It Takes More Than a Rib

Creating Races In Your Game

The last two pieces I’ve worked on for 3pp have been races. The books are still in editing and not out yet, but I’d like to talk a little bit about race creations as I feel I’ve gained some new insight. To some this will be old hat stuff, I’m sure. To others it might be new ground you haven’t explored but have thought about. This is also a way for me to get some of my thoughts onto a page so I can look back at them later.

Where do you start when creating a race for your game? There honestly is no one answer. Sometimes you just have a cool idea, Maybe you want a blind race that can still get around. Maybe you need something to fill a specific role such as a race of desert traders to round out an area of your world. In one case the editor thought a certain real-world critter was cool and he wanted a race based on them. So starting points can vary from person to person.

The thing about building a race is that it’s far more complicated than just throwing a few racial abilities together. Sure, I can just go in and manipulate the numerical system to get a mechanically good race, but why would I? The question should become why you choose certain racial features, not just if you can afford them. So what factors do we use to choose the traits of our races?

Genetic traits are one of the first things we think of when we think about race. Size first and foremost comes to mind. General physical make: dwarves are hardy, orcs are strong, halflings are nimble. These all come from genetic factors. Some magical abilities can be considered genetic. An aasimar’s ability to cast light and a teifling’s ability to cast darkness are genetic markers from their planar blood. Even some skills bonuses can represent a genetic leg up like perception bonuses for halflings and keen sense for elves.

Cultural factors also play a big part in the choices we make for our races. One of the most obvious cultural choice is hated enemies. Gaining an attack bonus against or a dodge bonus to avoid certain creatures because you fight them often is cultural. Many of the skill bonuses are cultural too. The gnomes bonuses to craft and profession are learned behavior. So when handing out racial abilities that are not genetic you have to ask ourselves what it is about this creature’s culture gives it these abilities.

Environment is another thing that can help shape your new race. Not all elves are born in the forest, and the snowcaster elves of Golarion get bonuses for surviving in cold weather. Environment can give little changes to your standard races that can alter their culture slightly or over time give them slightly different genetic modifiers. It’s more of an effect on the other two categories than a thing of its own.

Genetics, culture, and environment are important, but this is also a game and there are rules so you do need to make sure your race is also mechanically viable to play. Races should have their niche, but a lot of races creators err too much on the side of being exceptionally good at only this one thing. Many times that leaves a race that is both one dimensional and flat, as well as one that can’t do much other than the one thing it’s good at. Learning to balance out a race so it can do a few things is a fine art; one even I’m not sure I’ve mastered yet.

All of this is a very basic overview of the process, but I didn’t even have a lot of this going into my first race building project for a Pathfinder 3pp title. When you’re writing something for more than just one game you also have other factors to think about;  Race specific feats, races specific traits, alternate racial abilities, and racial archetypes to name a few. Today I am just focusing on the very basics of making a new race for your Pathfinder game.

What new races have you created? Why do they exist in your world? What is your most common way to start the race creation process? Share your process with everyone in the comments so we can get a better understanding of the process.

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Walking in a Winter Wonderland - Tolc's Frigid Followers

It’s Saturday and thus time to talk about a god. For those of you who haven’t been a part of my explorations into the religions of Golarion, here’s how it works:

Imagine, if you will, you're making a character for a group. Your only instruction is that you must be a worshiper of a specific god. You do not need to be a divine casting class, although you can be, but the party’s purpose is working toward the goals of this specific divine being. I'd like not just a race/class combo, but a little bit about why the character would choose to dedicate themselves to this particular deity. Feel free to make up secret or not-so-secret orders within the church, or even sects outside of the church that you think might be interesting. With only this one piece of information that must be true, let your imagination go wild with the rest.

Today's god

Tolc, Choatic Good Empyreal Lord of cold, frozen wilds, survival

Tolc’s Pathfinder Wiki page

Tolc’s Archives of Nethys Entry

As the autumn fades into winter, the gods of the cold months and climes come into their own. Whether it’s the frigid and deadly cold or the durability of the arctic beasts, the freezing days have much to offer for those who worship the gods of the season. One of the goodly winter gods, respected among the Ulfen and the mysterious Saumen Kar people, is Tolc the Snow-Strider. Today we look at some of the factions among the worshipers of the Empyreal Lord of the cold.

