Tuesday 18 February 2014

Weird Monster Hunter Halfling Class

So I'm running a Raggi adventure for people new to RPG's and/or new to old school play.

Now a player in my new game wants to be a halfing. Nobody ever wants to be a halfling, come on guy. They're small and they suck and I guess they're lucky? And mainly they're super boring RAW.

I've always had this idea that Halflings are no longer around (since I replaced them with goblins) and also because they used to rule over humans and the humans rebelled and killed most of them off, a la Raggi module backstory.

Time to break out the thinking sacs, I've had this vague idea of a character class which is a beast-taming human ranger rather than a hobbit for a while.
But then I realise, why not hobbits? They're perfect size for riding many beasts. Dog knights! Bear cavalry! Those dinosaur riders from that one setting! Also Ash Ketchum being an adopted halfling completely solves why he never aged in Pokemon.

And then there was that thing which I subsequently found out was in Secret Santicore about dominating creatures and binding them to your will. Why not make that apply to humans as well?

And hey, that ties in with them ruling humans! The halflings dominated human society in Old Testament-equivalent times and that's why everyone hates them!

And maybe their religion is based on God dominating them, so they dominate lesser creatures? And they explain away all their misdeeds because "God made them do it!"? And maybe parents dominate their kids because kids are shits and the mark of halfling adulthood is the ability to disobey your parents? And and and and


He mind-controlled your mum last night


And so -



Halfling

Be this if
You want to be a marksman, a food lover, and a tamer of beasts.

Being a Halfling
Once, millennia ago, it was Halflings who ruled over humanity.
No books record  the centuries of toil and torment beneath the iron-calloused foot of the Halfling empire, but burnt deep into the human genetic memory are the dark times when Halflings enslaved humanity with bonds far stronger and more insidious than iron. 

But that was then, this is now.

The tallfellow rebellion and Halfling genocides pushed your race to the brink of extinction, but it survived.  Now you live in tight-knit, insular farming communities far from civilisation and the Halfling talent for influencing minds has waned to a shadow of its former power.
Seen as a troublemaker by your peers, you are one of those rare few Halflings willing to leave the comfort and safety of home. Whether it be for adventure, revenge, or other reasons of your own, you have set out into a world that no longer fears your kind.

Alignment
You detect as Lawful.

Stay out of trouble
Halflings have long found ways to stay hidden in the deep woods and forgotten valleys of the world.  You have a 5 in 6 Stealth skill in wilderness environs and a 3 in 6 Bushcraft skill at first level.
You are dextrous and careful and good at staying out of danger. You gain a +1 bonus to your DEX modifier and add a bonus +1 AC when you are not surprised.
You’re small and so cannot wield two-handed weapons. You wield medium weapons two-handed.

Monster Tamer
The Halfling power of Domination once brought civilisations to their knees. Starting at 2nd level you’ll gain the ability to dominate a creature and bring it under your control.
A Domination attempt take one whole round (declare before initiative) and requires you to touch the creature or look deep into its eyes. You can call it Taming if you like.
All creatures can feel the violating touch on their psyche during domination attempts, failing a domination roll may fill unintelligent beasts with madness and fear and drive intelligent creatures to kill you before you can enslave their free will.
Domination is an opposed check with bonuses or penalties based on your Charisma, the target’s Wisdom, level disparity and/or how badly hurt the target is.
One creature at a time, trying to dominate a new creature releases your hold on the old one.
A creature less than half your level can never disobey orders or willingly break free of your control.
Other creatures might attempt to resist you (save vs Paralyze) if you treat them badly, are obviously vulnerable, or force them to do something drastically against their will. If they successfully resist your orders twice in a row they break free and may turn on you.


Best case scenario for Ash, honestly.

2 comments:

  1. May I offer a spirited defense of the Halfling class RAW (and despite the title, it's not about me taking joy in killing off the little buggers):

    Ode to a Dead Halfling

    The monster-dominating version of Halflings proposed here are pretty entertaining.

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    Replies
    1. Honestly I like the Halfling class RAW, I played one in a newbie DM's game where he foolishly gave us Tower of the Stargazer's loot in gold standard form rather than silver, and so my Halfling immediately donned a suit of platemail.

      20+ AC is nothing to sniff at.

      Trouble is they don't get much as they level up, especially with all the special effects bullshit like Cleave and Cantrips which I've been giving to all the classes.
      Dominating monsters is supposed to be a thing where the Halfling can do it if he wants but it won't be a big deal if he just wants to play a straight up Halfling dude.

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