note: this version is incomplete. pages 10, 34, 56, 64, 71 & 99 are …...

Note: this version is incomplete. Pages 10, 34, 56, 64, 71 & 99 are missing, although I believe that they only contain illustrations and no text.

TheCompleteBook of

Humanoidsby Bill Slavicsek

AD&D, ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, DRAGONLANCE, FORGOTTEN REALMS, GREYHAWK, SPELLJAMMER, DUNGEON MASTER, MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM, and the TSR logo areregistered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. All TSR characters, character names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.

Distributed to the toy, hobby, and comic trade in the United States and Canada by regional distributors.Distributed worldwide by Wizards of the Coast, I n c , and regional distributors.

This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America.Any reproduction or unauthorised use o f the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of TSR, Inc.

This product is a work of fiction. Any similarities to actual people, organizations, places, or events is purely coincidental.

© 1993. 1999 TSR, Inc. All rights reserved. Made in the U.S.A. Sixth printing March 1999.TSR, Inc. is a subsidiary of Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

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Table of Contents

Introduction.......................................................Kulung'sTale .....................................................What are Humanoids? .....................................Humanoids in Campaigns ..............................The Purpose of This Handbook.......................A Note About Optional Rules.........................

Chapter One: Humanoid Characters ..........Creating Humanoid Characters....................

Getting Started..............................................Generating Ability Scores...............................Humanoid Races .............................................Groups, Classes, and Kits...............................

Multi-Class Characters.................................Character Class Maximum Levels..............Exceeding Level Limits................................

Adding Humanoids to a Campaign.............Campaign Model #1......................................Campaign Model #2......................................Campaign Model #3......................................Campaign Model #4......................................

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Chapter Two: Humanoid Races...................How to Read the Entries.................................

Aarakocra .....................................................Alaghi..............................................................Beastman ........................................................Bugbear..........................................................Bullywug, Advanced...................................Centaur...........................................................Fremlin ..........................................................Giant-kin, Firbolg..........................................Giant-kin, Voadkyn ......................................Gnoll ...............................................................Gnoll, Flind ....................................................Goblin..............................................................Hobgoblin.......................................................Kobold ............................................................Lizard Man.....................................................Minotaur.........................................................Mongrelman...................................................Ogre, Half-Ogre.............................................Ogre Mage......................................................Orc, Half-Orc..................................................Pixie.................................................................

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Satyr ...............................................................Saurial............................................................Swanmay.......................................................Wernic.............................................................

Chapter Three: Humanoid Kits..................Kit Descriptions..............................................Warrior Kits.....................................................

Tribal Defender.............................................Mine Rowdy..................................................Pit Fighter.....................................................Saurial Paladin..............................................Sellsword ...........................................Wilderness Protector....................................

Wizard Kits......................................................Hedge Wizard...............................................Humanoid Scholar.......................................Outlaw Mage ................................................

Priest Kits..........................................................Shaman ......................................................Witch Doctor.................................................Oracle............................................................War Priest ......................................Wandering Mystic.........................................

Rogue Kits .......................................Scavenger .......................................................Tramp ........................................Tunnel Rat......................................................Shadow ..........................................................Humanoid Bard ............................................

Chapter Four: Humanoid Proficiencies .....Proficiencies and Specialization ...........Nonweapon Proficiencies ..............................

Acting ................................................Alertness ........................................................Animal Noise .............................Begging...........................................................Blind-fighting .................................Chanting ......................................................Cheesemaking ...............................................Close-quarter Fighting.................................Craft Instrument ...........................................Crowd Working .................................Danger Sense .................................................

2 • Table of Contents

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Drinking........................................................Eating............................................................Fast-talking...................................................Fortune Telling.............................................Hiding ...........................................................Information Gathering ...............................Intimidation .................................................Looting...........................................................Natural Fighting...........................................Observation..................................................Poetry............................................................Voice Mimicry..............................................Whistling/Humming .................................Wild Fighting...............................................Winemaking .................................................

Chapter Five: Role-Playing Humanoids...Life as a Humanoid .....................................Tribal Life......................................................

Social and Racial Disadvantages.................Humanoid Traits .........................................Campaign Complications..........................

Chapter Six: Superstitions ..........................A Mysterious World......................................Superstitions in Game Terms.....................Using Superstitions in Play........................The Superstitions.........................................

Chapter Seven: Arms and Armor...............Armor Restrictions.........................................Weapon Size Restrictions..............................Weapon Breakage (Optional).....................Close-quarter Weapons...............................

