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In my OD&D campaigns and worlds, I allow the following standard PC races: Humans, Elves, Dwarves and Hobbits. That is the starting point. There are no Half-Elves and there are no Half Orcs, why? you say, because I like it that way. In fact there are no Half-anything in my campaigns in terms of half-breeds. That is not the only reason, (more often than not it is all adults) but I also from time to time have children IMC, usually 10 and up, but as young as six and it is not my place to teach other peoples children the facts of life. Their parents can have those conversations in other settings. When it comes to monsters I do not usually put women and children monsters in the game, but I am intending going forward to eliminate them altogether for the evil intelligent monsters.
But back to the topic at hand, to continue IMC Hobbits and Halflings are completely different creatures and I would also allow gnomes. Hobbits are OD&Ds small PC race and Halflings are an unfortunate replacement for the real thing. The same happened as Ents were replaced by Treants and Balrogs were just deleted from OD&D. IMC there are Ents and Treants and Balrogs, but more on that later in another post.
So let us say that someone in the game wants to play something other than a standard race, what do I do? I work up a write up and let them play anything they want, that exists IMC. You want to play a centaur, a dragon, a balrog or whatever, I sit down and create a 1st level version and scale it up from there. Now if the rest of the party kills it on sight, that is not my problem as the Ref. Now I've never seen the party do that, but they have given a player with a strange PC a lot of grief until the new PC has proven itself.
Disclaimer: Please note that anything I post in any thread I create here in the Workshop is solely intended to illuminate what I do IMCs and, where applicable, the reasoning behind it. Anything I post here in the Workshop, is not intended to comment in anyway on anything you do in your campaign or on any opinion or belief that you may or may not hold in regard to anything, but to solely and exclusively be my opinion as it relates to my campaigns and game worlds alone.
Last edited by ThePerilousDreamer on Sat Dec 13, 2014 7:03 am, edited 4 times in total.
Classes that are available IMCs are Fighting-Men, Magic-Users and Clerics; those are the basic starting points. I also allow Paladins and Rangers, which are a subclass of Fighting-Men; however, I usually do not allow Thieves, Illusionists, Druids, Monks, Assassins. Once I have re-written the Bard, I will allow them in the game also. In OD&D Bards start as Bards from 1st level, unlike later versions and I consider them to be a subclass of Magic-Users, as are Illusionists and Druids. Monks are a subclass of Clerics, but are so poorly designed they would have to be substantially re-written to be used.
If I were going to allow most of these, I would recast Thieves with a different name and as a subclass of Fighting-men, but I don't foresee that happening anytime soon even though I may take a stab at re-writing them just for fun. I will not allow Assassins IMC because they are by definition EVIL and as such can not be a PC, although it an NPC could very well be an Assassin.
Humanoid monsters are formed through abiogenesis. Just like in Lord of the Rings, orcs come from mud and slime. This is the leading reason why they are at odds with player character races.
* Some races pop into existence when the right conditions occur, but can then carry on their race through normal means. Members of these races tend to be less belligerent towards other lifeforms as they have developed inside a semi-nurturing social structure. Centaurs are like this for example.
* Some races, like orcs, form as fully fledged adults. They have no concept of family or rearing children. They rarely show any empathy towards other lifeforms and respond well only to signs of strength. This is what makes them so dangerous: they are mostly psychopaths.
* Females can form for races that do not breed normally, but will be sterile. Female ogres for example.
One of the side benefits of this type of structure is that as a DM I never have to worry about players raiding an orc village then having an emotional dilemma about what to do with the defenseless orc children. There ARE no orc children. It also means creatures can pop up in weird locations and don't need to follow standard ecology.
For my purposes I am re-writing and using it as follows:
Humanoid monsters are formed through abiogenesis; however, IMCs this is an unnatural process and it the interaction of Chaos and Evil acting on the slime, muck, manure and decayed things giving rise to the spontaneous appearance of the humanoid monsters (Goblins, Kobolds, Orcs, Hobgoblins, Gnolls, Bugbears, Ogres and Trolls). This is the leading reason why they are at odds with player character races and why they are implacable foes and can never be redeemed. Sometimes it is possible for the PCs to bluff and bargain their way out of situations if the monsters are not confident of victory.
* Some races that can then carry on their race through normal means tend to be less belligerent towards other lifeforms as they have developed inside a nurturing or semi-nurturing social structure. These races did not arise through abiogenesis and Centaurs are an example.
