Monday, January 17, 2011

Simple LL Races (Using AEC Class & Races)

I like the standard race-classes in the core Labyrinth Lord books, but I also realize that some players like a little more variety and like to mix and match races and class abilities.  I've never quite been happy with the way the separate races are presented in the AEC (Advanced Edition Companion) book, as they seem to be more complicated than they need to be.  I'm of the opinion that you can have a simple race description and then just add one of the human classes to it (Cleric, Fighter, Magic-User, and Thief). 

So what really do you need to make a race?  I suggest that you really don't need that much to make a race.  Sure, you can go into the fluff as much as you like to fit your particular setting, but mechanically you can cap each race to a few special abilities, add some modifiers to stats, and then you are all done.

So, let us see if we can make some simple races.

Goblin
Stat Modifiers: Dex +1 / Str -1
Infravision 90' (-1 to all dice rolls in bright sunlight)
Hatred: +1 to attacks and damage vs Dwarves & Kobolds
Tracking Scent: 1-3 on a D6

Orc
Stat Modifiers: Str +1 / Cha -1
Infravision 90' (-1 to all dice rolls in bright sunlight)
Hatred: +1 to attacks and damage vs Dwarves & Elves
Depravity: Everyone hates Orcs even other evil races.  Not only are they violent, but they do all sorts of horrible things to the corpses of their enemies.  All social interactions should have role-playing consequences left up to the GM. 

You could come up with more special abilities, or change them till they fit the way you view the race in question.  Making simple races also makes it easier to make new races of your own design.

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