Friday, May 26, 2017

No Humans Allowed: LotFP House Rules for a Demi-Human-Only Game

I've seen people cut the demi-human classes (Dwarf, Elf, and Halfling) out of Lamentations of the Flame Princess, I've seen people separate the concepts of race and class in the style of AD&D (I've written about that, myself), and I've seen people reskin the demi-human classes as human ones. What I haven't seen, outside of the always-inspiring blog Goblin Punch, is the elimination of the human classes.

Let's say you want to run a campaign in a world where the human race went extinct, or never existed in the first place, or has yet to properly develop, or whatever. Something with the Tolkien Dial and the Fairy Tale Meter cranked up to 11 (but probably still super weird and horrifying, because this is LotFP we're talking about). If you stick with the concept of race-as-class, I would take that to mean dropping the Fighter, Specialist, Cleric, and Magic-User. Here's how I might change the three basic demi-human classes so that the big smelly oafs aren't missed.

Everything is the same as in Rules & Magic unless stated otherwise.

Dwarf
  • Starts with a Base Attack Bonus of +2, which increases by 1 per level to a maximum of +10, like the Fighter.
  • No longer applies CON Bonus to maximum HP gained beyond Level 9.
  • Begins with 2 points in Climb and 2 points in Tinker at Level 1. These increase to 3 points at Level 4, 4 points at Level 7, 5 points at Level 10, and 6 points at Level 13.
Elf
  • Now uses the Magic-User chart for Spells per Day.
  • Begins with 3 random First-Level Spells and Read Magic, like the Magic-User.
  • Begins with 3 points in Languages at Level 1. This increases to 4 points at Level 4, 5 points at Level 7, and 6 points at Level 10.
  • Begins with 2 points in Sleight of Hand at Level 1. This increases to 3 points at Level 4, 4 points at Level 7, 5 points at Level 10, and 6 points at Level 13.
Halfling
  • Now has the same Combat Options (Press, Defensive Fighting, Parry) as the Fighter, Dwarf, and Elf.
  • Stealth skill can now be used indoors as well as outdoors. Begins with 5 points in Stealth at Level 1. This increases to 6 at Level 10.
  • Begins with 2 points in Climb, 2 points in Sleight of Hand, and 2 points in Sneak Attack at Level 1. These increase to 3 points at Level 4, 4 points at Level 7, 5 points at Level 10, and 6 points at Level 13.
Skill Summary: The Dwarf gets Architecture, Climb, and Tinker. The Elf gets Languages, Search, and Sleight of Hand. The Halfling gets Bushcraft, Climb, Sleight of Hand, Sneak Attack, and Stealth.

But What About Cleric Spells and Healing?
You can handle the removal of Clerics in a few different ways:
  1. HP is regained through rest only. Demi-humans have long lifespans, so maybe lying around healing isn't as big of a deal to them. You could perhaps loosen the restrictions on what the PCs can do while resting, so that the players have more to do (shopping, research, playing politics, etc.) while healing up.
  2. Add Cleric spells to the Elf's spell list.
  3. Allow potions of certain Cleric spells (mainly healing ones) to be bought in town as part of the standard equipment list (and/or scatter them somewhat liberally throughout adventuring locations). You could reskin the potions as special herbs or magic berries or whatever if you so desire. Maybe these are sold by a specific race/class of NPCs who hold the secrets of making or harvesting them?
  4. Create a new PC race/class which can cast Cleric spells. Fairies? Gnomes? Bee People?

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