPREAD IRON DUST ALL OVER", because they're like kids pulling the wings off a bug who's mother never told them it's wrong.

Basically they're a nation of Lord of Flies, but immortal and invisible.

>>24642837

The dragon larva thing is a bit derpy, but otherwise it looks quite solid.

>>24642967

Reading back through the thread now, I realize that both my spelling and my grammar are atrocious. I am so very sorry. I probably shouldn't type when I'm so tired.

So, anybody wants nixes next?

>>24642986
But.... >>24642891
But then again it is your game, so carry on.

This is a good thread.

>>24643008
>>24642891

Oh, sorry. Didn't see your post. Well, I did consider something like a brownie, but as you said, it doesn't make for a very good PC and there's a lot of overlap with both dwarfs and elves. You are correct on nixes being a bit too elflike too, however, which is why I'm in a bit of a loss here. I'm thinking maybe making their culture a bit more "mature", in a strange sort of why. Like, if elves all have the mentality of children, then nixes all have the mentality of teenagers. Less amoral and malicious and more self-absorbed and self-justifying. They can be just as bad (in fact, they often are, since unlike elves, and like trolls, they crave human flesh), but just as often they can be neutral or even helpful. They are, of course, obsessed with music and can use it to work magic (they can also use fresh water to heal wounds or diseases, which is another reason they are tolerated by humans, the other being beautiful singing maidens with damp, white robes sticking to their smooth skin).

Sounds good?

>>24643079

Maybe something like shapeshifters? Hulderfolk? Forest-People? Or would that have to much of a kitsune vibe or what have you? (to be honest, the tales are weirdly similar)

>>24643115

Similar enviroinments tend to produce superficially similar myths.


Also OP are you goint to do something for Jötnar? Or is that too overpowered for a PC race?

>>24643195
He actually used the wikipedia Jotunn image for his trolls.

>>24643079
I am just hesitant for a race of people tied to a location like Nixes or Dryads.

>>24643195

I considered that, but yeah, too overpowered. Even trolls were a stretch (I managed by taking away their inherent magical abilities, of which there are surprisingly a lot, apparently).

But a giant who can't do impressive magic and isn't at least as tall as a tree just isn't a proper giant. And that would be kind of OP.

>>24643221

>I am just hesitant for a race of people tied to a location like Nixes or Dryads.

That's another good point. Right now I'm thinking of making it so that nixes depend on water (like, they need to go for a swim every so often or they'll die), but it doesn't have to be from any particular river or spring. So they could manage so long as they stay away from a desert/stick to the coastline.

But yeah it kind of sucks. I'm just in a bit of a loss for any better ideas. Something like orcs or halflings is absolutely out, of course. I want something more traditional feeling.

>>24643115
I like the idea of shapeshifters.

Could go with a Native American vibe and do skinwalkers.

>>24643266
>I want something more traditional feeling.
How tied to Northern Europe are you?

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>>24643240

>and isn't at least as tall as a tree just isn't a proper giant

Hey now, I take umbrage to that.

>>24643266
Well, then use Huldras brah. More or less the same but being semi monster girls.

>>24643292

Rather. I'd go as south as Germany, as you can see, or as West as the coasts of Scotland (though I'll try to avoid it if by all means possible), but I don't want native American mythology in it just now.

Regarding "skinwalkers", though, I don't think that's much a problem. Norse mythology has its share of werewolves, I'm just not sure how well they'd work as PC's.

I also considered volravens for a bit (a raven who ate the heart of a wizard and gained sentience and the ability to turn into a human), but if I understand correctly those are pretty much universally evil. Even moreso than trolls and giants - they're practically a kind of demon.

So also not a very good PC race.

>>24643404
>Norse mythology has its share of werewolves
Really? The only one I can remember is when the Sigard/Sigmund/Sigwhatever pair put on those magic wolf pelts.

You could just have them be a "race" of wild men with this ability (and you could even throw in some other animals if you wanted). You could separate them by tribes. Wolf tribe acts like/can turn into wolves. Deer tribe with deer.

>>24643404
What if you were to make a PC a werewolf with the tenet that the group couldn't find out? You could then have a requirement that they do wolfy things every once in a while to stay in character

>>24643509

I'm not sure I understand, but I think I might like this idea. Could you please elaborate?