Special Humanoid Weapons........................

Humanoid Comparison Chart....................

Humanoid Character Sheets.......................

INDEX TO TABLES1: Humanoid Group Limits....................9,2: Bonus Levels for Single-Classed

Humanoids............................................9,3: Nonweapon Proficiency Group

Crossovers................................................4: Nonweapon Proficiencies.......................5: Personal Superstitions ............................6: Optional Weapon Breakage....................7: Weapons....................................................8: Character Kit Summary..........................9: Average Height and Weight...................

10: Age.............................................................11: Aging Effect..............................................12: Racial Ability Requirements ..................13: Multi-°Class Combinations....................14: Thieving Skill Racial Adjustments........15: Reincarnation Table.................................16: Monstrous Traits......................................17: Bestial Habits...........................................18: General Superstitions..............................19: Campaign Complications.......................

TSR, Inc.201 Sheridan Springs

Lake GenevaWI 53147

U.S.A.

TSR Ltd.120 Church EndCherry HintonCambridge CB1 3LBUnited Kingdom

This book is protected under the copyright laws, of the United States of America.Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material contained herein is prohibitedwithout the express written permission o f TSR, Inc.Random House and its affiliate companies have world wide distribution rights in thebook trade for English language products of TSR, Inc. Distributed in the book andhobby trade in the United Kingdom by TSR Ltd. Distributed to the toy and hobbytrade by regional distributors,ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, AD&D, DRAGONLANCE, FORGOTTENREALMS, WORLD OF GREYHAWK, SPELLJAMMER, DUNGEON MASTER, andMONSTROUS COMPENDIUM are registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.The TSR logo is a trademark owned by TSR, Inc. All TSR characters, character namesand distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.Printed in the USA. ©1993 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.Fifth printing, Ju ly l 9 9 5 .

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CREDITSDesign: Bill SlavicsekEditing: Jon Pickens

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Introduction

Kulung's Tale1 travel the back roads of human civilization, fol-

lowing a quest I do not always understand. Someunseen force, some inner desire, drew me away frommy tribe and brought me to the towns and cities ofhumanity. Does this mean I reject my place as anogre mage? I do not think so. Instead, I believe I amtrying to enhance it.

1 wander the edges of human settlements, drawnlike an insect to the brightly burning torch of civi-lization. Like an insect, I cannot turn away from theintense heat. Like an insect, I will be destroyed if Iget too close to the flame. I am fascinated, capti-vated, afraid.

But the fear flows both ways. While I fear thescreaming mobs of humans with their swords andclubs and sharp-tipped arrows, they also fear me. Tomost of them, I am a monster. I look different. Isound different. 1 pray to different gods. Humansare quick to show fear toward that which is differ-ent. And what they fear, they often destroy.

Why did I leave my tribe? the answer is at oncesimple and complex. I was not like my tribe mates. 1rejected the practice of catching and keeping slaves.I followed a path that was closer to good than toevil. I even sought out knowledge and scholarlyendeavors while my tribe mates reveled in combatand conquest. In short, I was different, much differ-ent, and humanoids are less tolerant of differencesthan even the humans and demihumans whoselands I now roam.

I live in humanity's shadow, but I am not ashadow of humanity. Indeed, those few humans whoI have come to call friend proclaim that I am morehuman than most of their kind. Sometimes I takethis as a compliment, sometimes a foul curse, for Ihave seen the heights that humanity can reach and Ihave witnessed the dark depths it can sink to. Theyare grand, these humans, but they are also desper-ately dangerous. And the greatest danger lies in thebright center of civilization's flame, for it draws metoward its scrolls and books and epic ballads, whereits searing heat can consume me. Perhaps it is bet-ter in the shadows, for the darkness offers some

small protection from the flame.Am I a monster? It depends on the point of view.

To my own people, I am a weakling, a coward, a fail-ure. To the humans and demihumans who know me,I am a trusted companion, a learned associate and afriend. To those who refuse to see beyond my appear-ance, I am a foul creature, a hated enemy, a monster.I am all these things and none of them. I am Kulungthe Ogre Mage, the Tribeless One, the Searcher.

I am the Humanoid, and I walk the perimeter ofhumanity's blazing flame.

What are Humanoids?Every AD&D® game has them. Most often,

they are under the control of the DungeonMaster. When player characters encounterthem, they usually appear in the role of villainor opponent. They are the humanoids, mon-sters that have two arms, two hands, at leasttwo legs, and stand generally upright.

