Monster/Race: Lizard Man

[Hierax]

Here's my first draft of a standard baseline Lizard Man warrior write-up for my Grey Hero campaign:http://www.hierax.com/hero/fantasy/grey/monster/lizard_man.pdfI'd appreciate any feedback, critique, suggestions, etc... than anyone may have.Lizard Man

Val	Char	Cost
13	STR	3
11	DEX	3
13	CON	6
12	BODY	4
8	INT	-2
8	EGO	-4
10	PRE	0
6	COM	-2
4	PD	1
4	ED	1
2	SPD	0
6	REC	0
26	END	0
32	STUN	6

3" RUN-66" SWIM04 1/2" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 10

Cost	Power	END
5	Scaly Skin (and subdermal Osteoscutes): Damage Resistance (4 PD/4 ED), Inherent (+1/4) (5 Active Points)
27	Fangs: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1d6 (1d6+1 w/STR), Inherent (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2) (34 Active Points); Reduced Penetration (-1/4)
9	Claws: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1 point (0 1/2d6 w/STR), Inherent (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2) (11 Active Points); Reduced Penetration (-1/4)
3	Tail Bash: Hand-To-Hand Attack +0 1/2d6, Inherent (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2) (7 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2), Only with Extra Limb (-1/2)
5	Tail: Extra Limbs , Inherent (+1/4) (6 Active Points); Limited Manipulation (-1/4)
2	Hold Breath (END per Minute): Life Support (Extended Breathing)
5	Strong Swimmer: Swimming +4" (6" total), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (5 Active Points)	1
1	Lunge: Leaping +2" (4 1/2" forward, 2" upward) (2 Active Points); Only from Water Only from Water (-1)	1
1	Burst of Speed: Running 3" (6 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x8 END; -3 1/2)	8
1	Life Support (Eating Character only has to eat once per week)
1	Nictitating Membrane: Sight Group Flash Defense
2	Highly Developed Inner Ear: +1 PER with Hearing Group
2	Keen Sense of Smell: +1 PER with Smell/Taste Group
6	Regenerate Lost Limbs: Healing 1 BODY, Can Heal Limbs, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2) (30 Active Points); Extra Time (Regeneration-Only) 1 Month (-3 1/4), Self Only (-1/2)
4	Animal Empathy: +1 with Animal Handler (Reptiles & Amphibians)
5	Wallcrawling: Clinging (normal STR) (10 Active Points); Limited Power Half Strength (-1)

Powers Cost: 79

Cost	Skill
0	Language (completely fluent) (3 Active Points)
7	Survival (Marine, Tropical, Temperate/Subtropical Coasts) 12-
2	Concealment 12- (5 Active Points); Limited Power Only in Swamp (-1), Self Only (-1/2)
2	Stealth 12- (5 Active Points); Limited Power Only in Swamp (-1)
2	PS 11-
1	WF: Off Hand
5	Two-Weapon Fighting (HTH) (10 Active Points); Limited Power Only Unarmed (-1)
2	Rapid Attack (HTH) (5 Active Points); Limited Power Only Unarmed (-1)
4	WF: Common Melee Weapons, Common Missile Weapons
5	+1 with HTH Combat

Skills Cost: 30

Cost	Talent
2	Environmental Movement (no penalties on)
4	Ambidexterity (no Off Hand penalty) (9 Active Points); Limited Power Only Unarmed (-1)

Talents Cost: 6

Val	Disadvantages
15	Cold-Blooded (heterothermic): (Frequently, Greatly Impairing)
5	Susceptibility to Cool Temperatures (below 60 degrees F): , 1d6 damage Instant (Uncommon)
5	Dependence on Water (Need to cover body in water or mositening oils once per day): Drain: 1d6 STR, 1d6 DEX, and 1d6 CON (30 Active Points) (Very Common, 1 Day)
5	Distinctive Features: Lizard Man (Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses; Not Distinctive In Some Cultures)
20	Normal Characteristic Maxima
5	Psychological Limitation: Taboo to Attack Crocodiles (Uncommon, Moderate)
5	Reputation: Craves Human Flesh, 8-
5	Susceptibility: Cold Weather (<60 degrees F), 1d6 damage per Minute (Uncommon)
5	Vulnerability to Heat Attacks: 1 1/2 x STUN (Uncommon)
5	Vulnerability to Cold Attacks: 1 1/2 x STUN (Uncommon)

Disadvantage Points: 75

Base Points: 50Experience Required: 0Total Experience Available: 0Experience Unspent: 0Total Character Cost: 125

Height: 1.99 m	Hair: None
Weight: 102.00 kg	Eyes: Black

Appearance: Lizard Men are crocodillian humanoids with fangs, claws, forked tongues, and tails.Personality: Quote:Background: Lizard Men of the Dunwater Hoolmarsh tribe are sentient bipedal crocodilian humanoids.Powers/Tactics: Unarmed claw/claw/bite, or Armed, like to wait for prey and attack by surprise.Campaign Use: Sources/Credits:

- xD&D MM(1e).62, U2 Danger at Dunwater, U3 The Final Enemy, I2 Tomb of the Lizard King, I7 Baltron's Beacon; MM(2e).227, CBH.40-42; MM(3e).128, 195, 198.