>>24643761
Basically take one player aside at the start, and inform them that they are a werewolf. They get a variety of stat bonuses and some shapeshifting/magical abilities. The downside is that they have to keep munching on livestock/sentient beings etc, and display animalistic traits in everyday insteraction. However, if the other players know they're a werewolf there'll be servere consequences.

Maybe put out the idea that all shapeshifters are evil in some way, even if it isn't true, just to get the party opposed to the idea.

>>24643488

What other animals would you say might fit? Wolves and deer I get, foxes, ravens and swans... that's more than enough, I think. The question is how to make them fit well in the setting. It seems... strange to have all those tribes of animal people running around in the forest. I'm not sure it's in the spirit of the myths.

>>24643956
It'd work better if it's just the odd person that knows how to do it, and they shy away from society.

Africa has a decent number of myths about hyena people, you might be able to get something from that.

>>24643995

That seems more like it. A tribe of wild men who act like wolves, some of which actually turn to wolves.

But I'm not sure how good a PC race that makes, yet. It sounds more like a special talent for a human character, or something like that.

I'm liking this thread. But what're you doing exactly OP? Just summarizing the old takes on mythological races?

>>24644068

Planning for a very rules-lite custom setting game based on Scandinavian and German mythology. I'm trying to come up with good character races that would fit better than the old halflings and orcs.

>>24644204
You're doing good work. Have you considered the Fae or are the Elves filling that niche?

>>24644218

Elves are filling that niche as far as PC races are concerned, unless I decide to go with nixes as the fourth one.

And do note, I intend for nonhuman PC's to be relatively unusual. Humans are still by far the most numerous race. I'm also pretty sure I'm going to give all nonhuman PC's to share an additional weakness of holy things (can't go near churches, can be banished by priests, can't harm a truly pious human, etc.) just to give the mortal folks an extra edge against all those beasties.

>>24644289
Good idea. I really like the direction you're going with this, I tried something a few months ago but it went nowhere because of a lack of interest in /tg/.

Working religion into it may be tricky but I think you're approaching it from a good angle in making it an important gameplay mechanic rather than just something in the background.

What are your thoughts on NPC things? Like animals, nonsentient creatures, and the like?

>>24644396

What do you mean? Other humanoid creatures? Sure there are. They're just not PC races.

As for religion, I do intend to at least touch a bit upon the fact that there's a bit of religious conflict going on between the pagans who live further north (alongside basically all the nonhumans) and the followers of the new faith that came from the south alongside things like sciences and new, strange types of magic (the scholarly, hidebound, power-hungry wizards of the new faith work in very different ways from the old witches and cunning-men who've been around for the last thousand years or so).

>>24644537
I really dig the religious conflict. That should be a lot of fun. You're really thinking this out.

Are you implying that faith is a counter to magic? If so that's insanely cool.

By NPC things I meant nonsentient creatures like gruffs, kelpies, griffins, unicorns, etc. Maybe dragons. I like the variety you have in player races though.

>>24644537

>the scholarly, hidebound, power-hungry wizards of the new faith work in very different ways from the old witches and cunning-men who've been around for the last thousand years or so

For some inspiration on this subject you could read up on some old Glorantha lore, because this is a recurring motif in that setting. Also they handle it really, really well.

>>24644736

Faith is a counter to magic that goes against the faith.

It drives away witches and fairies, but only fuels the powers of the hermetic magicians and alchemists of the south, who call fourth angels and demons in the name of higher powers.

Think of witches as a sort of sorcerer/druid hybrid, powers wise, wheres wizards are something between actual wizards and clerics.

>>24644978
Nice. I really like that. I was thinking of them as "druids and clerics" in my head so that comparison works very well.

>>24642698
in nWoD, cold iron is called any natural Iron that was beaten into shape by humans.
Fusing it and adding other substances in it destroys its magical proprieties making it normal iron

>>24644997

Witches and cunning-men in many ways learned their work from the fairy-peoples. Their magic is relatively subtle, spontaneous, and simple to perform. They specialize in illusions, divination, fate manipulation (blessings and curses), communion with spirits and potion/charm making. The most powerful witches also have various transformation abilities. Their magic gathers slowly and naturally, or they can gain more by sacrificing either others (animals and humans) or from themselves (from blood-letting to cutting out eyes). They also almost all suffer from something called "The Witch's Price", which is a sort of cosmic rule that makes sure that one way or another, nearly all witches are either born or made diminished in mind or body (blind, crippled, disfigured, mad, epileptic).