From a distance, within the folds of a hoodedcloak, or obscured by deep shadows,humanoids can be mistaken for humans. Onlyon closer inspection and in the light of day arethey immediately seen for what they are. Theybear the general shape of humanity, but theyhave startling — and often times frightening— differences. Some are taller or broader thanthe average human. Others are smaller, frailer.Many have misshapen features, wicked clawsand fangs, thick fur or long, dank hair. Human-ity is one race, humanoid races are legion.

Humanoids have their own cultures, soci-eties, morals, values, and attitudes. These varygreatly from the general human experience.They are more than "humans in funny suits,"or at least they should be in a well-developedcampaign world. The world looks vastly dif-ferent through the cruel eyes of a minotaur orthe bulging eyes of a bullywug. It is these dif-ferences that separate the human from thehumanoid — and these differences create thegreatest challenges and most fun when playinga humanoid character.

4 • Introduction

Humanoids in CampaignsHumanoids have been a major part of the

AD&D® game from the beginning. Who has notsent his or her favorite character up against ahorde of goblins, a dungeon full of hobgoblinsand bugbears, or an ogre of monstrous propor-tions? And yet, over the years, the same charac-ter may have received timely help from a flockof screeching aarakocra, been guided to safetyby a herd of noble centaurs, or have been givencritical information by a beautiful swanmay.

Now it's time for something different. Just asnot every thief is a greedy scoundrel and notevery warrior is a dim-witted bully, not everyhumanoid fits the mold that we have come toknow over the years. Some decide to leavedungeon and lair behind to take up the life of anadventurer — though these fellows are rareindeed! Not only must such humanoids goagainst the norms of the very societies they wereborn into (in most cases), but often they findprejudice and rejection wherever the spirit ofadventure leads them. The adventuring human-oid ever struggles to find acceptance and a placeto fit in, while taking on the quests his spiritdemands. Perhaps the next adventure will bringhim to such a place, for it always seems to be justover the next hill and around the next bend.

This is the drama and tension of which goodstories are made — and great role-playinggame campaigns. By opening a campaign tohumanoid player characters,, players andDungeon Masters alike are opening a mysteri-ous box. Ultimately, what's in the box dependson the attitudes of everyone involved. It couldcontain a wondrous reward of challenge andfun, or it could hold the key to a campaign'sdestruction. It all depends on how humanoidPCs are used.

This book attempts to show you how to usehumanoids in a positive way to add newdimensions to your role-playing experiences.With moderation, planning, and the coopera-tion of all involved, humanoid PCs can become

important parts of ongoing campaigns. Butthat doesn't mean every player should imme-diately roll up a humanoid PC. Too many ofthese characters will spoil a good thing. Wesuggest no more than one humanoid PC beused in an adventuring group at any giventime. If more than one player wants to try hisor her hand at running these unique charac-ters, then they should take turns bringing theirhumanoid PCs into the game. All of this willbe discussed detail later in the book.

The Purpose of This HandbookThe Complete Book of Humanoids is designed to

provide rules that allow players to createhumanoid player characters. In short, to designand role-play their own monsters!

Every player will use this book in a differentway, depending upon a number of factors.Long-time players will turn these pages insearch of new role-playing challenges. Somegamers will seek out new abilities to increasethe power of their characters. Others will lookfor a way to combine these for a new role-play-ing game experience. It all depends on aplayer's interests and experience, the shape ofthe campaign world in which the adventuresare set, and the interest and commitment of theDungeon Master.

Skilled players seeking new role-playingchallenges should read this book carefully.Others can use the table of contents to findareas of special interest to themselves.

At the end of this book, you'll f ind newhumanoid record sheets. These have beendesigned to help role-play humanoids, whileproviding room for all the pertinent gamematerial. There is also a sheet for creating newhumanoid kits. These sheets may be photo-copied for your personal use.

The back of the book has the tables necessaryto create and run humanoid characters. Thesehave been gathered here for convenience andease of use.

Introduction • 5

If you need it to create, play, or run a human-oid character, then you'll find it in here. Inaddition to the basics, there are special sectionsabout superstitions, monstrous traits, socialand racial disadvantages, personalities, cam-paign models for introducing humanoid char-acters into your game, and campaigncomplications that a Dungeon Master can useto keep a humanoid character in character.

