/mlp/ FEMTORPG

Expanded Racials 4.0

Proposal Document is where all ideas go

This document is a an expansion to the core racial rules in the FEMTO system. Each race entry has a pool of bonus racial traits as well as the default racial ability from the FEMTO core document pasted here for the reader’s convenience. A character may select ONE of these extra options as a secondary racial in addition to the default one. Additional racial traits can be awarded for campaign achievements and character advancement at the GM’s discretion.

Core Races

Crystal Pony

Earth Pony

Pegasus

Unicorn

Buffalo

Diamond Dog

Donkey

Goat

Griffon

Zebra

Exotic Races

Breezie

Bat Pony

Deer

Ram/Sheep

Saddle Arabian

Sea Pony/Hippogriff

Kirin

Monster Races

Bear

Minotaur

Goo Pony

Changeling

Dragon

Hybrid Races

Core Races

Crystal Pony

Residents and descendants of the ancient Crystal Empire, the emotions of Crystal Ponies are said to be reflected on all of Equestria.

Crystal Emotions: passive; The joy of Crystal Ponies radiates almost literally. Whenever you roll a critical success, you gain a +1 bonus to all rolls next turn.

Earth Pony

Sturdy, tough and often big. Can move, lift, and carry heavier weights than other races.

Tough: passive; Earth ponies take 1 additional hit before becoming helpless as well as 1 extra wound once they become helpless, for a total of 6 hits and 6 wounds without other modifiers. They can also lift, carry and move heavier objects than unicorns and pegasi.

Pegasus

Speedy and adventurous. Can fly freely when they’re not carrying too much weight.

Pegasus Flight: Pegasi can fly and get a +1 bonus to actively evade and dodge midair. Flight is about as taxing as running at full speed.

-Rain [DC6]: Shake the clouds to cause a downpour that hampers everyone’s sight, giving a -1 penalty to all ranged actions

-Fog [DC7]: Bring down a dense fog that is easy to hide in, allowing everyone to make a free Stealth roll. Those that Stealth with this do not gain the Autocrit effect Stealth gives.

-Lightning [DC8]: Strike a cloud to bring down a bolt of lightning, making a ranged attack on a target with the Lightning Elementalist effect.

Unicorn

Noble and intelligent. Can levitate objects with telekinesis and cast magic.

Unicorn Horn: passive; A unicorn’s horn counts as a basic catalyst for spellcasting only.

Unicorn Telekinesis: spell; Manipulate objects through sheer force of will. With normal focus this is about as strong as your are normally, but complex tasks and heavier objects may require greater focus. You cannot inflict direct harm or damage with Telekinesis.

Buffalo

Hardy desert dwellers, a buffalo's charge is as strong as their connection to the land. They are big, lumbering things with thick muscle and bones.

Huge:[a] instant, recharge 4; You do not fall easily, your huge size letting you shrug off blows that would fell any other race. When you would be sent helpless you can use this skill, and on success you instead remain standing with 1 hit remaining.

Diamond Dog

Subterranean gorilla dogs with a taste for gems.

Burrowing: Diamond dogs can dig tunnels and holes through most materials with ease, allowing them to set traps, move unseen, and fleeing in unexpected directions.

Donkey

Similar to earth ponies in a physical sense, if somewhat less bulky and far more stubborn.

Unbreakable Will: passive; Famously stubborn, donkeys are immune to mind control, domination, intimidation and suggestion.

Goat

A curious sight in the lands of ponies, some say they are distantly related to the dread ram Grogar.

Goatcraft: passive; The harsh and lifeless territories goats originate from have adapted their bodies to treat it like a standard field. All climbing and agility rolls have DC-1 and you can use anything as food, including non-food items.

 

Griffon

Half eagle, half lion. Flight-capable and larger than ponies, they can carry more weight while flying, but tire quickly when doing so.

Griffon Flight: Griffons can fly and have a +1 bonus to melee divebombing attacks from high altitude. This is about as taxing as running at full speed.

Zebra

Hailing from a faraway land, zebras are knowledgeable in natural healing and shamanism. They are often regarded with suspicion by ponies.

Heightened Senses: passive; The harsh jungles on their homeland require non-predators to always be on guard. You have +1 to all perception-based rolls (e.g. spotting, searching, listening, etc.)

