Mutant Animal Races

The wonderful GeoGuide:

Have you ever wanted to be a "Lion-Man?" Of course not, that would be dorky. But, you may have wanted to be something akin to a Kenku, or maybe an Aarokocra, or at least a bird-like man that could fly. Or maybe you wanted to just throw out the damn were-rat stuff and be an intelligent rat (like Splinter...).

I have been toying with these few creatures for about 4 years now, and I can't figure out what to make of them. I'm going to throw them out there for you all to play with and modify and change and use to your tastes. Or not use, if you desire. LOL!

First, we'll start with the basics. The min/max of ability scores to become that animal. It reads just like the one in the PHB, so if your score is lower than the min score, you can't be that, and if your score is higher than the max score, you can't be that. Got it?

Table 1: Race Ability Min/Max
Attribute \ Animal Strength Dexterity Constitution Intelligence Wisdom Charisma	Wolf 6/18 9/18 6/18 9/18 6/18 3/16	Bear 11/18 3/16 6/18 6/18 3/18 3/16	Falcon 3/18 9/18 3/16 12/18 9/18 3/16	Rat 6/18 11/18 8/18 9/18 3/17 3/16	Lion 11/18 9/18 6/18 6/18 6/18 3/16

Alright. Now that you have that figured out, the next thing that you do is apply the Racial Ability Adjustments. You'll notice that some of them have more than one +/-. This is because they have definitely differences from humans that need to be compensated for one way or another. After all, straight 3d6 for all scores is nothing but a straight human.

Table 2: Race Ability Adjustments
Wolf Bear Falcon      Rat Lion	+1 Dexterity, -1 Charisma +1 Str & Con, -1 Dex and Cha +1 Dex & Int, -1 Con and Cha +1 Dex & Int, -1 Wis and Cha +1 Strength, -1 Charisma

You probably noticed that they all have a -1 to Charisma. This is because they are not commonly seen around people, and people will find them strange. Like a dwarf, their apparent charisma to people they are close to or their own kind is higher. You decide how much higher.

The last thing that you need to find out is what classes are available, and the level limits since the DM might want to know this. If there is no number, then the class is unavailable. A number signifies the highest attainable level, and a 'U' means the maximum level is unlimited.

Table 3: Race Level Limits
Animal \ Class Wolf Bear Falcon Rat Lion	Fighter 13 12 10 12 14	Ranger U U U U U	Paladin -- -- -- -- --	Priest -- -- -- -- --	Druid 15 15 15 15 15	Mage 7 -- 9 9 --	Sp. -- -- -- -- --	Thief 9 9 11 15 --	Bard 14 9 15 15 12

Well, that's that. Now, for the things that are the same for each race. These are the same because of the type of mutant they are--wild animals. A plant mutant may be different.

All are specialized (as in fighter's specialization) with their natural weapons, if any. All receive only one weapon proficiency at first level, instead of the class norm. The falcon is an exception to this, see below. All receive only two non-weapon proficiencies at first level. All warriors roll for exceptional strength. All mutants recieve a bonus to some saving throws as per table 4.

Table 4: Save Bonus Constitution 1-6 7-13 14-17 18+ Bonus +1 +2 +3 +4 Breath Weapon, Poison, Paralyze, Petrify/Polymorph.

This brings us to the differences between the animals. Just find the one you need. I'll throw in links later, or put this in a frame.

WOLF

• Natural weapon: Teeth: 2d4 dmg (s/m), 1d10 dmg (large), spd 3
• 30' Infravision
• Excellent sense of smell, gets tracking proficiency as a ranger, regardless of class.

BEAR

• Natural weapon: Teeth, 2d4/1d8 dmg, spd 3
• Rolls for exceptional strength regardless of class.
• Bears are natural swimmers, therefore starts off with swimming proficiency for free at +1.

FALCON

• Can trade 6 points of Constitution for the ability to fly. This will grant him a natural weapon: talons (2d4/2d6 dmg, spd 3, 2 attacks per round, can only be used if flying)
  The flying ability will be at speed 18, class "C" flight. See Monstrous Manual/Compendium for description.
• If flight is not taken, a falcon gets the full number of proficiencies allowed for the class taken.
• Has the ability to see clearly for 2 miles. May help some NWP's, may not. Gives a +1 to use most missile weapons, and doubles the range of the weapons.

RAT

• Natural Weapon: Teeth 2d4/1d8+1 dmg, spd 3
• Gets an additional +1 to save vs. poisons, in addition to normal mutant bonus.
• 60' Infravision

LION

• Natural Weapon: Claws, 2d4/1d8 dmg, spd 3, 2 attacks/rd. Improves to 5/2 per round at level 7, and 3 per round at level 13.
• 60' Infravision
• Rolls for exceptional strength no matter what class.
• Special attack: Roar. Forces everybody to make a save vs. spell or run in fright for 1d4 minutes. If in battle, it turns into a morale check.