- MMM.64 (Lizard Folk); HSB.193 (Reptile Man), HSB.211 (Swamp Creature), HSB.149-150 (Crocodile).

- Surbrook's Stuff - Crocodile (http://www.devermore.net/surbrook/adaptionscreatures/real/crocodile.html).

- Killer Shrike's "Iss'toris" (http://www.killershrike.com/FantasyHERO/GreyHEROContent/RacePackageDeals/lizardmanPackages.shtml).

- Wily Quixote's "Shor'aniss" (http://www.killershrike.com/FantasyHERO/GreyHEROContent/RacePackageDeals/lizardmanPackages.shtml#Shoraniss).

- Titan: Fighting Fantasy World (hardcopy and some parts at http://www.advancedfightingfantasy.com/)

- Spiderman's Lizard, Star Trek's Gorn, Babylon 5's Drazi, Buffy's Swim Team.

- PBS Nova - Crocs - Anatomy of a Croc (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/croccaves/anat-nf.html).

- San Diego Natural History Museum "After the Dinosaurs: When Crocodiles Ruled the World" (http://www.sdnhm.org/exhibits/crocs/tguide/tgcrocs.html).

- Crocodilian Biology Database (http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/cnhc/cbd-faq.htm)

- http://www.crocodilian.com/

I've attempted to add in details that give the race a unique crocodillian feeling so that they aren't just men with green skin.One problem in particular I'm wondering about is the use of the "Inherent" Advantage; it seems to me that it should apply to all naturally born abilities but officially (and thus what is possible with Hero Designer) any "Instant" powers need to be made "0 END" "Persistent" before they can become "Inherent"; now I have no problem with the 0 END (in fact I think it makes a lot of sense -- why should a claw cost extra END to if a sword doesn't -- but this does make my write-ups different and expensive than the official monster write-ups of similar monsters (lizard folk, reptile men, swamp creature, crocodile, etc). Should I just eliminate "Inherent" and save points or make a house rule to allow "Inherent' without "Persistant" and build it in Hero Designer as a custom advantage?Anyway, please let me know of any ways you think that I can improve this write-up to make my lizard men (crocodile men) a bit better...

[Gary Ciaramella]

Aren't those 2 susceptibilities close to being identical?

I like the writeup other than that... very good!

Is this writeup for a "monsters" in and of itself, or is this designed to allow PC Lizardmen? If it is the second, unless your game is fairly high powered as opposed to 75+75, there is precious little room for character customization.

[Victor]

I've never been fond of the Inherant advantage, myself. By the same logic given in it's description, all base Characteristics should be Inherant also, which just plain breaks a lot of things. IMO, it's better just to ignore Inherant in the vast majority of cases.

As a relevant example, why should a magic spell be able to dull a sword (Drain/Suppress HKA), but not some critter's teeth/claws?

 

 

As far as the write-up in general, the Susceptabilities give me a bit of pause. Any region that is not tropical or sub-tropical is probably going to be fatal/lethal to them, at some point. Many oceans will be hazardous because of their temperature as well, except for a hex or two just below the surface (and maybe not even that, at night).

 

The Fangs and Tail could probably get a minor Limitation for Limited Arc (as per base/vehicular weapons, but maybe worth 1/4 less, since the character won't have turn mods to contend with for most movement). This would be up to the GM, though.

 

Claws don't particularly seem crocodile-like to me personally. I can say from experience, that a power on that level will only be window dressing for a character of this race in the vast majority of FH games... if you're playing a game where this isn't the case, great. Instead, I'd suggest giving them a STR bonus, only for grabbing with fangs. Much more practical, and much more crocodile-like.

 

The Clinging seems a bit out of place too... especially for an oceanic/coastal species.

 

Other than that, it looks good.

 

Since you mention a forked tongue, I'm presuming you're attributing them a certain degree of serpentine aspects as well. You might consider Ranged for Taste sense group, and a Detect Heat Source (Sense, Ranged, as Touch), or something similar.

 

Also, with the Damage Resistance rather than Armor, it suggest that they have really hard, scaly skins, but not particularly thick ones... again, more serpentine than crocodilian (is that a word?), so I'm not sure if that's what you're after. Perhaps add Damage Reduction (25% non-resistant Physical, Requires CON roll w/ no active point penalties)?