Drift Riders

Although they mostly worship Findeladlara, goddess of art and architecture, a few devout snowcaster elves revere Tolc over their people’s traditional god. Tolc’s faithful make up an elite group of female warriors who ride into battle on Caribou, and their male counterparts who are masters of animal husbandry;  breeding the caribou big enough to be ridden. These caribou riders protect all the tribes of snowcasters and renounce familial ties to become one of the riders or breeders.

The females tend to be rangers, fighters or Cavaliers. On rare occasion a paladin who can see past Tolc’s chaotic nature and focus on his good works joins the cause. The males who spend their days in communion with the mighty caribou come from a druidic tradition, which seems very alien to the more traditional forest druids.

The Tractless Rangers

From the Land of the Linnorm Kings to the Realm of the Mammoth Lords and up through the crown of the world, the snow-covered wastes of the northlands are a dangerous place.  Although these lands are treacherous, many caravans use the crown of the world as a faster route from the westernmost portions of avistan to the easterly portions of Casmaron on their way to the nation of Tian Xia. Making the trek is difficult at best and deadly at worst  so many merchants hire on the services of the Tractless rangers.

The rangers come from many of the snow-born peoples. Ulfen and Kellids, Half-Orcs and Snow Elves, even the occasional frost giant outcast numbers themselves among the group ranks. The only thing the members have in common is their dedication to Tolc. Although they are called rangers, the group is made up of any being that can survive the cold climes and lead others through the frozen wilderness unharmed.

Who is your follower of Tolc? What is your winter warrior like?

The Last Ride: Golarion's Horsemen

It’s Saturday and it's time to talk about a god. For those of you who haven’t been a part of my explorations into the religions of Golarion, here’s how it works:

Imagine, if you will, you're making a character for a group. Your only instruction is that you must be a worshiper of a specific god. You do not need to be a divine casting class, although you can be, but the party’s purpose is working toward the goals of this specific divine being. I'd like, not just a race/class combo, but a little bit about why the character would choose to dedicate themselves to this particular deity. Feel free to make up secret or not-so-secret orders within the church, or even sects outside of the church that you think might be interesting. With only this one piece of information that must be true, let your imagination go wild with the rest.

This week we’re doing a little something different. With all our talk about end-of-the-world prophecies on Wednesday, we’re going to look at the beings who personify the cataclysm and catastrophe that will arise in the final days. The beings that will ride the face of Golarion, turning it into wastes, and reveling in the death and slaughter. We will discuss the anthropomorphized eschaton, the four Horsemen of the Apocalyspe­—and no I don’t mean Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Ole Anderson and Tully Blanchard (Yes, that’s a wrestling reference. I’m a wrestler, so sue me).

Apollyon, The Prince of Locusts – Horseman of Pestilence

Apollyon’s Pathfinder Wiki page 

Apollyon’s Archives of Nethys Entry 

Charon, The Boatman – Horseman of Death

Charon’s Pathfinder Wiki page 

Charon’s Archives of Nethys Entry 

Szuriel, Angel of Desolation – Horseman of War

Szuriel’s Pathfinder Wiki page  

Szuriel’s Archives of Nethys Entry 

Trelmarixian, The Black – Horseman of Famine

Trelmarixian’s Pathfinder Wiki page 

Trelmarixian’s Archives of Nethys Entry 

Throughout history the horsemen have been depicted in many, many,  mediums. In Good Omens Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett modernized the Horsemen by portraying them as a biker gang. In Piers Anthony’s series Incarnations of Immortality, both Death and War aren’t so much horsemen as they are jobs held by people. Whether evil or just doing their job, the horsemen always bring death and destruction with them.

On Golarion the horsemen are Archdaemons, not to be confused with Demons, and rule over the desolate realm of Abbadon. The title of "Horseman" is transferable and can be usurped by upward-minded daemon harbingers. The positions bring with them power like that of a demigod and the ability to imbue their followers with small portions of this divinity. And with mortal lust for power being what it is, there are those who will flock to worship even these beings who personify their own end.

Although they do not technically have churches, or really any organized faith to speak of, the Horsemen are worshipped by no small number of creatures on Golarion. Some pay them their due out of fear of their own mortality. Others are hate-filled monsters who want nothing less than the total destruction of the world to ease their own pain. We're going to explore those who willfully dedicate themselves to the worship of these foul Archedaemons and comprise their dread cults.

