Demons, claws, flavor, and more?
Jul 14, 2015 13:27:30 GMT -8
Sebarnexal (nethya.emor) and alecksin like this
Post by Abaddon on Jul 14, 2015 13:27:30 GMT -8
So, this isn’t so much a balance thing, or an issue with game-flow, it’s an issue with… Flavor, and the experience of the roleplay for Demon players. Now, I know the goal is to not make demons ridiculously powerful, but hear me out—this isn’t just demons.
The first thing that’s on my mind, and what stands out to me most, is that for tieflings and fey’ri, I see them given the reward of “Claws as Light Weapons.” Now, in theory, this sounds great. Claws are pretty cool, right? And free weapons! The issue is, though, that anyone with hands has light weapons. The claws are purely a flavor thing, but seem to be listed as some sort of benefit. If this was purely meant as a flavor thing, then I suppose it’s understandable.
Moving on from that, and speaking on natural weapons—they’re bad. In comparison to magic, they’re less useful. They lack the utility of the mage bolt alternatives, and they’re generally only medium in size. In comparison to mundane weapons, they’re without utility, they cannot be enchanted, and they can’t be made out of unique materials. The only benefit is that they’re always equipped… But most swordsmen generally keep their swords on them. Thieves and daggers, that sort of thing. So this isn’t much a benefit at all. So I do wonder then, why so much stress is put on their existence? They are not quite so powerful. I’ll mention demons here for a reason—demons must choose between Medium Claws (rather stale, not all demons have claws, and they could just pick up a sword or something), Enhanced Senses (Scent Tracking and Eidetic Memory are very, very useful), Enhanced Magic (depends on build), and Regeneration (very powerful, allows them to get back into the fight after only a few rounds). When looked at side by side, the last few abilities have the potential to be very powerful. The claws… Not so much.
Moving on to demons… Demons are monsters. They are beasts. Not a single demon is seen in any lore that does not have some sort of weaponized body part, but not all have claws. Some have horns, some have armblades, bladed tails, powerful limbs coated in scales, hooves, spikes, fangs, chest-maws, etc. But the thing is, almost all have them… And not all are claws.
A basic demon has a few key traits:
-Durable flesh (check)
-Strength (check)
-Acclimation to darkness (missing, will discuss in a moment)
-Some form of natural weapon (missing)
Some demons have wings, some have multiple arms, some have tails and some do not. Some are beautiful to look upon, some are hideous and terrifying. Some can regenerate, some are ethereal… There are many, many types of demons. But almost all have the few traits mentioned above unless they are some form of imp or other demon that would be best represented by the Lesser Summons spell. Additionally, not all demons cast spells… Some of them are purely juggernauts.
But these demons, I feel as though they are missing two things. One, Darkvision (perhaps only out to chat range to preserve the usefulness of Enhanced Senses), but all demons ought to have Darkvision of some sort. They are from the plane of darkness, the abyss. They are creatures borne of and representing all that is dark and evil. Even their offspring, Fey’ri and Tieflings, have the ability to see in the dark better than they can, generally. That strikes me as odd.
Two, some form of natural weapon. This could be a Medium Sized weapon of any type—horns, claws, chest-maw, tail, spikes, fangs, or anything else that one could think of that is a melee type natural growth. I don’t think it’s worth it to sacrifice the ability to heal, remember all and see in the dark and scent track, or surpass other races in magic aptitude just to gain some medium sized weapons that one could easily obtain by just picking up a sword.
My suggestion for the Demon Race would be as follows (my changes bolded):
-Demons have Darkvision out to Chat Range
Demons may choose 1 of the following:
-Claws removed from listing
-Enhanced Magics (+1 Magic Rating and two additional spells known [net 4])
-Enhanced Senses (Darkvision to 120 feet [twice normal], scent tracking, enhanced hearing, and eidetic memory)
-Regeneration (take 2 posts uninterrupted to heal 1 hit point)
Additionally, the demon must choose one of the following:
- The demon starts play with 1 Evocation spell of their choice, for free. If there is a Magic Rating cost to the spell, it always costs them 1 less, for that particular spell only. This is an innate ability to them. It is a one post cast.
-The demon has a natural melee weapon of some sort of Medium Size. Examples are claws, spikes, fangs, bladed Tails, blades growing from the forearm, a gaping, fanged maw in the chest, and anything else thematic and fittingly demonic.
The clear split, here, is physical and magical demons. Some have innate, useful powers of evocation that allow them to summon up abilities at a moment's notice. Others have large claws and fangs that make them a physical threat, but are without such specializations in magic. Both can do about the same damage with the right build.
