[C&C] New Elf Race -- Gewgaw

[serleran]

OK, yes, I know.... but this was written for my wife who wanted something "different" than the normal elf, and was based on something a bit more "modern" so I asked her what kind of elf, and she said she wanted a Christmas elf...

Gewgaw

Gewgaw are a race of playful beings fond of arctic climes and hard work, but also the pleasurable taste of sweet chocolate and baked goods. They average a mere four feet, often rotund or pleasantly plump, with slightly red faces and bright smiles - however, the most noticeable trait is their fine clothing: a dapper green on white, cheerful yellow over red, or some other color scheme more reminiscent of candy than finery. To the casual observer, a gewgaw is much like an ordinary halfling, only more active. Gewgaw, however, argue they are more distinctly related to fey, even calling themselves elfs when asked, though many consider them cousins to gnomes.

Most find great pleasure in the making and tinkering of toys, across the full range: simple plush dolls to intricate mechanically steam-powered trains running over metal rails - the more complex, the more likely it will bear a symbol of gewgaw approval, this often in the form of an engraving or a family seal. Not only does the gewgaw love toys, they love playing with them, a trait sometimes spilling into other areas - pranks - for a gewgaw delights in anything new, unusual, and fun. A gewgaw is steadfastly committed to craftsmanship and will never sloppily finish any task undertaken.

They go to great lengths to ensure a particular style of living: one which requires great amounts of work - indeed, a gewgaw is active primarily at night, but when they are, they accomplish feats that leave other races in marveled amazement. To a gewgaw, such simple things as cobbling one hundred pairs of shoes in a night is slow-paced, and gewgaw masters will not allow sluggish workers much slack - they are not cruel, but a lazy gewgaw will be denied partaking of a grand tradition: Keeble and Nog, a delicacy that few know of, but those who do demand a hefty price for its savory deliciousness - the unfortunate gewgaw so thusly exiled rarely repeats the offense.

Gewgaw find themselves kin to reindeer, for it is nearly the only docile beast in their native terrain capable of carrying, and hauling, the loads of goodies made in gewgaw settlements; reindeer, also, have a sense of humor. Others, such as yeti and the occasional polar bear are too large or mean to really gather much attention from a gewgaw, but it is not unknown for them to be targeted just the same.

Modifiers: -2 Strength, -1 Constitution, +1 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence

Abilities

Prankster: A gewgaw is a gifted maker of mischief, endowed with several natural abilities that enhance their usual cunning. As a spellcaster of equal level, a gewgaw may produce the following spell-like effects: faerie fire, fire trap, dancing lights, mage hand, mending, and prestidigitation. Each may be used once per day.

Keeble: Capable of producing large quantities of delicious edibles, a gewgaw can always provide enough food to satisfy the hunger of itself and 1d4 additional man-sized creatures; this requires 6 - 12 hours of baking to accomplish, but can be done in any climate and environment, provided there is an oven, a kiln, and a heat source present. Additionally, at 8th level, the cooking skill grows more powerful, enabling the gewgaw to mimic the effects of any clerical healing spell of 3rd level or lower; at every 4th level the gewgaw gains, another effective spell level is added - this ability cannot duplicate a raise dead or any similar spell.

Persuasive: Gewgaw are tenacious sellers of wares and often get what they want, despite repeated refusals. This ability manifests in several important ways: first, a gewgaw is always considered as having Charisma Prime when making any sort of interaction check such as that needed to charm or convince a creature of something it would not otherwise do; and, secondly, should the first attempt fail, the gewgaw may re-roll but does so without benefit of having Charisma automatically considered Prime - in the case of a gewgaw that does have Charisma Prime, this ability grants a +4 bonus, which is then lost if a second attempt is needed (though Charisma is still treated as Prime.)

Toycraft: Makers of all manners of objects and playthings, gewgaw are very adapt in the areas of engineering and manufacturing, able to produce high quantities of similarly crafted items in a short amount of time. This ability functions thusly: any gewgaw can create any object having a gold piece value up to its level x 20, at a quantity of level per hour, if each item is identical (for example, a 5th level gewgaw can make any object up to 100 gold pieces, at a rate of 5 per hour); should the gewgaw need to make a more complicated item, determined by the Castle Keeper, the rate decreases by half per hour for every doubling of the gold piece value (to continue the above example, the 5th level gewgaw could make a 200 gold piece item but would produce only 2 per hour.) These items are never truly magical but may mimic any 0-level spell for 1 day per level of the gewgaw that made the item; to do this, however, the item is always considered complex and has an effective cost of quadruple that of its non-magical counterpart.

Workaholic: Once tasked or performing some deed that excites the gewgaw, they get focused and do not like to end early, even to the point of not eating and sleeping. When using either the Keeble or Toycraft ability, the gewgaw must make a successful save vs. charm (without benefit of Prime or racial ability) to resist continuing working for one day per point of Constitution, non-stop. If they are forced to end their task, a rage akin to that of an equal level barbarian manifests. Once the need expires, the gewgaw must make a save vs. poison or lose one point of Strength; the difficulty is one-half the number of days worked. Note, gewgaw are not unaffected by sleep spells or immune to hunger and thirst - however, when affected by this irrational desire, they suspend such needs; at any other time, they can be affected normally.

Darkvision 60 foot

Fire Resistance

[rredmond]

Good for Mrs. S! Anything I could do to make my wife play more, wish I was this sorta creative.
They do seem akin to gnomes... very cool. I'll have to read through my C&C stuff for the charisma prime stuff (instead of a charisma modifier... sorry I'm a AD&D guy). I know it's a work in progress, but I'm intrigued to find the Fire Resistance reasoning, when they appear to be creatures of the cold. but I like this, not cheesey like I, initially, thought it might be.

[serleran]

I'll have to read through my C&C stuff for the charisma prime stuff (instead of a charisma modifier... sorry I'm a AD&D guy).

In AD&D terms, it would be like getting a really good reaction adjustment, like say +20% and if that failed to give a friendly result, an allowed re-roll but without the +20%. Normally, only one chance is given, so this ability is actually quite potent.

[Maliki]

Nice work, but you should have saved it for a December release.

[SmootRK]

I love some stuff like this. My games are likely to be geared towards my young children, so whimsy stuff like this is probably going to be my life for a time. I will be using BFRPG, but easy enough to convert.