A Note About Optional RulesThis book is full of new rules, humanoid kits,

suggestions on role-playing, new proficienciesand spells, and other details concerning theuse of humanoids by the players. This infor-mation adds to the rules presented in thePlayer's Handbook. However, this is only a sup-plement to that volume. All of the rules in this

book are optional. As a player, you should beprepared to abide by your Dungeon Master'sdecisions about how to use any of these newrules in the campaign.

Even if your Dungeon Master decides thatnone of the rules presented here can be used inhis campaign, much can be learned in thepages that follow. Humanoids, after all, are apart of every AD&D® campaign world, and toknow them better is to know your game worldbetter. The best way to use this book is to createa humanoid character and play it in a game.Without humanoids, there would be no Kaz™the Minotaur or Dragonbait™ the Saurial orKulung™ the Ogre Mage.

And without The Complete Book of Humanoids,you won't be able to add your own charactersto the ballads of the bards and the tales of thestorytellers!

6 • Introduction

Humanoid Creatures

Creating Humanoid CharactersThis chapter includes the basic information

needed to generate a humanoid character. Itexp la ins how to roll ab i l i ty scores, how tochoose classes and. kits, and gives guidelineson selecting the humanoid's racial type.

Humanoid characters aren't quite the sameas the human or demihuman characters you'reused to playing. They often have differentmotivations, different world views, differentlimitations. Before you decide whether yourhumanoid character is going to be noble andmisunderstood, suspicious and quick to anger,or some other type, you need to generate andrecord the character's basic statistics.

Getting StartedA collection of h u m a n o i d races has been

gathered in this chapter, These races have beenselected for their payability and plausibility asplayer characters. You won't find any undeador spirits among them. There are no monsterst ha t have " ins tan t kill" powers. Wi th fewexceptions, all of the humanoids range in sizefrom small to large. We've included a t i n yhumanoid tor variety, but none above the large(7' to 12') size.

Each entry includes background information,role-playing suggestions, monstrous traits andsuperstitions inherent to the race, minimumand maximum abi l i ty scores, racial abi l i tyadjustments, class restrictions, and level limits.These will be important when you begin gen-erating ability scores and filling out a charactersheet.

Take a few moments to look over the selec-tion of humanoid races. Try to find a race thatyou want to role-play, not just a race tha t willgenerate a powerful character. The goal of thisbook is to show you how to create charactersthat can be role-played powerfully, not how tocreate all-powerful monster PCs. In fact, themore powerful a humanoid PC is, the harder it

will be for that character to operate in a cam-paign setting (sec Chapter Five: Role-PlayingHumanoids for more information).

After you've selected a race and a couple ofalternates, discuss your choices wi th yourDungeon Master. The one you decide to gowith should be the one that you are both com-fortable with and fits easily into your DM'scampaign. You may have to provide your DMwith suggestions on integrating your choiceinto the campaign setting. By working togetherto come up with clear campaign hooks andexplanations for the humanoid PC's presence,you'll be building something you can both livewith. In the long run, cooperating on develop-ing the campaign story will be a rewardingexperience for both the Dungeon Master andthe players.

When choosing a humanoid race to play,keep in mind the following things. You wantto choose a humano id race t h a t you like,because it's no f u n playing a character youcan't s tand . Your selection should sparkplenty of ideas for role-playing the characteryou want to create. If you have no idea how torun or role-play the ape-like alaghi, or youjust hate the thought of playing a lizard man,then you should not choose those races.Finally, you want to select a race that will addpositive elements to the story you, the otherplayers and the DM are telling through therole-playing game campaign. A disruptivecharacter, like a disrupt ive player, will spoilthe fun for everyone involved.

Generating Ability ScoresAfter you've selected the humanoid race you

want to play, it's time to create a humanoidplayer character. You can use any of the sixdice rolling methods described in the Player'sHandbook, provided the method is approved byyour DM. If you want to generate a specificcharacter class, and your DM approves, useeither method V or VI.

Humanoid Characters • 7

Each humanoid race entry in this chapterincludes ability score modifiers. These areapplied to the numbers you generate when cre-ating a humanoid character of a particular racialtype. Each humanoid race has its own set ofability minimums and maximums. No abilityscore can fall below the minimum or rise abovethe maximum without magical or divine aid.

If you have your heart set on playing a partic-ular humanoid race and you roll ability scoresthat are too high or too low, your DM has theoption to allow you to use the racial minimumor maximum for that ability score.