Wizards of the new faith work magic a lot more slowly and methodically. They can't just wave their fingers and curse someone - they need to consult their books, draw big magic circles, gather all the right materials, wait for the stars to be right etc.
But when they're done, they're on a whole different power level. Wizards don't put little curses on people or create small illusions: they raise the dead, become immortal, summon angels and consult with demons. Unlike witches, their power doesn't gather by itself slowly over time, because they don't need it to. The ritual gather its own power each time again. This also allows them to avoid having to pay the Witch's Price. (they usually end up paying anyway, since they deal with demons far more. Not to say that witches never do, but they generally do so a lot less)

>>24645277

This sounds pretty darn good, actually.

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>>24642837

you were doing it for a game?
Your are awesome OP.
I'm not really familiar with nixies but i know of rusalkas and will try to help:

+ the speak with water animals
+ they stats change drastically when inside of water. From fragile maidens they turn into an incredibly strong and swift force of nature.
Just like water, it's soft and fluid, but get 1000 meters under sea level and the pressure will crush your bones.
+Not sure about senses, maybe a better hearing?
+ can shapeshaft into a specific set of forms: horse, frog...
- never eat, just the smell of a plate of food is enough to feed them for a day.
+ tries to drawn men cause... i'm not sure: eat their souls? mate with them? create other nixies?

also usualy dressed in white and their hairs have a shade of green in them.

>>24645277
I don't have a reaction face to show you boss this is, and I have a huge reaction face folder. Awesome work OP 10/10 would play.

Where are you taking this project from here?

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>>24642970
i liked the dragon larva idea.
Shit i really need to go finish reading Eda one day.
Also if you are gonna stat dragons make them small, and not all that OP D&D makes them to be.

>>24645537

I'm thinking my tabletop, but if it works well maybe I'll post some of it here at some point.

>>24643221
>He actually used the wikipedia Jotunn image for his trolls.
i also was quite surprising at it aftet searching Jotnar on ggogle

>>24643344
not OP but i think female Troll maidens count as Huldras

>>24645589
Please do share it, I think it'd be really cool to play.
>>24645576
Also this style of Trolls is my favorite of all time. I think it'd be a great aesthetic for your setting.

>>24645659

I did consider huldra when coming up with troll-maidens. Although the idea itself isn't wholly mine - there ARE stories where troll women are described as beautiful. I tried to make things fit together by saying that they're beautiful while young and then after giving birth to a troll they get all big and worty.

>>24645759

Well, there's trolls and then there's trolls. Norse mythology is kinda funky like that because they can call everything from gnomes to giants trolls.

maybe allow PCs that study magic to learn rituals that allows them to turn into an animal, like druid wild shape.
The rituals can be putting an animal hide on your back or something, this will increase your speed/combat stats/sneakiness... but you can no longer speak and need a ritual to turn back human.

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so you already have some draft for nixies you are willing to share so we can comment?
or you want hear more ideas ?
anyway this topic was awesome, thanks for sharing.

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Have some nixes.

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Have some more nixes

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Have even more nixes

>>24646040

I have a rough one, but it's really late at night here so I think I'll be keeping it for when I come back from work tomorrow in vain hope that the thread would still exist by then. For the time being, more suggestions would be lovely.

>>24646120
i will try to bump this this thread...
but i doubt it will survive for a whole day...
see ya.

What about traditional Kobolds?

Or Russian Domovoi?

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>>24646506
he there fellow russian guy.
The idea of domovoj or english Brownies was discussed but OP said that they are hardly a PC race.
Still let's give this a try:
How can a domovoj go travelling? He was freed from his house service? The house burned down?

What is he going to do now? find another houe to settle in? Not really intresting as he will stop after the first quest.

What about his abilities?
In his own house he has plenety of superpower but outside he will be just a sort of downgraded Dwarf.

>>24646411
could you explain me more about traditional Kobolods,
now that i think about it i don't know shit about them.

>>24646809
Kobolds are forest spirits that can be transform into invisible, an animal, fire, human, or... oddly, a candle.

They can either be a house sprite (not great for PCs), sailing variants (which behave similar to nix but also sail on ships), and wild varieties.

