Enhanced Racial Perks Project [WIP]

[TyrannisUmbra]

Okay. that makes sense. So...Buffalo, then Zebra I take it? XD

Well, it's not a set order, just a priority! If I get say, EP ideas, then I won't ignore them... but I'll be thinking more specifically on filling out the lists first.

[Mister_Clacky]

Groovy. I'll look for you tonight after work. We'll definitely be playtesting these in Platypus.

[Viewing_Glass]

Alright, so let's start by defining the problem each race has in terms of racial perks. That should give us some direction in terms of perk creation.

Buffalo: What perks? Also, we need to generate a flavor for this race. Otherwise, we will have no idea where to even begin (maybe take a look at native american lore for ideas?).
Zebra: Well, we get that Zebra our good alchemists and have a tribal flavor, however, we might want to come up with perks that are based on tribal combat. Unarmed and some melee perks might work well here.
Griffin: Killers of the Wasteland! Not sure what is missing here, since Flight was fixed up.
Pegasus: Speedy things! In fact, outside of Enclave tactics and speed, that's really all Pegasus have. I have some ideas for Weather Control perks, but those require significant additions to the rules.
EP: Well...Earth Ponies are actually in a decent state. They have the most range and easily twice as many perks as any other race. Not sure what, if anything, needs to be adjusted here.
Unicorns: Extremely Powerful at low levels, less so at high levels. Both are especially true if they focus on there magic. Outside of the mentioned Matrix Caster, not sure what to mess with here.

[The Custodian]

Unicorns: If i might suggest giving them a separate skill split of Science? In a group im in its kinda silly that the technophobe and the drug addled magic users are almost as good at hacking and science as the earth pony who's character revolves around repair and sciency things. Besides replacing the need to roll science when using spells you can use it to help identify enemy magic and maybe even learn from observation?

Griffins. THe only other ribe i have with them atm is how some pegasus perks should be universal with flyers. Flight 4, Strafing run, Speed burst... These are things that should be universal, or in the case of strafing run, something that can be taught to a flier, not needing a perk. That said, magical flying maneuvers should be pegasus only...

[SilverlightPony]

Unicorns: If i might suggest giving them a separate skill split of Science? In a group im in its kinda silly that the technophobe and the drug addled magic users are almost as good at hacking and science as the earth pony who's character revolves around repair and sciency things. Besides replacing the need to roll science when using spells you can use it to help identify enemy magic and maybe even learn from observation?

The catch there is that magic in FoE is explicitly Arcane Science.

It can get a bit silly, but I don't think it needs changing.

One of my characters was intended from the get-go to be very talented at magic but not very good with arcanotech; this was applied in-game by the GM giving me a custom Trait that gives +15 to Science when dealing with raw magic, and -15 to Science when dealing with arcanotech.

[TyrannisUmbra]

Buffalo: What perks? Also, we need to generate a flavor for this race. Otherwise, we will have no idea where to even begin (maybe take a look at native american lore for ideas?).

I'll be honest, I'm somewhat at a loss for what unique things to do for Buffalo. Zebras already seem to have a very similar direction, and it kinda dampers the uniqueness.

Zebra: Well, we get that Zebra our good alchemists and have a tribal flavor, however, we might want to come up with perks that are based on tribal combat. Unarmed and some melee perks might work well here.

I had an interesting thought about adding a "Star-touched" trait, and having a few good star-based perks that require the trait, similar to how Mighty Spell requires One Trick Pony at later ranks. Other than that, I really want to focus on adding variety to zebras, so people playing a zebra don't have to feel pigeonholed into being the alchemy/shaman guy.

Griffin: Killers of the Wasteland! Not sure what is missing here, since Flight was fixed up.

There is definitely a lot of potential for griffons, the only question is nailing something down. Probably a case of "throw something against the wall until it sticks"

Pegasus: Speedy things! In fact, outside of Enclave tactics and speed, that's really all Pegasus have. I have some ideas for Weather Control perks, but those require significant additions to the rules.

Exactly my thoughts, I think. Agility and nimbleness is the name of the game, maybe with some flight-based magic coupled on.