* Some races, like Goblins, Kobolds, Orcs, Hobgoblins, Gnolls, Bugbears, Ogres and Trolls, form as fully fledged adults. They have no concept of family or rearing children, since they have no families or children. They rarely show any empathy towards other lifeforms and respond well only to signs of strength. This is what makes them so dangerous: they are mostly psychopaths.
Last edited by ThePerilousDreamer on Mon Dec 15, 2014 4:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
Each type is its own species and can not breed at all or interbreed with any of the others, all are Chaotic and will detect as evil. None of them are dog, hyena or pig like in anyway in their appearance. From time to time you can find any or all of them working together:
Goblins – These are the smallest of the evil humanoid monsters, not very bright, extremely dirty, completely untrustworthy with any third party, very loyal to each other but only with regard to outsiders so if you kill one you have picked a fight with all of them. Otherwise they happily stab each other in the back. They have a keen since of smell and excellent night vision and are excellent trackers. They always try to avoid full daylight, as they do not see well in daylight and it is painful for them. They are barely 3 feet tall. They are not complete cowards and like to have huge numerical advantages when the attack armed creatures. They like to prey on the weak or small groups. They are cave dwellers.
Kobolds – These are much the same as goblins; however they are brighter and craftier, good at tactics and will negotiate to buy time to gain an advantage, but they will not keep an agreement that is not entirely to their advantage. They stand about 4 1/2 feet tall and are less cowardly than goblins and they can be surprisingly hard to defeat. They love traps and ambushes. They prefer to prey on the weak or small groups, but under the right conditions they can take down merchant caravans and other larger groups. They are cave dwellers.
Last edited by ThePerilousDreamer on Sat May 09, 2015 7:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Orcs – They divide themselves into numerous tribes spread across the world, warlike, cruel and bloodthirsty, almost as intelligent as men but due to their nature they do not progress very much. They are low in wisdom and are content to live on the spoils of war. They will negotiate and but rarely keep their agreements, there are times when the can be traded with, but watch your back. They live in villages and caves. They are not pig faced, but do have a very prominent long jaw and a sloping forehead. When large numbers of them arise they will form into armies that march on the nearest civilized area to burn and pillage and reclaim territory for themselves. Orcs average about 6 1/2 feet in height.
Hobgoblins – Everything you can say about goblins and kobolds applies to hobgoblins except they are about the same intelligence as humans and are like orcs in being warlike, cruel and bloodthirsty and savage. Hobgoblins average about 7 feet in height and are fearless. They are favored by other races as elite troops, whereas orcs are viewed as cannon fodder to use a more modern term.
Gnolls – a sterile cross of gnomes and trolls that were initially created by an insane but powerful chaotic magic-user and since have begun to form by abiogenesis. They were created as body guards and when the wizard was destroyed by the demonic forces he was trying to control, this resulted in the few gnolls that existed being released into the wild. They combine the intelligence of gnomes and the brute strength and vitality of trolls. They do regenerate to the extent of healing even major wounds, but they will not regenerate missing limbs or from death. They do have the large gnome nose and the black glossy hide of the troll but without the rubbery qualities. The average gnoll is about 6 feet tall.
Bugbears – are nearly as large as ogres and are powerful vicious fighters with abnormally long arms and fast reflexes making them deadly fighters. They have a large round head that looks much too big for their bodies with a thick powerful neck. Their eyes glow yellow-green as do their teeth which are like a sharks. The average bugbear is about 8 feet tall.
Ogres – are very large and have powerful very heavily muscled builds with broad shoulders and very large hands, there is no quit in an ogre, they can often be found with mixed parties of other monsters. The average ogre runs 9-10 feet tall and weighs around 700-800 lbs.
Trolls – Most trolls that adventurers will encounter run from 7-10 feet tall and weigh from 300-600 lbs. They look nothing like most illustrations I have seen, the most common troll has a black or blue-black glossy rubbery hide; however there are many different types of trolls, some of which have long hair that changes color with the season and the location they are found. Trolls, like dragons, are immortal unless they die by violence. Although rare there are rumors of trolls that are 10's of thousands of years old or even older. The average troll is a mindless hungry eating machine that feeds and sleeps. But it is said that if they live long enough that their intelligence grows to the point that they become sentient and thus obtain the skills and craftiness to grow older. If pieces of a troll are separated by at least a mile each piece will grow into a complete troll.
First we will look at the existing write-ups of the PC races and then we will work on them:
The original writeup of the PC races in Volume 1—Men & Magic is as follows:
Men—Not described in the Original D&D.