Humanoid RacesEvery humanoid race has a maximum experi-

ence level it can reach in a given class group(see Table 1: Humanoid Level Limits, on page9). You may want to look this over beforedeciding which race you want to play

Each humanoid race has advantages and dis-advantages. If the humanoid race you selecthas a lot of advantages, it will take more expe-rience points to progress in level Also, manyadvantages are often balanced by monstroustraits and superstitions, as described in Chap-ters Five and Six.

Special Note: Except for swanmays, nohumanoid can benefit from a raise dead spell.As with elves, other methods of reviving aslain humanoid must be used.

Groups, Classes, and KitsAll four major character groups (warrior,

wizard, priest, and rogue) can be found amongthe humanoid races, though not every charac-ter group is open to every race. The individualrace entries will list the restrictions, if any,which apply. Similarly, the classes within thesegroups may be off limits to certain humanoidraces.

This book also features character kits for thehumanoid races. A kit is a specialized role,

designed to augment and enhance the charac-ter class system. Kits do not replace classes.Every character who uses a kit still belongs to aparticular character class. Kits add detail tocharacters after their class has been selected.

Kits are entirely optional, though they arerecommended. Humanoid characters can becreated without them, but the kits add detailthat might otherwise be missing. Only onehumanoid kit is allowed per character.

Multi-Class CharactersMost humanoids can be multi-class characters,

though the combinations available to themvaries depending upon what race a humanoidis. If you decide to play a multi-class character,read over the benefits and limitations of suchcharacters as outlined in the Player's Handbook.As an option, if a character is ineligible to bemulti-classed due to low ability scores, and laterhas the scores raised to the point of eligibility,the DM may allow the character to declareimmediately for multi-class status.

Character Class Maximum Levels

The maximum levels humanoids can attaindepend upon the character's race, as listed onTable 1. Multi-class characters can attain themaximum level of each group. Single-classedcharacters with exceptional scores can attaineven higher levels, as listed on Table 2. Seeindividual race entries for further informationon groups and classes open to humanoids.

Exceeding Level Limits

As an optional rule, DMs may allow human-oid characters to advance to any level, but theymust earn two, three or even four times theamount of experience points normally requiredfor each level. This effect is cumulative withother experience point multipliers that ahumanoid race might have.

8 • Chapter One

Adding Humanoids to a CampaignThere are any number of ways to introduce

humanoid player characters into a campaign.While the method chosen wi l l be determinedby you and your Dungeon Master, this sectionhas a few models that might make the processeasier. Consider these models as adventurehooks to introduce a newly-created humanoidplayer character into the action.

Campaign Model #1:"A Friend in Need..."

Bright Mane found himself at the bottom of a deeppit. The wemic, a cross between lion and humanjust as a centaur is a cross between human andhorse, had stumbled into the trap while hunting forfood. The pit, which smelted of humans and theirstrange tools, was deep enough to keep Bright Manefrom leaping out, even if he hadn't injured his hindleg in the fall. The sides of the pit were too steep toclimb, and he was quickly running out of ideas.Soon, he knew, the humans would come to see whatthey had caught in their pit. Then his exploration ofthe world beyond his nation's territory would end— as would his freedom, and perhaps his life.

As twilight stretched across the land, BrightMane heard the sound of clanking armor approach-ing. He tensed, tightening his grip on his primitivespear. He would not give up without a fight! Thatwas not the way of a warrior of the pride!

"What have they caught this time?" a gravellyvoice asked. Bright Mane looked up to see a dwarfpeering down at him. Behind the dwarf was ahuman, dressed in the polished armor of a paladin.

"Whatever it is, I won't see it taken as slave bythose vile, predators," the paladin proclaimed, "Let'ssee if we can extract it before Barrot and his menreturn ..."

In this campaign model, the human anddemihuman PCs who have been operating inthe DM's campaign world come to the rescueof the newly-created humanoid PC, Like the

Table 1: Humanoid Level Limits

Table 2: Bonus Levels forSingle-Classed Humanoids

Prime Requisite Score Total Bonus LevelsRacial Maximum +1 +1 (+1)Racial Maximum +2 +2 (+4)Racial Maximum +3 +3 (+7)Use the parenthetical number if the prime requisite is Strength and ifthe humanoid is a human crossbreed (half-orc, half-ogre),