Generally they are sprite like beings being mischievous. Wikipedia has a pretty good article on them http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobold

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let me give a try at kobolds/brownies.
I will go with a mix with russian Bies aka Imp.
I Bies are very small with little horns furry legs and hoves. They are very dark, with brown grey or even black skin.
when they settle down they assume a more human appearance, they settles in houses, ships and sometime mines.
they are smaller then most fairy folks, but have a set of useful skills and magic abilities:

>>24645506
>- never eat, just the smell of a plate of food is enough to feed them for a day.
i like that idea.
it somehow makes fun of how women go all over the top with the idea of losing weight and always being on a diet.

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>>24647593

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>>24647631

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>>24647645
more niixie picsq

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>>24647660
any more ideas on nixies?
how should they suffer from not having water.

>>24647938
They age. They gradually age and become less beautiful the longer they're out of water - their hair greying and eventually falling out, skin becoming dry, wrinkled, and leathery. Their "stats" could reflect that as they become weaker and less powerful

>>24647660
This picture makes me want to ice fish.

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>>24648045
ok.

Still a problem bugs me. What could be a possible plot that mesh ll those creatures into a single party?
It's even more unnatural then WoD crossovers.

>>24648486
Say there's a war brewing between a Christian kingdom to the south and a pagan one to the North. The party is part of a caravan traveling between cities and brings many different characters together for protection. The plot could develop as the caravan gets attacked, the various players have to decide which kingdom they'll support (if one), other quests spin off of it, etc.

>>24648486
well, you could have the hero's strange journey. Where someone has a standard objective- go to next town to buy a cow- and gets waylayed, making new friends and allies along the way.

Or, you could have had them all rounded up. They're magical as shit, an aspiring hedge wizard would probably want samples.

Or you could give them a mutual cause, belief, or enemy.

There's more that I can't think of right now.

>>24648486

Some grand alliance forms between the pagan humans and the inhuman races in response to the encroaching threat from the south and the PC:s are chosen as emissaries of their respective races?

does magic folks have any sort of superior govern?

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>>24649173

>>24650147
>dem Fae
>dat Redcap
>dose Trolls
fucking yes

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Bumping this in honor of the OP. I'll try to keep it alive with periodic bumps until he gets back.

bumping again

>>24652312
another bump

bumpan

Is it just me, or are dwarfs kind of underpowered? Most of their powers seem to only work in the very long term (making magic items, turning to a dragon). Starting the game with extra gold somehow doesn't strike me as worth turning to stone in sunlight...

What classes will there be other than witch and (presumably) wizard?

Last bump from me before I go to bed. Hopefully it stays up until OP returns.

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>>24656917
Bump.

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I suppose it will be really hard to roleplay the chilidish personality of elfs.
Or maybe PCs will be PCs and will do stuff just for lulz, which isn't far away from the fey.

I don't want to steal OP's thunder, but I have a TOTALLY ORIGINAL (at least to my players it will be) take on elves in my setting and I'm not entirely sure calling them elves is a good idea.

They're more like really lean, tall humans with skin that is almost translucent in direct sunlight that just happen to have pointy ears. A lot like Predators from the Schwarzenegger movie than actual elves, except instead of plasma cannons they have magic. Also, they live in very isolationist semi-matriarchal societies where unwed males are basically kicked out of the enclave to go marry into another one, or on rare occasions into human societies. They can't mate with humans, though.

They're generally weird, entirely carnivorous and typically distrust anyone who eats plants for non-medicinal purposes. I'm thinking about making their religion about worshipping a sort of cordyceps fungus elf hivemind thing that forms the central pillar of their enclaves.

So yeah, not entirely sure I should say 'They're called elves' because that might put an image of a generic fantasy elf in my player's minds.

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>>24659241
I heardthat elfs from Discworld are somehow similar to what you describe, people say its woth reading.
Or go with canibal elfs from Dwarf fortress, they eat their fallen comrades, but wil attack you if they see you making wood items.

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so for nixies we have a lot of positive features:
+A very good hearing, and ability to masterfully play musical instruments.
+Strenght and agility increase inside water.
+speak with water animals
+The semll of a well cooked meal is enough to feed them.

but i still didn't see a weakness for them:
The need to immerse in water once a day doesn't seem like a big problem compared to the other races turning to stone in daylight.

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>>24660150
their water weakness isn't serious, but also they powers are not as overwhelming as thoose of other creatures.

Still what would be an explanation of why she drags people in the lake?

>>24660359

I was under the impression they eat people? Where did you get that bit about the smell of food from?