EP: Well...Earth Ponies are actually in a decent state. They have the most range and easily twice as many perks as any other race. Not sure what, if anything, needs to be adjusted here.

I was actually pretty surprised when I found out that even after stripping the cyberpony perks and setting them aside, EPs still had around the highest number of perks devoted to them. They are pretty damn set for a while.

Unicorns: Extremely Powerful at low levels, less so at high levels. Both are especially true if they focus on there magic. Outside of the mentioned Matrix Caster, not sure what to mess with here.

Unicorns honestly feel like the most well-designed and thought out race at the moment (which is far from their situation a mere year ago, it's pretty amazing how quickly things can change!) They may be able to use a few touchups, but other than that they are more the model for what the other races should have at their disposal in terms of perks.

Unicorns: If i might suggest giving them a separate skill split of Science? In a group im in its kinda silly that the technophobe and the drug addled magic users are almost as good at hacking and science as the earth pony who's character revolves around repair and sciency things. Besides replacing the need to roll science when using spells you can use it to help identify enemy magic and maybe even learn from observation?

Something like that is currently beyond the scope of this project, I'm afraid. Core alterations to the rules are something I'm looking to avoid at the moment.

Griffins. THe only other ribe i have with them atm is how some pegasus perks should be universal with flyers. Flight 4, Strafing run, Speed burst... These are things that should be universal, or in the case of strafing run, something that can be taught to a flier, not needing a perk. That said, magical flying maneuvers should be pegasus only...

I'm not sure if I agree with that. Speed Burst is definitely something that should be pegasus-only. If pegasi are the fast flying race, Griffons would be all about power and ferocity. Speed Burst says it all right in its name -- it's a speed perk. Strafing Run needs to be reworked entirely. It's either going to be too strong or too weak, with no real middleground. If at all possible though, I want to try and avoid sharing perks between races. Each race should have its own unique style, so even if they have functionally similar perks, they're going to be a fundamentally different style.

[Viewing_Glass]

I want to hold off on making 'Star-Touched' traits and perks. Let's leave that to GMs who want to play with that sort of thing.

Zebra: Well, we have story evidence that Zebra are incredibly nasty in unarmed combat, but no racial perks that support such a thing. So with that in mind:

Pressure Points, Requires Level 8, Melee or Unarmed 50, Three Ranks: You have learned where to strike an opponent to cripple there combat ability. Deal an extra 2d10 damage when targeting a specific body part (such as a leg, the torso, or the head). This extra damage is only applied to health of the targetted body part, not to total damage done.

Penetrating Strike, Requires Level 6, Melee or Unarmed 40, One Rank: All melee or unarmed attacks you make are considered Armor Piercing (Light). This stacks with any armor piercing that is already on the weapon, if the melee or unarmed weapon has Armor Piercing (Light) or Armor Piercing.

Hoof of the Ancestors, Requires Level 18, Unarmed 80, One Rank: Your Unarmed attacks have a 33% chance of paralyzing the target (roll after a successful hit) for five rounds. This does not stack with Paralyzing Hoof.

[TyrannisUmbra]

I'm a little hesitant about adding more crowd control, though if it doesn't stack with paralyzing hoof... I dunno. I'd need to think that one over long and hard.

I like Pressure Points, a lot.

And... I actually never knew Armor Piercing was a special thing. None of my games use the tiered weapon list, and it only exists there. I had to go look to see what it did exactly. >.> I'm thinking that might be a little TOO good to add to every attack, but what would you think of say... having it work on precise strikes instead? That way it's more of a special thing, and less abusive? Unarmed is already veeeeery strong without adding something like that. Though either way, I think level 6 might be a little too soon for ignoring DT.

[Viewing_Glass]

Hrm...well, in keeping with the the theme of pressure points, I could see zebra ignoring up to a penalty of up to 10 when making a called shot instead of ignoring armor.

[TyrannisUmbra]

Well, I didn't mean it necessarily needs to stop ignoring armor, but maybe make it conditional? The reason I suggested precise strikes was because obviously they cost more AP to perform (thus making them a choice whether to use or not), and thematically it makes some sense. If we'd not like it tied into that, maybe it can be its own special attack that costs base+x AP to perform?