[Hierax]

Lizard Man (Second Draft)Thanks for the feedback guys!I've made some corrections and streamlined the write-up from 125 to 100 points:http://www.hierax.com/hero/fantasy/grey/monster/lizard_man.pdfThe write-up is a conversion of the basic 2+1 AD&D Monster race to be used as a monster. This can also be used as the starting point for a PC Lizard Man that is the equivalent of a 2nd level character but would have less choices open than would a human of the same points but the same could be said about elves, dwarves, etc... In a 75+75 point game this still gives 50 points for customization (a fair bit). Later I'll post a write-up of the 10th level Fighter Phoebus from "Rogues Gallery" who was a human reincarnated as a Lizard Man.I fixed the duplicate Susceptibility; reduced the temperature to 50dF/10dC, removed clinging, added a limited rear arc for the tail strike, changed the Animal Empathy from a skill to Mind Control and Telepathy, removed Inherent (since the rule isn't used consistenty in H5e and just costs way more for very little advantage if used officially).The forked tongue was a mistaken carry over from the description I copied from the hero book and I've removed it as I'll save that for the Yuan-Ti serpent folk.The temperature susceptibility indeed is intended to keep the race in specific climatic/environmental zones, but I did lower the temperature to 50dF/10dC to give them a little bit extra range since they are humanoids. Basically tropical and sub-tropical swamps, coasts, and jungles are where I need them to be for certain campaign plot points and to fit the flavour of the race.The claws pretty much are 'window dressing', at least against armored opponents but they are still something in the swamp where heavy armor (or even medium) isn't near as common. Sweeping for a couple of attacks with the claws makes them feared an unarmed peasant human but not really by serious 'adventurers'.I'm still not 100% sure about the best way to handle the multiple unarmd attacks but the two-weapon fighting + rapid attack + offhand weapon WF + Amibidexterity is one alternative I wanted to try to increased SPD only to attack unarmed (basically they need to get a bite and 2 claws in to the unarmed human's one punch).Any further corrections, suggestions, etc.?Lizard Man (Standard 100-Point Warrior)

Val	Char	Cost
13	STR	3
11	DEX	3
13	CON	6
12	BODY	4
8	INT	-2
8	EGO	-4
10	PRE	0
6	COM	-2
4	PD	1
4	ED	1
2	SPD	0
6	REC	0
26	END	0
32	STUN	6

3" RUN-66" SWIM04 1/2" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 10

Cost	Power	END
4	Scaly Skin (and subdermal Osteoscutes): Damage Resistance (4 PD/4 ED)
12	Fangs: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1/2d6 (1d6+1 w/STR), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (15 Active Points); Reduced Penetration (-1/4)
6	Claws: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1 point (0 1/2d6 w/STR), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (7 Active Points); Reduced Penetration (-1/4)
1	Tail Bash: Hand-To-Hand Attack +0 1/2d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (4 Active Points); Limited Arc (Rear 180 degrees) (-1), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2), Only with Extra Limb (-1/2)
4	Tail: Extra Limb (1) (5 Active Points); Limited Manipulation (-1/4)
2	Hold Breath (END per Minute): Life Support (Extended Breathing)
5	Strong Swimmer: Swimming +4" (6" total), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (5 Active Points)	1
1	Lunge: Leaping +2" (4 1/2" forward, 2" upward) (2 Active Points); Only from Water Only from Water (-1)	1
1	Burst of Speed: Running 3" (6 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x8 END; -3 1/2)	8
1	Life Support (Eating Character only has to eat once per week)
1	Nictitating Membrane: Sight Group Flash Defense
2	Highly Developed Inner Ear: +1 PER with Hearing Group
2	Keen Sense of Smell: +1 PER with Smell/Taste Group
6	Regenerate Lost Limbs: Healing 1 BODY, Can Heal Limbs, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2) (30 Active Points); Extra Time (Regeneration-Only) 1 Month (-3 1/4), Self Only (-1/2)
3	Crocodile Control (Empathic): Mind Control 3d6 (15 Active Points); Limited Power (Crocodiles Only) (-1 1/2), Concentration (0 DCV; Character is totally unaware of nearby events; -3/4), Extra Time (Full Phase, Character May Take No Other Actions, -3/4), Empathic (-1/2)	1
3	Crocodile Empathy: Telepathy 3d6 (15 Active Points); Limited Power (Crocodiles Only) (-1 1/2), Concentration (0 DCV; Character is totally unaware of nearby events; -3/4), Extra Time (Full Phase, Character May Take No Other Actions, -3/4), Empathic (-1/2)	1