>>24660450
the food smell is from some russian folklore when a rusalka (a drowned girl) went to her home villages and her parents tried to make her stay a village.
She was strange didn't interact with people and only smelled the food. After sometime she escaped back t her pond.

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hmm, I'm thinking of the potential for a dullahan.

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>>24660528

>>24660749
as a PC race?
what are his powers exactly?

Great to see this has stayed alive.

For the nixies, what did you guys think about my idea where they age and become weaker the longer they're outside of water, but turn back into a beautiful woman at full strength when they return to it? A PC may want to carry a cask of of water with them for convenience like Katara from Avatar: the Last Airbender.

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>>24662701
i like it.
About the mechanics i just read on wiki that they must keep their hair always wet. This adds a nice flavour on the mechanics of the need of water 1-3 times a day.
Also since they innate abilities are lower then those of other races it's only fair that their weakness is easier to overcome.

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Rather much like elves, nixes are a race of beautiful, childlike tricksters who are as exceedingly dangerous as they're a pain to deal with. Unlike elves, and curiously like trolls, they also possess the craving for human flesh (along with the ability to go for a long period of time without food after eating a human). Their natural environment is the waters of rivers and lakes, though some may live along coastlines – they can't go into water too deep or salty, though. They are seducers by nature, and use their supernatural talent for music (among other things) to draw unwitting humans into the water to serve as dinner. Lacking even the pretend-courts of the elves, nixes don't form any organized societies much larger than a small tribe – generally with few males and their many wives and daughters. They are a passionate, romantic folk, and while not as malicious as elves, can often be equally self-absorbed. A nix makes a horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE girlfriend. We're talking full cannibal yandere here, people. They take a perverse pleasure in that kind of tragic love.

+Can breathe, see, speak and generally function underwater with no difficulty, moving with fishlike grace and tearing into their prey with sharklike ferocity. While not actually any stronger than humans, this immense advantage means that anyone unlucky enough to find themselves in the water with a tribe of nixes has low odds of survival. Submerging in running waters also helps their wounds heal rapidly.
+They can speak to animals who live in or by the rivers.
+Looking like beautiful (or handsome, in the case of males) elfin humans from the waist up, nixes possess long, scaly fishtails instead of a pair of legs. Their skin and hair both have greenish hues. They can take a human shape to walk on ground, but most try to avoid it – a nix who doesn't fully submerge in running water for a full day will sicken, dying after a couple weeks. A keen observer might notice that in human form they are always wet (inb4 dirty jokes), looking like they just came out of a bath. This extends to their clothing (which just so happens to often be white and rather thin…)
+Nixes can manipulate the emotions of non-nixes who hear them singing. The nix must be fully absorbed in the song to accomplish this, but can inspire others to desire, fear, bewilderment, weariness or sorrow. This ability also extends to whatever musical instrument a nix might play. They temporarily lose this ability if they go for a day without submerging.
-As mentioned above, nixes out of the water tend to sicken and die. And it has to be running, clear water. A river or lake – not a swamp, not an ocean, not a bath. The real thing. They lose their magic after just one day, after a week they're barely functional, and in a month at most they dissolve into a puddle.

>>24663077
>>24663086

So, uhm, OP back here. I can't believe this thread's still alive. Here's my nix draft - what do you think?

>>24663072
Good thinking, and that's an interesting detail.
>>24663077
>>24663086
Intriguing take on them. I like that they're more of a support race than one that can really operate on their own, and are restricted to living in places with naturally running water. Given their passionate emotions they might be a difficult race to RP as but probably very fun. I dig it!

>>24663220

Well, if that is the case they still wouldn't make a good PC race. That means we're back to the drawing table.

>>24663278
I didn't really mean that in the way that they're completely dependent on other PC's - I meant that they seem like natural Bards/Minstrels so would be more efficient when playing in a group with other classes. Sorry, my wording is terrible today.

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dear OP
could you share what kind of plot will you be running and how many people will play?
also will you go with classes?

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what NPC and monsters will there be?
giants
dragons
else?

>>24664174
Dat Baba Yaga. Thanks for the new headcanon.

