References for Non-human races and sources

[Am-Ra]

This is my first real topic, so I will take this occasion to say hello to everyone reading this.

 

I took the BRP basic manual but I found it lacking a bit about humanoid races or playable non-human races templates.

I would like to know which are the most reliable splatbooks or game rulesets based on d100 where I can find more templates for humanoid playable races or tips to create them.

 

Thanks

[Jason D]

The easiest way to go is to decide what the desired race is, what they can do, and build a package of abilities and potential drawbacks for that race using the superpowers or mutations. 

If you want some classic fantasy races, try the Glorantha Bestiary for RuneQuest.

 

 

[Mugen]

I don't know what intelligent species are provided in the BGB, but that Monograph seems like a re-issue of the old Games Workshop's Monsters book for RQ3 :

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/82072/Basic-Creatures?filters=44826_0_0_0_0

If you only look for characteristics, Mongoose's RuneQuest SRD is another solution.

Myhtras has a few more exotic creatures.

[Scotty]

14 hours ago, AaronLionhart said:

This is my first real topic, so I will take this occasion to say hello to everyone reading this.

Welcome aboard!

[svensson]

First, welcome to the board!

As for your specific question, it really depends on what you're looking for in races.

Glorantha specific races are available in the RQG Bestiary available from Chaosium.

For a more 'classic DnD' approach using BRP rules, look at BRP Classic Fantasy, available from drivethru.

For myself, I do a bit of 'mix n' match'. For a standard late medieval-early renaissance fantasy game I would use the more standard DnD elf and dwarf tropes. But I can't imagine playing BRP /RQ without Gloranthan Uz trolls in it 😁

Links to both products below.

https://www.chaosium.com/runequest-glorantha-bestiary-hardcover/

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/82084/Classic-Fantasy?term=Basic+Roleplay%2C+Fantasy

[g33k]

Hello, and welcome!

As others have said, it's a bit unclear just what you're after...

Something D&D-sque?  Then "Classic Fantasy" is your jam, with both native "BRP" & "Mythras" versions.

The world of Glorantha is very much NOT "D&Desque," but still has playable humanoid races.  You might look at the Gloranthan Bestiary, as noted; but also the RQ2-reprint "RuneQuest Classic" RPG with its "Monsters" chapter, many of them playable.

There's sci-fi offerings available, IIRC, but they're a bit more obscure.

Or ... ?

[Am-Ra]

Well, I want to thank you all first for your interest!

Now that D&D has been cited, I feel free to point it clearer too: a cavalcade of humanoids and spooks like the Monster Manuals from WOTC would be what I am finding for a game, with a lot of things like wolfmen, goblins, fairies, different undeads and draconic creatures.

[svensson]

2 hours ago, AaronLionhart said:

Well, I want to thank you all first for your interest!

Now that D&D has been cited, I feel free to point it clearer too: a cavalcade of humanoids and spooks like the Monster Manuals from WOTC would be what I am finding for a game, with a lot of things like wolfmen, goblins, fairies, different undeads and draconic creatures.

No problem mentioning DnD. Firstly, it's the big dog on the RPG block. Secondly, we wouldn't be here without it. There's no problem in acknowledging that.

Let me offer an 'old grog's' warning about BRP and RQ... No matter what the label says, there no DnD-style 'kobolds' or 'gobins' in d100 games. What I mean by this is that the mechanics of BRP /Call of Cthulhu /RQ are far far more deadly. Even the most limp-wristed trollkin is only one or two lucky rolls from killing you outright [one critical hit and one 'head' result on the hit location table, if used]. There are NO 'warm up' fights in d100. There are no DnD 'whack the trivial monster for beer money' minor fights. In d100, every fight could kill your character so your character should treat it that way.

[soltakss]

On 7/20/2021 at 8:06 PM, AaronLionhart said:

I took the BRP basic manual but I found it lacking a bit about humanoid races or playable non-human races templates.

D100 games have always had a lot of playable humanoid races.

However, most of the examples are out of print.