Powers Cost: 54

Cost	Skill
0	Language (completely fluent) (3 Active Points)
7	Survival (Marine, Tropical, Temperate/Subtropical Coasts) 12-
2	Concealment 12- (5 Active Points); Limited Power Only in Swamp (-1), Self Only (-1/2)
2	Stealth 12- (5 Active Points); Limited Power Only in Swamp (-1)
2	PS 11-
1	WF: Off Hand
5	Two-Weapon Fighting (HTH) (10 Active Points); Limited Power Only Unarmed (-1)
2	Rapid Attack (HTH) (5 Active Points); Limited Power Only Unarmed (-1)
4	WF: Common Melee Weapons, Common Missile Weapons
5	+1 with HTH Combat

Skills Cost: 30

Cost	Talent
2	Environmental Movement (no penalties on)
4	Ambidexterity (no Off Hand penalty) (9 Active Points); Limited Power Only Unarmed (-1)

Talents Cost: 6

Val	Disadvantages
15	Cold-Blooded: (Frequently, Greatly Impairing)
5	Dependence on Water (Need to cover body in water or mositening oils once per day): Drain: 1d6 STR, 1d6 DEX, and 1d6 CON (30 Active Points) (Very Common, 1 Day)
5	Distinctive Features: Lizard Man (Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses; Not Distinctive In Some Cultures)
20	Normal Characteristic Maxima
5	Psychological Limitation: Taboo to Kill Crocodiles (Uncommon, Moderate)
5	Reputation: Craves Human Flesh, 8-
10	Susceptibility to Cool Temperatures (below 50 degrees F or 10 degrees C): , Drain 1d6 (2d6 of END) per Minute (Uncommon)
5	Vulnerability to Cold Attacks: 1 1/2 x STUN (Uncommon)
5	Vulnerability to Heat Attacks: 1 1/2 x STUN (Uncommon)

Disadvantage Points: 75

Base Points: 25Experience Required: 0Total Experience Available: 0Experience Unspent: 0Total Character Cost: 100

Height: 1.99 m	Hair: None
Weight: 102.00 kg	Eyes: Black

Appearance: Lizard Men are crocodillian humanoids with fangs, claws, and tails.Personality: Quote:Background: Lizard Men of the Dunwater Hoolmarsh tribe are sentient bipedal crocodilian humanoids.Powers/Tactics: Unarmed claw/claw/bite, or Armed, like to wait for prey and attack by surprise.Campaign Use: Sources/Credits:

- xD&D MM(1e).62, U2 Danger at Dunwater, U3 The Final Enemy, I2 Tomb of the Lizard King, I7 Baltron's Beacon; MM(2e).227, CBH.40-42; MM(3e).128, 195, 198.

- MMM.64 (Lizard Folk); HSB.193 (Reptile Man), HSB.211 (Swamp Creature), HSB.149-150 (Crocodile).

- Surbrook's Stuff - Crocodile (http://www.devermore.net/surbrook/adaptionscreatures/real/crocodile.html).

- Killer Shrike's "Iss'toris" (http://www.killershrike.com/FantasyHERO/GreyHEROContent/RacePackageDeals/lizardmanPackages.shtml).

- Wily Quixote's "Shor'aniss" (http://www.killershrike.com/FantasyHERO/GreyHEROContent/RacePackageDeals/lizardmanPackages.shtml#Shoraniss).

- Titan: Fighting Fantasy World (hardcopy and some parts at http://www.advancedfightingfantasy.com/)

- Spiderman's Lizard, Star Trek's Gorn, Babylon 5's Drazi, Buffy's Swim Team.

- PBS Nova - Crocs - Anatomy of a Croc (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/croccaves/anat-nf.html).

- San Diego Natural History Museum "After the Dinosaurs: When Crocodiles Ruled the World" (http://www.sdnhm.org/exhibits/crocs/tguide/tgcrocs.html).

- Crocodilian Biology Database (http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/cnhc/cbd-faq.htm)

- http://www.crocodilian.com/

[Hierax]

Armor vs. Damage Resistance

 

Oh yeah, II used "Damage Resistance" instead of Armor because I want to keep the Armor Power for actual armor that they wear on top of their skin and subdermal bone plating.

 

FWIW, basically I actually like the new D&D way of only allowing bonuses of different sorts to "stack" on to each other and only use the highest of the same sort -- i.e., I still want Lizard Men to get benefit from wearing armor but I don't want to let characters stack armor upon armor. I know the SFX nature of HERO but I need to distinguish somehow for "stacking" purposes to give a guideline for play balance.

 

YMMV but that's the reason for the difference.

[Killer Shrike]

If you dont mind, Ill do a version of your Lizardman in my style, in the tradition of the Verbityk Elves and Heiraxian Dwarves. I think I'll call them Jas'syrus Lizardmen

[Hierax]

No problem, Ed, I'd be honoured; I'll e-mail you the .HDC file to get you started.