[any fantasy] Ever offered lizard men as a playable race?

RPGPundit · January 17, 2016, 09:19:50 PM

Yes, in my RC D&D campaign.

3rik · January 18, 2016, 06:47:03 AM

IIRC Atlantis: the 2nd Age has playable reptile/lizard men.

Naburimannu · January 18, 2016, 11:35:37 AM

Quote from: Kamard;873309I have Thrassians in my own ACKS game. They're not really popular for some reason.

Back during playtesting there was a lot of worry that Thrassians were "overpowered" in combat at low levels, but I haven't heard of that being a concern post-release.

Willie the Duck · January 19, 2016, 08:12:41 AM

Quote from: Naburimannu;874094Back during playtesting there was a lot of worry that Thrassians were "overpowered" in combat at low levels, but I haven't heard of that being a concern post-release.

Excepting games with some kind of 'level adjustment' mechanic, I think that's intuitive, since they are going to have some basic bonuses (teeth and/or claws, presumably, and likely scaly, protective skin), and fewer and/or harder to enforce penalties (they aren't usually as dumb as orcs, for example, and primitive rarely keeps people from getting modern-for-the-setting weapons). What do they get in ACKS?

RPGPundit · January 21, 2016, 08:59:49 PM

At one point I had some thoughts of a game with a big draconian/lizardman type empire. Never came of nothing though, at least not yet.

Skywalker · January 21, 2016, 09:03:42 PM

Atlantis: the Second Age has reptile folk and I have had one PC of that race.

They are essentially a degenerate slave race of the snake people that are amongst the big bads, so they are compelling to play.

Spoiler

Gronan of Simmerya · January 21, 2016, 09:48:03 PM

Shrug. Nobody ever asked.

Christopher Brady · January 22, 2016, 07:53:12 AM

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;874725Shrug. Nobody ever asked.

From my personal (anecdotal) experience, this.

AsenRG · January 22, 2016, 09:21:38 AM

Quote from: Shipyard Locked;873262Not counting dragonborn from 4e and 5e, have you ever offered lizard men as a playable race in a fantasy game? Would you?

Did anyone take the option? How did it go? Did it lead to any interesting RP?

I have been running for years a Bulgarian "fantasy heartbreaker", which has them as a playable race. Some people want to play them and if they could answer the questions detailed in the text, I was fine:).

The questions mostly boiled down to "why do other PCs trust you, and how do you avoid people gathering in a lynch mob", since they were like the orcs in the assumed setting;).

tenbones · January 22, 2016, 01:03:44 PM

Sure! I like lizardmen. I used to regularly let players make them in Spelljammer and FR games (and of course told them ahead of time there would be social consequences, etc.)

I've even had a PC paladin get his arm lopped off (sword of sharpness) saving a lizard-man tribe from an orc-incursion. In reward, the lizardman shaman (cleric of Semuanya) beseeched his god, and Semuanya grew him a new arm... a lizardman arm (19 Str!) and he became an honorary member of the tribe. Good times!

Chivalric · January 22, 2016, 01:25:12 PM

I've had two PCs in games I've run over the years that were lizardmen. One was in a game where the lizardmen were basically neolithic in technology and culture. Another where they were pretty much right in with human society, but sort of keeping to their own communities most of the time.

I'd recommend against the cave man approach. You basically end up with a hamming it up and over emphasizing of dumb things until the player gets comfortable with the idea that his character has learned enough to fit in and act normal.

Crimhthan · January 22, 2016, 10:25:52 PM

Quote from: Shipyard Locked;873262Not counting dragonborn from 4e and 5e, have you ever offered lizard men as a playable race in a fantasy game? Would you?

Did anyone take the option? How did it go? Did it lead to any interesting RP?

In OD&D, Yes, Yes, Yes, No problem at all, as much fun as anything else. Yes, for instance Lizards/Reptiles from hot dry climates have a problem with wet damp cold or dry cold climates, and Lizards/Reptiles from wet swampy climates have problems with hot and cold deserts. Also really different customs and mores. Hard to read body language, etc.

3rik · January 23, 2016, 07:30:37 PM

Actually, the first character I ever played was a lizard man in a fairly vanilla GURPS fantasy game. What can I say, I like reptiles.

Tetsubo · January 24, 2016, 01:54:03 PM

We had some NPC lizard folk in a couple of campaigns. I would have allowed PCs but they weren't native to any of the campaign locales. Players always seemed to prefer mammalian races.

Telarus · January 25, 2016, 07:39:00 PM

My girlfriend is playing a T'skrang Airsailor named Lux in my Earthdawn game (a rare combination of race and discipline). She really likes the contrast between the "civilized" lizardmen River Houses (who have fire cannons and steam engine paddle-wheel ships), and the wild tribes (much more D&D style lizardmen, but with maori style war-canoes and south american style carved monster masks).

Concept image for Lux, color scheme is late-twilight purples:
http://cdn.obsidianportal.com/assets/113859/TSkrang_Swordmaster.jpg
Lux's minimized stats:

Code Select

[ED4] 3rd Circle T'skrang Airsailor
Lux is a risk for House Vistrimon, a rare Airsailor initiate sent to 
discover routes through the Servos Jungle towards Kratas for future 
airship trade exploitation. Lux travels with a large riding/pack bird, 
and has a 2 man canoe hidden nearby.

DEX: 7+/d10 ---|Initiative: 4/d6 -----|Movement: 12
STR: 6+/d10 ---|Physical Def: 10(+2)--|Knockdown: 6
TOU: 6++/d10 --|Mystic Def: 8 --------|Wound Threshold: 10
PER: 6/d10 ----|Social Def: 8(+1) ----|Unconsciousness: 45(30+15)
WIL: 5/d8 -----|Physical Armor: 7 ----|Death Rating: 54(36+18)
CHA: 6+/d10 ---|Mystic Armor:  (+2) --|Recovery Tests: 3
Karma: d6 (pool 8/12, modifier 4) ----|Durability:*5

*Tail Combat: Allows an additional Unarmed Combat attack,
     costs –2 to all tests that round.(Tail Attack - Players Guide p 386)
Air Sailing (3) 10/2d8
Avoid Blow (3) 10/2d8
Climbing (3) 10/2d8
Melee Weapons (4) 11/d10+d8
Thread Weaving (3) 9/d8+d6
Wind Catcher (3) 8/2d6
Acrobatic Defense (3) 10/2d8
Awareness (3) 9/d8+d6
Taunt (3) 9/d8+d6
Empathic Sense (2) 8/2d6
Speak Languages (2) 8/2d6

Chainmail (PA 7, -3 Init)
Rapier (5)12, Parrying Dagger (2)9 [Serves as a +1 Buckler]
200 silver
*other loot stashed at the Inn of the Welcome Wench, Village of Homm (T1-4)