The current Glorantha Bestiary, for RQ, has some races that you could use. Drive Through RPG might have some Bestiaries for RQ, Call of Cthulhu, Mythras, Legend or any of the D100 games. They should all be fairly compatible with BRP, or give you ideas.

One of the good things about D100 games is that you can pretty much use any intelligent race as a PC, simply by using the normal character generation rules and amending anything that looks a bit odd.

[g33k]

9 hours ago, soltakss said:

...

One of the good things about D100 games is that you can pretty much use any intelligent race as a PC, simply by using the normal character generation rules and amending anything that looks a bit odd.

HOWEVER, one of the non-D&D-like things about d100 games is that they really don't give a fig about "balance."  The races of D&D usually try for some sense of race-vs-race balance tradind STR for DEX etc; failing that, making "CR Adjustment" and such-like notions.

This is unsupported in any BRP/d100 ruleset I know of.  If a race is more powerful, it just is.  And it gets an "unfair" advantage vs. other races.

If you're looking for "balanced" races, you've got your work cut out for you!
 

[svensson]

57 minutes ago, g33k said:

HOWEVER, one of the non-D&D-like things about d100 games is that they really don't give a fig about "balance."  The races of D&D usually try for some sense of race-vs-race balance tradind STR for DEX etc; failing that, making "CR Adjustment" and such-like notions.

This is unsupported in any BRP/d100 ruleset I know of.  If a race is more powerful, it just is.  And it gets an "unfair" advantage vs. other races.

If you're looking for "balanced" races, you've got your work cut out for you!
 

Adding on the what Brother g33k said, some of the balance will come from sheer common sense and physics... centaurs are pretty badass but they can't crawl and have 4 'instant kill' hit zones rather than a human's three [head, chest, forequarter, hindquarter as opposed to head, chest, abdomen], for just a couple examples... so it isn't quite so bad.

Also remember that the more 'bestial' races [minotaurs, for example] tend to not be very smart and have not developed much in the way of culture, so they will tend to both not have very many skill percentiles assigned by profession but will also not be as good at many of them as well. Some races will be very good at hitting things and noticing things, but lousy at languages, Lores, some physical skills [Swim, Boat, etc.], and other necessary adventurer type activities. This is a hidden balancing factor as well.

[Am-Ra]

20 hours ago, soltakss said:

One of the good things about D100 games is that you can pretty much use any intelligent race as a PC, simply by using the normal character generation rules and amending anything that looks a bit odd.

I red the manual but I honestly did not get how to do it; maybe I am stupid but the instructions are not clear how to design or implement non-human races.

 

Well, not that I am searching for any kind of balance, but for rosources mainly.

[Baron Wulfraed]

The biggest gap is that there is no appropriate "homeland" for base skills and family history. As an exercise, I created an Aldryami character -- skipping the entire grandparent/parent history section, but making an assumption that the character might have been involved in some neighboring conflicts. For that, I grabbed the die modifiers from nearby lands (Esrolia and Sartar).

Other (sapient) races have even less background available.

[Ian Absentia]

28 minutes ago, Baron Wulfraed said:

The biggest gap is that there is no appropriate "homeland" for base skills and family history.

[...snip...]

Other (sapient) races have even less background available.

Mm-hm.  Random personal history tables that provide characteristic modifications aren't the value-added aid-to-play they're presented as being.  Fortunately, for most games they can be circumvented with a little forethought or published alternatives.

!i!

[Lloyd Dupont]

8 hours ago, AaronLionhart said:

I red the manual but I honestly did not get how to do it; maybe I am stupid but the instructions are not clear how to design or implement non-human races.

 

Well, not that I am searching for any kind of balance, but for rosources mainly.

well, do you have any D100 book with some monster at the end.. you will see they are very much like human, same characteristic (some might be bigger or small), same atttribute calculation (damage bonus, hp, ..) same skill....

