Sunday, November 22, 2015

Reincarnate, More Important Than You Think

In D&D, the only ways to regain youth are through the Potion of Longevity and the spells Clone, Wish, and Reincarnate.  No other spell provides the means to extend life.  The Potion of Longevity reduces one's age only by 7 to 12 years, whereas each of the above spells can provide a new (young) adult body.  An important benefit of a new (young) adult body is that it extends the overall life of the person.  Note that the spells Revivify, Raise Dead, Resurrection, and True Resurrection all return the original dead body to life, and do not provide a new (young) adult body.

The Clone spell is Wizard only, and the Wish spell is Wizard and Sorcerer only.  The Reincarnate spell appears only on the Druid spell list.  No class other than the Druid has the Reincarnate spell.  In my opinion, because of this exclusivity, the Old (Druidic) Faith holds more sway over the world than other faiths.  By perpetuating the lives of its Druids through the use of the Reincarnate spell, the Old Faith accumulates more Druids than other faiths amass Clerics.  Also, since Druids tend to live longer, there exist more Druids in the uppermost echelons of the Old Faith (high level druids) than their equivalents (Clerics) in other faiths.  Further, Timeless Body (Druid level 18 class feature), which ages a druid's body only 1 year for every 10 actual years, allows the most powerful Druids to live for centuries with need of only a few castings of Reincarnate.  The practitioners of the Old Faith have long been aware of this impact, and thus make a concerted effort to preserve the lives of their Druids, resulting in a sizable number of Druids that are older than the oldest of dragons.

As a 5th level spell, Reincarnate is more readily available than the Clone (8th level) and Wish (9th level) spells.  Therefore, Reincarnate would be more widely used than Clone or Wish.  And as previously mentioned, the practitioners of the Old Faith work in concert to preserve their Druids, whereas Wizards and Sorcerers function far more independently of each other.

In addition to returning a person to life and singlehandedly bolstering the strength of the Old Faith, Reincarnate also facilitates the learning of racial tolerance on a level otherwise unattainable.  By living life as more than one race, none of which were of their own choosing, Druids learn to understand and respect the perspectives of those races, allowing the Old Faith to be race neutral in a way that other faiths aren't. Thusly, the Reincarnate spell has a tremendous impact on the world.
___________________________

From a gaming perspective, it is my opinion that a Druid should begin its career with a race that provides no bonus to wisdom because reincarnating to another race would then impose no reduction in the Druid's wisdom score.

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Jackalwere redone as Hyenawere

The demon lord Yeenoghu created hyenaweres from ordinary hyenas to serve as spies and infiltrators for gnoll tribes, and advisors to gnoll pack lords.

Jackalwere Hyenawere
Medium humanoid (shapechanger), chaotic evil
Armor Class 12
Hit Points 18 (4d8)
Speed 4050ft.
STR 11 (+0)
DEX 15 (+2)
CON 11 (+0)
INT 13 (+1)
WIS 11 (+0)
CHA 10 (+0)
Skills Deception +4, Perception +2, Stealth +4
Immunities bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from non magical weapons that aren't silvered
Senses passive Perception 12
Languages Common, Abyssal (can't speak in jackal hyena form)
Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)

Shapechanger. The jackalwere hyenawere can use its action to polymorph into a specific Medium human or a jackal-humanoid hybrid specific gnoll, or back into its true form (that of a Small jackal hyena). Other than its size, its Its statistics are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn't transformed.  It reverts to its true form if it dies.

Keen Hearing and Smell. The jackalwere has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.

Pack Tactics. The jackalwere hyenawere has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the jackalwere's hyenawere's allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated.

ACTIONS
Bite (Jackal Hyena or Hybrid Gnoll Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) piercing damage .

Scimitar (Human or Hybrid Gnoll Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (ld6 + 2) slashing damage.

Sleep Gaze. The jackalwere hyenawere gazes at one creature it can see within 30 feet of it. The target must make a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the target succumbs to a magical slumber, falling unconscious for 10 minutes or until someone uses an action to shake the target awake. A creature that successfully saves against the effect is immune to this jackalwere's hyenawere's gaze for the next 24 hours. Undead and creatures immune to being charmed aren't affected by it.

On Lycanthropy

Each form of lycanthropy is limited to one base race.  For example:

Werewolves come from humans;
Wererats come from halflings;
Wereboars come from dwarves;
Weretigers come from elves/half-elves;
Werebears come from orcs/half-orcs; and
Werecrocodiles come from lizardfolk.

As a curse, lycanthropy generally is meant to conflict with the nature of the base race.  Thus, werewolves, wererats and wereboars are evil (whereas humans, halflings and dwarves are generally good), but werebears are good (whereas orcs are generally evil).  Weretigers are neutral (whereas elves are generally good).  Werecrocodiles are evil (whereas lizardfolk are generally neutral).

In all three forms, wererats are size small.

Werebears, weretigers, and werecrocodiles are size medium in hybrid form.

Friday, November 13, 2015

Drow PC changes

Drow

Spider Affinity.  Drow have a special kinship with spiders, which they train or utilize for many purposes. Even untrained spiders recognize drow as allies and don't prey on them.

Spider Telepathy.  The drow can magically command any spider of CR2 or less that is within 120 feet of it, using a limited telepathy.

Drow Magic.  You know the Dancing Lights cantrip.  When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Faerie Fire Spider Climb spell once with this trait, and you regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can also cast the Darkness Web spell once with this trait, and you regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Drow Weapon Training.  You have proficiency with rapiers, shortswords and hand crossbows.