Character GroupRaceAarakocraAlaghiBeastmanBugbearBullywugCentaurFremlinGiant-kin, firbolgGiant-kin, voadkynGnollGnoll, flindGoblinHobgoblinKoboldLizard ManMinotaurMongrelmanOgreOgre, half-Ogre mageOrcOrc, half-PixieSatyrSaurial, bladebackSaurial, finbackSaurial, flyerSaurial, hornheadSwanmayWemic* See Table 2

Wr111212123012—12111112101181212101212*91010*7119U991412

Wz—————1210—8

——————810——8

————999U——

Pr711—8714—7799999771034794

——U999127

Rg11—10991212—10111112121291012——8118

121199U9—10

lion with a thorn in its paw, the humanoid is insome kind of trouble that only the non-human-oid PCs can save him from. They take on therole of the mouse, who pulls the thorn free andearns the respect and favor of the terrible lion.By saving the humanoid, the other PCs gain acompanion — and perhaps even a friend.

Once saved,, the humanoid PC forms a bondwith his rescuers. He feels he owes them a debthe can never repay, or at least that he owesthem a debt which must be paid off throughthe course of subsequent adventures. Even ifthe other PCs protest, the humanoid will notbe swayed from paying back his debt in what-ever way he can think of. He will follow hissaviors, protect them, aid them in their quests,and seek to return the great favor that theyhave bestowed upon him.

Humanoids can be saved from a variety ofsituations, including angry mobs, other adven-turers, town guards, hostile monsters, naturaldisasters, and even other humanoids. Ahumanoid PC who has been rescued will betotally devoted to his saviors if he is of theproper alignment and personality. Even themost independent and chaotic humanoids willsee the other player characters as companionswho will keep them from getting into deadlytrouble again,

Campaign Model #2:"...Is a Friend Indeed."

The trolls were closing in on Grellor at last, andthe ranger had nowhere else to run to. He hadreached the end of the path. Above him was thesteep cliff walls of the mountain pass, below himwas a dizzying drop into oblivion. His only optionwas to turn and face the trio of trolls, though thiswould only delay the inevitable. His sword and tir-ing muscles were no longer a match for the regener-ating monsters.

The trolls appeared from around the bend, firstone with drooling jaws and outstretched talons,then another, and another. They moved slowly,

sensing that the chase had ended and wanting tocontinue the game for a while longer. Grellor swunghis sword before him, hoping to keep the monsters atbay. By the look on the lead troll's face, that tacticwasn't going to work. He watched as the vile crea-ture tensed, preparing to leap across the remainingspace and sink its claws into his tender, tired flesh.

What happened next was a confused jumble. Thelead troll leaped. Grellor screamed and jumped back,plunging over the side of the cliff. He heard anotherscream over his own, like the cry of a huge bird."Skree-ya!" it called, and Grellor felt bony handsgrasp him. He looked up to see a winged humanoid— an aarakocra, he believed it was called — grabhim. While it could not hold his weight and main-tain flight, it could slow their fall toward the waterbelow.

"Breeka save human," the aarakocra crowed inbroken common as they glided downward. "Shehave wings enough for both of us ..."

In this model, it is the human or demihumanplayer characters who are in deadly trouble.While this model works best on an individuallevel (one human/demihuman PC, onehumanoid PC), it can be developed to apply toan entire player character group.

On an individual level, the human and thehumanoid form a bond due to the heroic effortsof the humanoid character. This bond can startas one of gratitude and a debt to be repaid, butit often develops into a long-term adventuringcompanionship or even a close personal friend-ship between the human in need of help andhis humanoid savior.

On a group level, the humanoid characterprovides the means for adventurers to get outof a terrible jam. She may know a secret pas-sage out of the dungeon, or a hidden passthrough goblin territory, or she may evencharge into battle to save the adventurers fromcertain doom. In this way, the entire groupowes a debt to the humanoid. They may not allbecome fast friends with their savior, but theywill show a grudging respect and wil l feel


obligated to her.Adventurers get into all sorts of situations

that they might need to be rescued from. Atrap in a dungeon could leave them all uncon-scious and dying until the humanoid pullsthem to safety. Hordes of monsters could beclosing in and the adventurers must prepare tofight to the death, when the humanoid showsthem a way to escape. Or perhaps the human-oid leads them to a pool of healing, or to amuch needed cache of supplies, or even inter-cedes on behalf of the adventurers to savethem from her own people.