 

for fun here is some of my Master of Orion races (short copy past mishmash)  (I added racial skill, i.e. skill that start at +20% for that race, or skill that are only available to that race like psionic power) (Focus is a special skill I created just for the sake of Psilon, can give you a few bonus special roll per session)
 

Elerian

Playable YES
Empire Tech Level 10
Homeworld: Draconis
Government: Feodal
Extent: Small

STR 3D6
CON 3D6
SIZ 2D6+6
INT 2D6+6
POW 4D6
DEX 3D6
APP 3D6

MOV 10

Location Table: Humanoid
Languages: Elerian 60%, Bulrathi 40%
Racial Abilities: Psionic
Racial Skills: Meditation, male: Empathy (psionic), female: Telekinesis (psionic)

 

Bulrathi

Playable YES
Empire Tech Level 12
Homeworld: Ursa
Government: Dictatorship, Anocracy
Extent: Large

STR 3D6+9
CON 3D6+4
SIZ 2D6+2
INT 2D6+6
POW 3D6
DEX 3D6
APP 3D6

MOV 10
Location Table: Humanoid
Languages:Bulrathi 60%, 40% in one of Elerian, Gnolam, Human, Klackon, Mrrshan, Psilon
Racial Abilities: High Gravity (half physical damage, double jump length), 2AP
Racial Skills: Polearm, Energy Rifle, Influence

 

Psilon

Playable: YES
Empire Tech Level 15
Homeworld: Mentar
Government: Dictatorship, Technocracy
Extent: Medium

STR 3D6
CON 3D6
SIZ 2D6+6
INT 3D6+6
POW 3D6
DEX 3D6
CHA 3D6
MOV 10

Location Table: 4 arms => use Biped, Winged
Languages: Psilon 70%, Bulrathi 50%
Racial Abilities: Creative - and 3 advantage rolls per session on any knowledge skills (K), Low Gravity, Endurance Runner
Racial Skills: 2 x Science (any), Focus Skill
 

Sillicoid

Playable: NO
Empire Tech Level 12
Homeworld: Cryslon
Government: Autocracy, Cragg
Extent: Medium but Diluted

STR 4D6
CON 4D6
SIZ 4D6
INT 2D6+6
POW 3D6
DEX 1D6
APP 1D6

MOV 6
Location Table: Humanoid
Languages: Sillicoid 60%, Bulrathi 20%
Racial Abilities: Crystalline, AP: 6, Lithovore
Racial Skills: 4 bonus ANY skill (racial memory, can even be psionic)

Trilarian

Playable: NO
Homeworld: Unknown
Government: Dictatorship

STR 4D6
CON 3D6
SIZ  3D6
INT 2D6+6
POW 3D6
DEX 3D6
CHA 3D6

MOV 2, Swim 10
Location Table: Serpentine
Languages: Trillarian
Racial Abilities: Aquatic, Transdimensional

Edited July 27, 2021 by Lloyd Dupont

[Antares]

On 7/20/2021 at 8:06 PM, AaronLionhart said:

This is my first real topic, so I will take this occasion to say hello to everyone reading this.

 

I took the BRP basic manual but I found it lacking a bit about humanoid races or playable non-human races templates.

I would like to know which are the most reliable splatbooks or game rulesets based on d100 where I can find more templates for humanoid playable races or tips to create them.

 

Thanks

There are many BRP monster books.

This one is a good free one.

https://the-eye.eu/public/Books/rpg.rem.uz/_Collections/Bestiaries/Bestiary 5/BaSIC Bestiary.pdf

https://fdocuments.in/document/a-basic-bestiary-rpgremuz-of-cthulhumiscbasic-roleplayingbrp-a-praying.html

Edited July 27, 2021 by Antares

[svensson]

@AaronLionhart So, I'm just a little bit confused about what exactly you're looking for.

Are you looking for the standard elf or dwarf tropes?

Are you looking for elves and dwarves that diverge from the standard tropes, but are still recognizable? For example Forgotten Realms 'Gold Dwarves'?

Are you looking for new races that are way off the beaten path?

Or have I misidentified what you're looking for?