The other option would be to include those two traits with the three above, and simply make it “Choose two of these five traits.” This would result in each demon being that much more… Unique, and more customized to the player without breaching into the “Gifts and Limitations” level of customization or power that the Blessed Races have.
The first thing that’s on my mind, and what stands out to me most, is that for tieflings and fey’ri, I see them given the reward of “Claws as Light Weapons.” Now, in theory, this sounds great. Claws are pretty cool, right? And free weapons! The issue is, though, that anyone with hands has light weapons. The claws are purely a flavor thing, but seem to be listed as some sort of benefit. If this was purely meant as a flavor thing, then I suppose it’s understandable.
Moving on from that, and speaking on natural weapons—they’re bad. In comparison to magic, they’re less useful. They lack the utility of the mage bolt alternatives, and they’re generally only medium in size. In comparison to mundane weapons, they’re without utility, they cannot be enchanted, and they can’t be made out of unique materials. The only benefit is that they’re always equipped… But most swordsmen generally keep their swords on them. Thieves and daggers, that sort of thing. So this isn’t much a benefit at all. So I do wonder then, why so much stress is put on their existence? They are not quite so powerful. I’ll mention demons here for a reason—demons must choose between Medium Claws (rather stale, not all demons have claws, and they could just pick up a sword or something), Enhanced Senses (Scent Tracking and Eidetic Memory are very, very useful), Enhanced Magic (depends on build), and Regeneration (very powerful, allows them to get back into the fight after only a few rounds). When looked at side by side, the last few abilities have the potential to be very powerful. The claws… Not so much.
Moving on to demons… Demons are monsters. They are beasts. Not a single demon is seen in any lore that does not have some sort of weaponized body part, but not all have claws. Some have horns, some have armblades, bladed tails, powerful limbs coated in scales, hooves, spikes, fangs, chest-maws, etc. But the thing is, almost all have them… And not all are claws.
A basic demon has a few key traits:
-Durable flesh (check)
-Strength (check)
-Acclimation to darkness (missing, will discuss in a moment)
-Some form of natural weapon (missing)
Some demons have wings, some have multiple arms, some have tails and some do not. Some are beautiful to look upon, some are hideous and terrifying. Some can regenerate, some are ethereal… There are many, many types of demons. But almost all have the few traits mentioned above unless they are some form of imp or other demon that would be best represented by the Lesser Summons spell. Additionally, not all demons cast spells… Some of them are purely juggernauts.
But these demons, I feel as though they are missing two things. One, Darkvision (perhaps only out to chat range to preserve the usefulness of Enhanced Senses), but all demons ought to have Darkvision of some sort. They are from the plane of darkness, the abyss. They are creatures borne of and representing all that is dark and evil. Even their offspring, Fey’ri and Tieflings, have the ability to see in the dark better than they can, generally. That strikes me as odd.
Two, some form of natural weapon. This could be a Medium Sized weapon of any type—horns, claws, chest-maw, tail, spikes, fangs, or anything else that one could think of that is a melee type natural growth. I don’t think it’s worth it to sacrifice the ability to heal, remember all and see in the dark and scent track, or surpass other races in magic aptitude just to gain some medium sized weapons that one could easily obtain by just picking up a sword.
My suggestion for the Demon Race would be as follows (my changes bolded):
-Demons have Darkvision out to Chat Range
Demons may choose 1 of the following:
-Claws removed from listing
-Enhanced Magics (+1 Magic Rating and two additional spells known [net 4])
-Enhanced Senses (Darkvision to 120 feet [twice normal], scent tracking, enhanced hearing, and eidetic memory)
-Regeneration (take 2 posts uninterrupted to heal 1 hit point)
Additionally, the demon must choose one of the following:
- The demon starts play with 1 Evocation spell of their choice, for free. If there is a Magic Rating cost to the spell, it always costs them 1 less, for that particular spell only. This is an innate ability to them. It is a one post cast.
-The demon has a natural melee weapon of some sort of Medium Size. Examples are claws, spikes, fangs, bladed Tails, blades growing from the forearm, a gaping, fanged maw in the chest, and anything else thematic and fittingly demonic.
The clear split, here, is physical and magical demons. Some have innate, useful powers of evocation that allow them to summon up abilities at a moment's notice. Others have large claws and fangs that make them a physical threat, but are without such specializations in magic. Both can do about the same damage with the right build.
The other option would be to include those two traits with the three above, and simply make it “Choose two of these five traits.” This would result in each demon being that much more… Unique, and more customized to the player without breaching into the “Gifts and Limitations” level of customization or power that the Blessed Races have.