Apollyon

The cults of the horsemen of pestilence usually come from the ranks of those who have either lost someone they love to, or themselves suffered from, the ravages of a foul disease. These demented souls are so full of hatred and anger that they turn to Apollyon and pray for him to inflict upon others the same illness they have been stricken with. Necromancers fascinated with diseases, plague born sorcerers and witches are very common among the worshipers of the Archdaemon of disease.

These cults tend to use sewers as their base of operations in larger cities. They often ally with wererats, or more rarely they become lycanthropes themselves in order to better spread the word, the will, and the plagues of their master. In some dark corners one might hear whispered rumors of a gathering of ghasts and ghouls who seek to serve Apollyon with the spread of their fevered, diseased touch.

Charon

Death is death. Whether the cause be disease, war, or famine, it’s all still death and all things living will eventually find themselves in Charon’s icy embrace. Charon’s main sphere of influence, however, is death by old age. Many of his supplicants have lost a loved one who has been ravaged by the passage of long, hard years. Some have seen their children perish before them and, in their bitterness, wish a similar pain upon others. Almost all seek to find a way to lengthen their stay on Golarion, and undeath is one of the most common routes to this goal.

One of Charon’s largest cults is actually a group of forlorn elves. Born into a world with few of their kind, they’re forced to watch the shorter-lived races around them die. Watching generations of humans wither away was not easy on them. Even with the return of their kin, not all of these elves managed to retain their sanity.

Calling themselves “The Ageless”, they are masters of necromancy and alchemy. The elves have a specific focus on accelerating the aging process. They especially love to use their abilities on their kinsmen which returned to Golarion in the Age of Enthronement. Those who did not have to live through death after death must be made to suffer by watching that which they love wither and die before suffering the same fate themselves.

Szuriel

Szuriel’s followers live for the blood and thunder of battle—the bigger the better. Although many of his followers are warfighters themselves; anti-paladins, holy warriors, savage brutes and the like, the Angel of Desolation needs those who can cause wars and not just fight in them. The horseman of war finds followers among the aristocrats, politicians, and diplomats who can force their people onto the battlefield. One misstep of language can cause entire countries to field mass armies, and Szuriel’s followers have a penchant for the misspoken word.

In darkened backrooms, his minions can be found engineering enmity and planning the calendar of carnage. These wealthy warhawks make and spend fortunes trading in the secrets of their homelands to make sure other followers can keep their countries geared up for war. National interests mean nothing to the worshipers of Szuriel, watching their countrymen die in droves elevates both them and their Archdaemon master.

Trelmarixian

The horsemen of war is not the only one of the Archdaemons whose worshiper base moves outside the realm of cultists. Trelmarixian is considered to be a part of the Kobold pantheon as well as a member of the four horsemen. Although he does still have cults among the more civilized races, his kobold followers could actually be called an organized religion.

Kobolds are known for their ravenous appetites, although perhaps a little less so than goblins, but food is not always readily available for the little dragonmen. In times of great hunger the priests of Trelmarixian urge their brethren to steal food from the more civilized races. This Kobold-made destruction of crops, when allowed to get out of hand, can mimic the effects of a food shortage brought on by drought.

The Kobolds who truly dedicate themselves to Trelmarixian do not consume more than the most basic amounts of food needed to sustain them. The priests are known for their emaciated bodies, ribs showing through dry, cracked, leathery skin. This self-imposed fasting is considered to be a worthy sacrifice for the powers granted by their Archdeamon lord.

Grand Conclaves

On very rare occasion the followers of all four horsemen will gather. These conclaves are often followed by a great period of mass destruction in a region. Plagues of vermin will sweep across the land, crops not eaten by the locusts will wither and die, and the populace will fall to bickering and fighting until no option is left but all-out war. Recent memory hasn’t seen such a thing, but ancient texts suggest that it has happened in the past and the followers of any goodly gods would be wise to remain vigilant for any sign of these apocalyptic grand conclaves. 

And there you have the cults of the four horsemen. Who are your flag bearers of the apocalypse? Death, War, Pestilence or Famine, what character would you make?