You can find the standard Dwarf and Elf types in Classic Fantasy. You can find some REALLY different versions of Elves and Dwarves in Glorantha Bestiary. The GB also gives you statistics on generating playable Centaurs and Minotaurs, It also adds a bunch of new races that you've likely never seen... Ducks [yes, intelligent weapon-using ducks], Dragonewts [intelligent dragon-people], Newtlings [amphibious salamanders], and Trolls. Two of these races, Dragonewts and Trolls, are gone into in depth. The rest are sketched over with character generation stats and a quick description of their place in the world. And obviously, you can change any or all of that at your table.

[Lloyd Dupont]

On 7/27/2021 at 9:58 AM, Lloyd Dupont said:

for fun here is some of my Master of Orion races (short copy past mishmash)  (I added racial skill, i.e. skill that start at +20% for that race, or skill that are only available to that race like psionic power) (Focus is a special skill I created just for the sake of Psilon, can give you a few bonus special roll per session)

forget to add human... but guess what, I give them a little something to make them more attractive!
So I need to add them here too, for the sake of completion 🙂

Human

Playable YES
Empire Tech Level 13
Homeworld: Earth
Government: Democracy
Allies: Gnolam
Extent: Small

STR 3D6
CON 3D6
SIZ 3D6
INT 2D6+6
POW 3D6
DEX 3D6
APP 3D6

MOV 10

Location Table: Humanoid
Languages: Human 60%, Bulrathi 40%
Racial Abilities: Cunning: 3 advantage rolls per session on any D% and Resistance rolls, endurance runner.
Racial Skills: Influence, + pick any single one
 

[Mugen]

1 hour ago, Lloyd Dupont said:

forget to add human... but guess what, I give them a little something to make them more attractive!

(...)

CON 3D6
SIZ 3D6
INT 2D6+6
 

 

 

You also swapped a flat +6 with a D6 here, which won't make them more attractive. 😄

[Lloyd Dupont]

53 minutes ago, Mugen said:

You also swapped a flat +6 with a D6 here, which won't make them more attractive

oopsie daisy, good catch thanks! 🙂

[Am-Ra]

On 7/28/2021 at 2:27 PM, svensson said:

@AaronLionhart So, I'm just a little bit confused about what exactly you're looking for.

 

I am mainly looking for splatbooks with profiles to have different mosnters to use, and different playable humanoide races with pre-made statistics, and something like the DND monster manuals.

[svensson]

2 hours ago, AaronLionhart said:

I am mainly looking for splatbooks with profiles to have different mosnters to use, and different playable humanoide races with pre-made statistics, and something like the DND monster manuals.

Then I can't recommend The Gloranthan Bestiary enough. You can get it through Chaosium in both HB and PDF.

Classic Fantasy is also useful, but it's more of a set of variant BRP rules than a beastie book.

[SDLeary]

Also... for Mean Nasties... the Malleus Monstrorum. The older version is easier to use with BRP, though the newer one is more pretty.

SDLeary

[Alex Greene]

Both Mythras and Mongoose Legend have non-humans: Mythras, in its Creatures section of the Core Rule sectionbook, and Mongoose Legend in its Monsters of Legend 1 and 2.

Fioracitta; The Heart of Power, a supplement for Mythras, has non-human species listed in the Characters chapter as peoples, not as monsters. Not only are non-human characters playable in Fioracitta, they are beings who can be interacted with and considered to be part of society.

To call a being which speaks a "monster" in that Mythras setting is an unforgivable slur. Same, really, for their other settings such as Lyonesse, Worlds United, and Luther Arkwright. But yeah, go and check out Mythras and Mongoose Legend.

[Am-Ra]

On 8/4/2021 at 7:29 AM, Alex Greene said:

Both Mythras and Mongoose Legend have non-humans: Mythras, in its Creatures section of the Core Rule sectionbook, and Mongoose Legend in its Monsters of Legend 1 and 2.

 

I am really tempted to check this Mythras thing.

@svensson I know it sounds incredibly strict, but can you tell me if I can find in those books a d100 version of the classic Mind Flayers or a bootleg of them?