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Whether physical and mental hardship forces some strong-willed people to manifest latent spiritual tendencies or whether magic was simply not meant to be wielded by humans and doesn't like to be, there's little arguing that the vast majority of human practitioners of witchcraft have it hard at life. Most witches agree that a witch must be born, destined to their power, even if they only come to it later at life – and thus name this phenomenon "the Witch's Price", a nigh inevitable twist of fate that causes human witches to be either born or made later in life (typically shortly before or after coming to their power, though this is hardly consistent) diminished in mind or body. "Magic is an act of will", say the crones who keep the old ways, "and sacrifice is the ultimate manifestation of will. All magic is sacrifice". The witch needn't choose to make the sacrifice. Magic chooses for them. This only serves to further alienate witches from their communities, because the only thing worse than having a neighbor who can curse you with illness and misfortune if you piss her off is having a bitter, vindictive hunchback neighbor with a persecution complex who can. It also occasionally leads to misery as witches looking for apprentices accidentally pick up a random young retard instead of a budding magician and then have to care for the little wretch until it has an unfortunate magic related accident.

The player of a human witch or cunning-man may choose not to pay the Price, but they will only start with half as many spells as usual. While the character may eventually become as powerful a witch as any (or possibly more, seeing as they have all their organs in working order), having not made the essential sacrifice means their starting power is small. Wizards don't pay the price (or at least, they aren't fated to. All this fiddling around with forces beyond their reckoning and inhaling mercury fumes does them in eventually in many cases).

1 – Blind: either by birth or by later injury or illness, the witch has an extremely bad sense of sight, if any at all (the less the better, say the crones – more a sacrifice). While some witches are blind with old age, in most cases this is less due to paying the Price and more due to witches living long enough to go blind, a rare occurrence indeed.

2 – Crippled: by birth or due to having had their bodies broken, the witch may only move around with utmost difficulty, even with a walking stick. They usually end up sitting down in their hats by the fireplace being tended to by frightful family members in return for the occasional charm.

3 – Fits: this witch is known to occasionally fall down in a seizure, foaming at the mouth and sometimes bubbling incoherently. Everybody assumes they're communicating with the spirits or somesuch and just leaves them alone.

4 – Sickly: this witch has very, very poor health. They've hardly had a day in their lives of not being sick, and by now are surely pale and bitter, complaining about the pains between one moist cough and another.

5 – Disfigured: this witch was either born hideously deformed in face and body or was made so by some particularly cruel injury – fire, frostbite, disease, errant bear. Few people can withstand looking at them for long, and they're likely really lonely.

6 – Insane: this witch is prone to strange and unpredictable moods, talking to things even other witches agree aren't really there, and are generally not living in quiet the same world as everyone else. Some can make it look good. Mostly it's pathetic.

7 – Strange: all witches are strange, of course, but this one moreso than most. Probably due to something to do with elves, this witch has been born with a very limited ability to connect to other people, and is prone to isolating themselves in their own weird ways, finding all communication difficult and confusing.

8 – Taboo: powers from beyond make sure the witch follows the rules. They can be rather odd, and are mostly personal. Make up three rules (such as never wearing shoes, never eating meat, or never touching a person of the opposite gender). Break the rules and you sicken and die.

9 – Familiar: the powers from beyond keep an eye on the witch. A belligerent spirit in the form of a black cat follows them around, and while it can be useful at times, it mostly enjoys being cruel to people. Alas, if it dies, the witch will. The familiar, meanwhile, may only find nourishment in the blood flowing from an odd looking wart or wound on the witch's body, so it's definitely within their interest for the witch to live.

10 – Beast-skin: the powers from beyond have gifted the witch with a cloak of wolf's fur or raven's feathers. By putting them on, the witch may transform into the animal. Unfortunately, they're also inflicted with a terrible hunger for human flesh or blood. Nobody can resist the hunger forever: eventually, they will go have their meal, usually (but not technically necessary) in animal shape. Also, if the skin is destroyed, the witch dies.

Roll a d10 and pray for relative good.

>>24664279

I'm pretty sure the girl in the picture is Vasillissa, not Baba Yaga.

>>24664367
Oh, her daughter? Yeah I didn't even consider it. My bad.

>>24664357
>>24664330
>>24664324
Dude. Duuuuuuude. This is so boss. I want to play this game so badly.

>>24664388

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasilissa_the_Beautiful

She isn't Baba Yaga's daughter, just the heroine of a famous folktale who deals with her. In some stories Baba Yaga does have many beautiful daughters, though.

>>24664529
Ohhh. Yeah it's been a long time since I read her stories. I thought she was the daughter that got cooked in the oven or something. Thanks for clearing it up!