Whatever the situation, a humanoid whohelps a group of adventurers out of a life-or-death encounter becomes very attached to hercharges. She believes that they will alwaysneed her help, that if she leaves them to theirown devices they will simply wind up back introuble again — or worse. Because of this, thehumanoid decides to accompany them on theiradventures. For their part, the adventurers feel

beholden to the humanoid, so they tolerate herpresence. As the humanoid shows herresourcefulness and ability to help over andover again, she will become an important partof their group. Perhaps over several gamingsessions, she will even become their friend.

Campaign Model #3:'Hello, Again..."

Freg the Rogue sat staring into the dying camp-fire, trying not to think about what his belovedDreeya might return as. The woman warrior wasstruck down in their escape from the Underdark,and the only option that had been open to Freg wasto allow the priest Joun to cast her miracle. Now hecould only wait.

"Are you certain you have no idea what formDreeya will come back in?" Freg asked the cleric forthe tenth time since they had finished dinner,

"Reincarnate is not an exact spell,' Jounexplained again. "She may return as an animal, or

12 • Chapter One

perhaps even as a humanoid."Freg jabbed a long stick into the fire, producing a

burst of sparks. "If you knew Resurrection wewouldn't be sitting here waiting to see ..."

The conversation ended abruptly as a sound brokethe stillness beyond the camp. The thief and thepriest turned in the direction of the noise, trying tomake out shapes in the darkness beyond the fire'sglow. They heard it again. Someone or somethingwas approaching the camp.

"Dreeya?" Freg called cautiously. "Dreeya, isthat you?"

"Yes, my dearest,' a voice called back. It was afeminine voice, but it was also very deep and notquite human. Freg gulped.

A dark shadow reached the edge of the camp, hesi-tated, then slid into the fire's light. Standing beforeFreg and Joun, barely able to contain a smile, was ahuge, obviously female, bugbear.

"Dreeya has returned,' the bugbear said, fixingFreg with a loving look. "Miss me?"

A human or demihuman player charactereventually faces a foe that is stronger, tougher,and luckier than he is. On such an occasion, theresult is often the untimely death of the playercharacter. Of course, death is not always finalfor PCs in a campaign. There are a number ofmethods for rescuing a favorite character fromthe bony clutches of death. The method whichconcerns us here is the priest spell, reincarnate.

The list of possible incarnations has beenexpanded to include the humanoid races listedin this book. Now that there are rules for creat-ing and playing humanoid characters, it makessense to provide this method for turning adead human or demihuman PC into a livehumanoid PC.

This method creates a situation that is unlikethe other methods for introducing a humanoidPC into a campaign. While the other methodsbring an "uncivilized" humanoid into the com-pany of human and demihuman adventurers,reincarnate places the memories and personalitiesof deceased humans into the body of a human-

oid. The character must now cope with life frominside a very different body than he was used to.He must face all of the prejudices directed at thatbody without the benefit of growing up in theculture it belongs to. A new humanoid characterintroduced through reincarnate may look like abugbear or satyr, but it has all (or at least most) ofthe knowledge and understanding of the humancharacter it used to be.

The reincarnated character recalls the greaterpart of his former life and form. The characterclass of the new incarnation can be anythingthe player wants, as long as it fits the rules pre-sented in this book and matches the humanoidrace in question.

If a humanoid character is being createdusing the reincarnate spell, it follows theserules: If the character returns as the same classas his previous incarnation, the reincarnatedhumanoid has half his previous levels and hitpoints. If the humanoid returns as a new char-acter class, his hit points are half his previoustotal, but he must begin again at first level.

Campaign Model #4:"All that Glitters..."

The goblin sat across from Valkira and her com-panions, slurping the mug of wine she had offered itwith greedy delight. It drained the contents quickly,licking the last drops from the bottom of the mug.Then it belched loudly, licked again, and finallydropped the empty mug before turning its unusu-ally bright eyes upon Valkira.

"Can you really lead us through the passagesbeneath the Sunset Mountains?" the warriorwoman asked, watching the goblin closely for signsof deception or betrayal.

"Grolip know passages like Grolip know back offoot," the goblin boasted easily. "Grolip lead you —if pay is right."

"We'll pay what we agreed upon," Valkira assuredhim. "Half now, half on the other side. Plus, if allgoes well, we'll give you an additional fifty as abonus."


The goblin's eyes widened at the promise, ami hisfangs protruded in a lopsided grin. "For that,Grolip even help you carry your treasure!"

"That's okay," Valkira said quickly, "just lead usthrough the passages safely."

"You safe with Grolip," the goblin nodded eagerly."Grolip know way ..."

