Races as PCs

[Kaleb7]

So say I want to make some Orc PCs.

- Are all the skill/attack percentages listed in the Bestiary the base skill I should use?

- Assuming this is the case, is there a ballpark of howm may percentage points I should add when actually using them as NPCs to simulate varying levels of expertise?

(Using the orc, listed scimitar attack is %25, should I take that to be the 'average' Orc specimen that the PCs will encounter?)

Thanks!

[fmitchell]

Generally the stats for a Creature are for an "average" specimen. For a more experienced NPC, I'd probably add 10% or 20% to the skills given, more if it's the leader of a tribe/clan, master sorcerer, etc.

To generate PCs, on the other hand, I'd roll the basic seven stats as given in the Bestiary entry, note any innate abilities, then proceed with the rest of character generation as written for human characters. I'd resist the urge to give skill bonuses based on species unless there's a clear physical advantage: "orcs are good at fighting" is fairly weak (nature or nurture?) but "intelligent spiders are good at climbing" (so many legs ...) would work for me. I'd also note weaknesses (skills or lack of abilities) that would balance out any advantages, including and beyond the reaction of townsfolk to an orc, intelligent spider, or 12-meter giant strolling down Main Street.

[The Venomous Pao]

As I understand it, the skills listed for creatures in their Bestiary entries are, indeed, supposed to be the skill bases for those skills when making a character. Sometimes this is good (note the Elf's awesome Dodge), sometime it's not (note the Elf's sad Sailing & Swimming).

So in this case, Orcs by default are 10% better with scimitars and shields than Humans are. I think that makes sense in the broad racial approach that fantasy games rely upon. Certainly there are some Orcs who aren't slice-n-dice machines, but in general, they are a more martial lot.

[fmitchell]

OK, here's the relevant section of Magic World (pp 153-4):

Full statistics and information have been given to permit the roleplaying of nine species in addition to humans. Most nonhumans have species-specific weapons whichvary less than those used by humanity. For nonhumans, use the weapons and skills

base chances given in the combat section of their description in this book rather than using those given for in the Creating Adventurers chapter. The fully described species include east-men, centaurs, dwarfs, elves, halflings, humans, ogres, orcs, and trolls.

Note that skill base chances noted for nonhuman creatures take precedence over the base chance percentiles on the Adventurer sheet. For example, while the Adventurer sheet, and the skills chapter note Climb as having a base chance of 40 percentiles, an elf character’s base Climb is 45.

According to the Rules As Written, Pao is right. The author(s) considered non-human creatures ... for those nine species. For anything more exotic, though, I'd be concerned that the creature might have overpowering advantages and/or disadvantages. Even for those nine, I'm a little concerned about the implied biological determinism. Would an orc raised around/among humans have the same base percentages? Are elves incompetent around water solely because they live in upland forests? What about forests around lakes or large rivers? (Centaurs I see more excuses for: they're awkward chimeras of human and horse with inadequate upper body strength, so Climb, Hide, Ride, and Sneak are nearly impossible for them. And Halflings need all the advantages they can get.)

Basic characteristics worry me less than skill percentages. Basic characteristics mainly govern combat strength and resistance to various hazards. Skills really define a character's abilities.

[filbanto]

Are elves incompetent around water solely because they live in upland forests?

Of course not! They are incompetent around water because they lack the barrel-chestidness required to sing a good sea shanty:)

[BMonroe]

Obviously skill base chances represent the average, archetypal version of a species. If you want to make your any given species different from the 'norm', playing with the base chances is a great way to represent that.

For example, how might the skill bases for "Sea Elves" differ from those of "Wood Elves"?