Example Rhythms: ([Declare] Is where you’d announce your rhythm as your previous actions, this does not count as an action. The repeats where you would gain the bonus are in Italics):

Simple:

-Backstab, Rupture, [Declare], Backstab, Rupture

-Attack, [Declare], Attack, Attack, Attack

Medium:

-Wrath, Cleave, Heal, [Declare], Wrath, Cleave, Heal

-Homing Magic, Homing Magic Instant Projectile, Magic Bolt, Teleport, [Declare], Homing Magic, Homing Magic Instant Projectile, Magic Bolt, Teleport

Complex:

-Heroism, Cheap Shot, Terrify, Cheap Shot, Dual Wield, Dual Wield, [Declare], Heroism, Cheap Shot, Terrify, Cheapshot, Dual Wield, Dual Wield

Exotic Races

Breezie

Small pixie-like beings, these miniscule ponies tend to hide away in hidden villages. Despite their appearance, they have strong magic to keep themselves safe from the massive world all around.

Tiny: passive; Breezies are tiny, never getting much bigger than the size of a bug. This size helps to go unnoticed, giving them a DC-1 to hiding, sneaking, and other general out-of-sight rolls.

Breezie Flight: passive; Breezies can float on the air with their large gossamer wings. Hovering or moving through the air can be done without any effort whatsoever, however they are powerless to air currents and need to roll to fly correctly if moving against any breeze.

Bat Pony

An offshoot of pegasi with leathery wings and bat like traits. They have an affinity toward the Princess of the Night Luna.

Leathery Wings: Bat ponies possess leathery wings that allow them to fly silently through the air. This is about as taxing as running at full speed.

Deer

Tribal forest dwellers who live a more primitive life than the ponies of Equestria. Sharing a special connection with the forest, they are known to be very protective of their lands.

Woodscraft: passive; You can navigate any forest with DC-1 and you are able to identify any wild flora. You can also Stealth in any forest even if you do not own the skill, and if you do then this Stealth is Automatic.

Ram/Sheep

Descendants of a splinter group of goats choosing to co-exist with ponies instead of remaining independent. While most are content in their role, every now and then and adventurer is born of wool and steel

Steel Wool: automatic instant, once per combat; Your wool is poofy to the point of being armor. You can change a critical hit against you into a minimum success.

Saddle Arabian

A mystical race of ponies that hail from a faraway desert realm.

Arabian Endurance: automatic instant, once per combat; Saddle Arabians are known for their tenacity and endurance in harsh conditions. When you are helpless you can use this to recover and act on that turn. You are also immune to any adverse effects typical for a desert, and you suffer no penalties for fighting or being in desert environments.

Sea Pony/Hippogriff

Hailing from the fabled kingdom of the Hippogriffs that once was forced to hide underwater under threat of the Storm King. No lands are unreachable for you whether they’re land, sea, or sky.

Two-Form: passive; Carrying the magic of your kingdom’s prized artifact, you can freely swap between your Sea Pony and Hippogriff form. While this transformation happens automatically when you go underwater or surface back on land, you can do it freely whenever you want as well.

-Sea Pony: When in your sea pony form, you can breath underwater (and you can breathe air as well) and can swim as quick as a dolphin. When you’re underwater, you ignore range, treating everything in the water with you as being at melee distance.

-Hippogriff: In your Hippogriff form, you have the power of Flight. You can’t fly as fast as a pegasus, but if you transform into this form after leaping from the water you can begin Flight automatically.

-Deluge [Sea Pony]: recharge 2; You don’t just prefer being in water, you’ve mastered water. You control any nearby source of water, able to move it as you see fit. In Combat you can strike a target with this water, soaking them to the bone. On success this causes their skills on recharge to recharge for 1 more turn, if they have applicable skills, and also causes them to deal 1 less hit of counterattack damage next turn.

-Typhoon [Hippogriff]: recharge 2; The air is your domain, and you will make sure everyone else knows it. You can make strong gales of wind at your command. In Combat you can focus your winds on a target, giving them a DC+1 (DC+2 if they are flying) to their actions this turn as they fight against the wind. You can also use this against Ranged weapon attacks to deflect them back at the attacker if you roll higher.

Kirin

Mysterious horned equines from the uncharted Peaks of Peril. They are known to be kind but a darker flame lies deep within.