I'll elaborate on PC classes later. For now, here's the general plan:

Witches: explained above.

Wizards: explained above.

Rascals: tricksters and other unlawful types living by their wits and ruthlessness, usually off other people. Almost universally despised. Not coincidentally the most common class of nonhuman folks.

Warriors: probably the most common heroic class. Warriors make war. It's really not that complex. They shoot, bash, slash, stab and hit, and they can take a good beating in return.

Nobles: versed in both the arts of the battlefield and the court, nobles enjoy great privileges, but must also bear the burden of rulership (currently working on a "Noble Family" random table: yours might be well-known and loved, reviled as traitors, cursed, or even descended from giants).
There are no nonhuman nobles, as their titles are meaningless.

Wanderers: something between a warrior and a rascal, but not quiet either. Constantly on the move by choice or necessity, they more than anyone know the deep mysteries of the northern lands - and their terrible secrets. They have a strange none-place in human society, and are simultaneously treated with respect and caution. While capable of self-defense, they're far better at avoiding combat.

>>24665097
This is really cool. It comes off as very fairy tale-ish. Have you thought about crafters that can make goods like cobblers, weavers, chandlers, etc.? They could have their own interesting mechanics in making items for the party and selling them to NPCs for cash.

Anyway, I like the general ideas for PC classes. Looking forward to more.

>>24645277
Wizards just seem plain better, to be honest. There are quite a few powerful magic witches in fiction, especially the Germano-Russo-Scandinavian fiction you seem to be going for. In comparison for wizards you've got like... Väinämöinen, and Merlin maybe? Or Odin? None of those are particularly about flashy magic, and Väinämöinen's powers mainly rely on his inherently magical voice.

I also wonder what you're doing with shamanism.

I like the ideas behind your system, but I don't have a lot of faith in its mechanical execution - you seem to buying into D&D somewhat where you perhaps shouldn't be.

This thread seems like it needs to be archived! But I'm not sure what an appropriate title is.

>>24665322
Like, you give over necromancy to wizards but why? This is associated with witchcraft as far back as the bible, is listed as being one of the powers of witches in the earliest accounts of them as a Christian enemy and is one of the major powers of one of the most famous Scandinavian witches, Skuld.

I'm super cautious about this 'price' thing too, and how you step around wizards avoiding it directly but paying (perhaps) equivalently by their practices. The whole idea of a pact or price is very associated with witches, but... wizards deal with demons more? That isn't, particularly. The idea of a pact with a demon is pretty fundamental to at least the Christian interpretation of witchcraft.

Also interested in how you might represent the idea of a witch as a physical threat, like Black Annis or Spearfinger/the Stone Man.

>>24665428
definitive low fantasy classic RPG

>>24665322
In fact Odin straight up gives up his eye and endures great suffering for magical knowledge and the knowledge of prophecy, so you'd probably class him as a witch. Which is fitting, seidr's usually seen as witchy.

I guess I'm just unsure as to where the equivalent mythological basis for wizards is coming from. I'm assuming it's a kind of English, alchemy/summoner John Dee kind of figure - would that be correct?

>>24665474
>definitive

>>24642967
2edgy4me

>>24665322

Väinämöinen would be a witch by this system, and Merlin too, depending on interpretation. Odin would definitely be - power through sacrifice is practically his ongoing theme.

The thing about wizards is that they DON'T come from the same folklore. They don't follow the same rules. They are an export from another, warmer place, strange and scary to the people of the north. They're gnostic-hermetic alchemists and kabbalists, basically, spreading where Christianity does. Rather than "power through sacrifice", their guiding tenet is "power through understanding". They don't want to become one with magic, but to surpass it.

I do admit that the "historical/mythical" accuracy of it all completely fails apart once you start comparing the two, though, precisely because most real-world stories from that period aren't about cultural conflict and exchange. They're written from one viewpoint or the other, and paint different and mutually exclusive pictures. I try to go a sort of middle road that would also be entertaining.

>>24665615
Yeah, I kind of figured Odin would be after that. I was just posting as I was thinking, so it's distributed:

>>24665322
>>24665446
>>24665498

I have nothing against this separation by design, except for the mechanical design - if that makes sense. I think you have to be careful to not make one of these definitively superior to the other and that each has its own niche. The thing with magic in folklore is that even internally in one regional or national folklore it can often be 'can do anything, pretty much, except for this one fatal mythological weakness'. You can't represent that in a game with more than one kind of magician, and I think the choices you've made with wizards might lead to a bad place in terms of design - is a longer casting time for vastly larger effects really going to be much of a limitation? Are the material and entities consulted really going to be that disadvantageous - this sounds like a player-driven choice, at least, which the witches' price definitely isn't.