Elves -Elves can begin as either Fighting-Men or Magic-Users and freely switch class whenever they choose, from adventure to adventure, but not during the course of a single game. Thus, they gain the benefits of both classes and may use both weaponry and spells. They may use magic armor and still act as Magic-Users. However, they may not progress beyond 4th level Fighting-Man (Hero) nor 8th level Magic-User (Warlock). Elves are more able to note secret and hidden doors. They also gain the advantages noted in the CHAINMAIL rules when fighting certain fantastic creatures. Finally, Elves are able to speak the languages of Orcs, Hobgoblins, and Gnolls in addition to their own (Elvish) and the other usual tongues.
Dwarves—Dwarves may opt only for the fighting class, and they may never progress beyond the 6th level (Myrmidon). Their advantages are: 1) they have a high level of magic resistance, and they thus add four levels when rolling saving throws (a 6th level dwarf equals a 10th level human); 2) they are the only characters able to fully employ the +3 Magic War Hammer (explained in Volume II); 3) they note slanting passages, traps, shifting walls and new construction in underground settings; and 4) They are able to speak the languages of Gnomes, Kobolds and Goblins in addition to the usual tongues (see LANGUAGES in this Volume).
Hobbits -Should any player wish to be one, he will be limited to the Fighting-Men class as a hobbit. Hobbits cannot progress beyond the 4th level (Hero), but they will have magic- resistance equal to dwarves (add four levels for saving throws), and they will have deadly accuracy with missiles as detailed in CHAINMAIL.
Halflings—Not described in the Original D&D.
Gnomes—Not described in the Original D&D.
The original writeup of the PC races in Volume 2—Monsters & Treasure is as follows:
Men—There are several categories of men:
Bandits
Berserkers
Brigands
Dervishes
Nomads
Buccaneers
Pirates
Cavemen
Mermen
Elves: Elves are of two general sorts, those who make their homes in woodlands and those who seek the remote meadow lands. For every 50 Elves encountered there will be one of above-normal capabilities. Roll a four-sided die for level of fighting and a six-sided die for level of magical ability, treating any 1's rolled as 2's and 6's (magical level) as 5's. If or every 100 encountered there will be a Hero/Warlock. One-half of the Elves in any given party will be bow armed, the other half will bear spears, and all will have swords in addition. Elves have the ability of moving silently and are nearly invisible in their gray-green cloaks. Elves armed with magical weapons will add! one pip to dice rolled to determine damage, i.e. when a hit is scored the possible number of damage points will be 2-7 per die. Elves on foot may split-move and fire. Mounted Elves may not split move and fire, for they are not naturally adapted to horseback.
Dwarves: Because of their relatively small size, clumsy monsters like Ogres, Giants and the like will have a difficult time hitting Dwarves, so score only one-half the usual hit points when a hit is scored. Any body of Dwarves will have one above average fighter for every 40 in the group, and to determine the level simply roll a six-sided die, the number of pips equaling the level of fighting of the dwarf. If in their lair the score will be adjusted so that 1 or 2 equals 3rd level, 3 or 4 equals 4th level and 5 or 6 equaling 5th and 6th levels respectively. For every level of fighting ability there will be a 10% chance that the dwarf will have a magic shield, magic armor, or a magic sword (die 1-4) or hammer (die 5-6). Unintelligent beasts may sometimes be used by Dwarves to form a part of their defenses (domesticated bears, wolves, or whatever at the referee’s option). They are otherwise as outlined in CHAINMAIL.
Gnomes: Slightly smaller than Dwarves, and with longer beards, these creatures usually inhabit the hills and lowland burrows as opposed to the mountainous homes which Dwarves choose. They are more reclusive than their cousins, but in all other respects resemble Dwarves.
The original writeup of the PC races in Volume 3—The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures is as follows:
A roll of 1 for humans, and 1 or 2 for Elves, Dwarves, or Hobbits will detect sound within if there is any to be heard.
I've been reading The Deed of Paksenarrion, and I really like the way that Elizabeth Moon does the elves, dwarves and gnomes in that Trilogy. They very much come off as alien and other instead of as funny looking humans. The whole thing with gnomes as being very formal and very into their law and playing by it in the strictest sense, of not voluntarily incurring any debt to any outsider but being rigorously honest in paying any debt when one is incurred. If a favor is done them in a situation where they cannot refuse, still digging to find out the real reason behind the favor and that determining whether or not it needs to be repaid or not.