Tempered Rage[c]: passive; A heated argument becomes literal when a Kirin gets angry. Whenever your temperament boils over in a discussion, or any situation, you transform into a Nirik, a creature of pure fire, and gain +1 to all Intimidation, Fear, or other aggressive non-skill social actions.  In Combat this form triggers after you are helpless for 3 turns in a row or fall helpless immediately after recovering from a previous helpless state. This form makes your recovery roll Instant with DC3, allowing you to act immediately on success with a +2 to your other action that turn. In combat this form lasts until you recover. Outside of combat it lasts until you calm down.

Kirin Horn: passive; A kirin’s horn counts as a basic catalyst for the purposes of spellcasting only.

Monster Races

Bear

A dominant force of nature, Bears can toss aside foes easily without a second (or even first) thought. Despite their ferocity, they are known to be docile allies to those that care for them.

Animal: passive; Even the smartest Bear is still just an animal. They cannot communicate with words to the other sentient races, but they can make general gestures to get their point across. Being an animal though allows them to speak to other fauna they may meet.

Bear Hug: passive; Bear hugs are the strongest grip known to ponykind. Your arms are like a vice-grip, anything you grab, unless it’s bigger than you, has no chance of escaping. You also lift, carry and move heavier objects than most other races.

Minotaur

Individuals from this bipedal bull-like race are ambitious, and constantly trying to prove how “awesome” they are to others.

Show Them You Rock: instant automatic, recharge 5; Force your point of view on someone else. This allows allows one vocal/social roll or skill (e.g. Inspire, A Word in Your Ear) to automatically succeed. This does not work on characters with resistant minds, and may not be effective on players.

Goo Pony

Far and few in between goo ponies are a rare sight indeed. Lacking their own society and culture, they prefer to blend into pony civilization, often times indistinguishable from heavily clothed earth ponies.

Goo: passive; Being made of goo and slime has a load of benefits. You're able to fit through small areas, you can squeeze through cracks, and you can  store things inside yourself. You can choose to form yourself as a pony, stay in a more blobby shape, or swap between them at will. In combat you have DC-1 to free yourself from grapples and other physical binding and restricting effects.

Changeling

Appearing as a cross between pony and insect this race feeds on the emotions of others and can mimic almost anything or anyone.

Changeling Flight: You have thin gossamer wings which allow you to fly unencumbered but somewhat slower than other races. This is about as taxing as running at full speed.

Shapeshifting: recharge 3; A Changeling can imitate almost anything the same size as itself.  You can change your form into any specific person or object you choose on success, with higher success rolls giving better quality to the disguise. The disguise is removed when knocked helpless or when dispelled by magic. If you have the Disguise skill, Shapeshifting will Autocrit. Changelings can tell each other apart via pheromones, passively sensing when other Changelings nearby, but not their specific location.

1:  -1 penalty to all attacks in this combat.

2: - 1 to all rolls for the remainder of the session.

3+: Thralldom: The target becomes a minion for the user. They cannot Crit or benefit from Crits in this state. Receiving damage in this state removes a level of stupor. Player characters and powerful enemies cannot become thralls.

Dragon

Dragons who have not quite made it into adulthood sometimes leave their flight for solitary adventures and to get a jump start on that horde of treasure.

Dragon Flight: With or without wings, you are able to fly and hover while carrying heavy loads. Dragons can remain airborne indefinitely.

Chromatic Scales: instant automatic; 3 times per combat; At character creation choose an element type such as fire, ice, or lightning. When you use this ability, any attacks or skills against you that turn that share that element do no damage and cause no negative effects. This also allows you attempt feats most other races can’t (e.g. Swimming in lava with fireproof scales or bathing in liquid nitrogen with iceproof scales).

Hybrid Races

Players can also chose to play as an hybrid of two races if the DM allows it. Instead of having the standard Base Racial and Expanded Racial like normal races, you will gain both Base Racials of the two races you are a hybrid of. If either of the races has multiple racials (Unicorns, Changelings, Dragons, Breezies, Bears, or Kirin) you must pick only one of them. Essentially, a Hybrid can only have 2 racials at most even if their parent races would give more than that.

[a]Realizing we should set this to the original Buffalo racial

Frenzy: passive; You do not fall easily. When you would be sent helpless you instead stay up and can keep rolling for normal attacks only once per turn until you fail. Go helpless immediately once you do fail. You do not take counterattack damage from this fail.

[b]Surveyor: Changed bonus from -1 to rolls to DC-1

[c]Updated: Changed the +2 from "other skill" to "other action"

[d]Updated: Clarified that you gain all the bonuses, and that the +2 bonus is applied immediately as well so there is not confusion on needing to recover to gain it.