I'm assuming wanderers are essentially representing invading Christian priests, or any person in a similar role, but I'm interested in if you're going to apply mythological overtones to your rascal/warrior/noble/wanderer, too, and what kind of choices are going to be available to make differing examples of these classes.

>>24665615

As for the witch/wizard split, I'm going to sugggest that you completely rip off RuneQuest.

Basically how this works is to make the wizards really powerful but limited in versatility. Their carefully researched spell does one thing, and it does that really well, but you can't make a spell of "Ignite Wood" ignite a bale of hay, for example.

Witches, on the other hand, could be weaker but can do more versatile things with their spells, which should even out their power levels somewhat in the long run.

>>24665918
I personally think there should just be some things wizards can do that witches can't do, and vice versa. I wouldn't try to cap one at a higher 'power', as that rarely works out in games. Their methods can be different, of course, and this is desirable.

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>>24665960
why not exclude wizards at all?
in that periods the role separation by gender was really marked.
warrior must be male
witches must be female
Obviolsy PCs can chose their character without gender limits but the world will be much harsher for them.

>>24666524
>witches must be female
Like 3 of the 'x would be a witch' literally just quotes were male, and you have people like Hervar on the warrior side too.

So no, I don't really agree and I generally don't think punishing people for playing a given gender is a super great idea in games.

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Plus, this seems like the kind of game you could try and play The Scythian in.

>>24666524

Amusingly, the only class where I thought gender limitations might really apply are nobles. Not because there aren't female nobles, but because the ones that appear in stories just work so differently from the male ones. They don't fight much, nor do they actually own their keeps or command their troops. Maybe I should just make "Lady" a separate class, but I don't know how good it'll be.

Don't die on me thread

>>24666762
I wouldn't. You've still got people like Joan of Arc or Matilda of Tuscany, and someone could get all Chevalier d'Eon if they really wanted to.

>>24642651
elves are the niggars of fantasy
they live in huts
they play gay ass music
dont contribute shit but being a pain in the ass when it comes to diplomacy
and they act like dicks

>>24668692
A+ contribution to the thread. OP, I'd go with this.

>>24665097
>There are no nonhuman nobles, as their titles are meaningless.
Elves and dwarves often do have nobility in stories though. Like a 'noble dwarf' or 'noble elf' and they very often have at least a king.

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>>24668599
since Joan D'Arc was mentioned, would you make a palladin class? or priest?
Or the PCs will be pagan?

>>24669153
I am not OP. He already listed the classes though. It looks like the wanderer might be able to replicate a priest of any faith, and he's mentioned Christianity quite a bit so I assume PCs could be pagan or Christian.

A paladin in this system is probably just a warrior or woble who is a strong believer, especially if said warriors are heroic in the style of beowulf, gunnar, etc.

I very much appreciate this thread.

>>24666561
>FUCKING TRIGONS HOW DO THEY WORK?

>>24670786
>TRIGONS
what are tolkien about?

>>24672770
Have you never played Superbrothers: Swords & Sworcery? The Scythian goes to the Great Mountains seeking to defeat and enslave the Golden Trigon which dwells in the heights, and the Full Moon and New Moon Trigons which now exist only in the dreams of the mountain villagers. I can give you spoilers to the end of the game, which are AWESOME, but it would be better for you to play it yourself.

>>24673147
I wil play that game.
someday...

>>24673895
what's your steam ID, Ill buy it for you

>>24673895
Also, fun fact, the story is actually set in the real world russian mountains of Mingi Taw, and actually reflects real regional legends. More or less.

OP here posting from phone. Unexpected business trip. May not have computer access for several days. Will try to keep in touch. Sorry.

>>24674166
Yeah, it owns.

>>24677155
good luck for the capmapign.

>>24663097
>>24663086
Give them cold resistance, since they walk around wet most of the day.

This is a good thread.

>>24683312


is this still alive???

all kept in a txt, im adding crunch myself, totally in love with the fluff. Also, is there anywhere in particular for OPs Pictures Art?

>>24683312
Eh, it's okay.