In this campaign model, the adventurers hirethe services of a humanoid for a particularadventure and wind up getting a life-longcompanion. Perhaps they aren't able to payhim right away and he decides to hang arounduntil the money becomes available. Maybe cir-cumstances turn employers and employee intopartners or even friends. In most cases, whatstarts as an honest business arrangementevolves into something more. The humanoidmight be in it for the money in the beginning,but circumstances often turn business associ-ates into boon companions — especially in theviolent, dangerous realms where adventurerstend to roam.

Humanoids can be hired for any number of

jobs, including hired muscle, as guides orinterpreters, and even for some particular skillor knowledge the humanoid might have. Thosehumanoids who make good player charactersoften hire themselves out in order to earnmoney until they can hook up with an adven-turing party that will accept them. Often, theonly legal employment a humanoid can find isas a hireling to adventurers.

During the course of employment, thehumanoid will come to enjoy the company ofthe adventurers, perhaps even hooking ontoone particular character as a friend. He willdemonstrate his own abilities and worth to theparty as the adventure progresses, and evenprove his loyalty on more than one occasion,When the time comes to collect his pay andmove on, the humanoid will make excuses tostay. He may admit to wanting to stay out offriendship, or he may pretend that only thepromise of more wealth keeps him around. Ineither case, the party gains the skills of thehumanoid character, and the humanoid gainsthe companionship of the adventurers.

14 • Chapter One

Humanoid Races

Basic information on humanoid races can befound in the various Monstrous Compendium"sets. As the humanoids who become playercharacters are rare examples of their races, thei n f o r m a t i o n t h a t fo l lows (except for ru le smaterial) is intended only as a guideline. Whatmay be t rue of one member of a humanoidrace may not be t r ue of another. Individualalignments can vary, as can backgrounds,goals, and motivations.

How to Read the EntriesEach entry for a humanoid character type

includes the following elements:Ability Score Adjustments. These modify

the a b i l i t y scores when the h u m a n o i d isselected. They are added to or subtracted fromthe scores rolled. The adjusted ab i l i ty score isentered on your character sheet.

Ability Score Range. This lists the minimumand maximum ability scores a humanoid char-acter can have when f i rs t created. Scores tha texceed the maximum or fail to meet the mini-mum can be adjusted down or up to the limitonly if the DM allows it; otherwise a differentcharacter type must be chosen.

Of course, over t ime a character 's ab i l i t yscores may change. Only at the time of a char-acter's creation must the minimums and maxi-mums be adhered to.

Note that the maximum Charisma score is thatperceived by other races. A rolled score higherthan th is has its fu l l effect on members of thecharacter's own race.

Class Restrictions and Level Limits. Whichclasses are open to the humanoid and how farthe character can advance can be found here.

Multiclass options are listed on page 119. Ingeneral, a humanoid must have scores of 14 inthe prime requisites of both classes to become amulticlass character.

Hit Dice. Humanoid hit dice depend on theclass selected. Any special hit point bonus thehumanoid receives is listed here.

Alignment. The race's typical al ignment islisted here. The range of PC options is usuallymore extensive.

Natural Armor Class. Some humanoid raceshave a natural armor class which provides pro-tection without the benefi t of artificial armor.This rating does not include Dexterity bonusesor penalties.

Generally, protection rated at less than orequal to the n a t u r a l armor class will provide+1 AC protection. Thus, a lizard man (wi th an a t u r a l a rmor class of 5) wear ing s tuddedleather a rmor is AC 4. Should the charactersomehow contrive to have a set of plate mai lconstructed, it would give him a base AC 3,

Background. This describes the humanoid ingeneral terms, painting a broad picture of thepar t icular race and its members. The playershould also detail the character's backgroundin order to fully integrate the character into thecampaign. Such addit ional details are subjectto the approval of the DM.

Languages. This section lists the languageswhich are commonly spoken by the membersof a particular race. A character always speakshis native language. Addi t iona l languagesmay be known. I t is highly recommended thatall humanoid PCs understand common.

I f the DM uses the nonweapon proficiencysystem, addit ional languages require profi-ciency slots. A humanoid character's nativelanguage does not require a slot. Add i t i ona llanguages do (see Chapter Four: HumanoidProficiencies). If the DM is not using the non-weapon proficiency system, then the human-oid characters know a speci f ic n u m b e r ofadditional languages based upon their Intelli-gence scores (see Player's Handbook}.

Role-Playing Suggestions. This gives a fewsuggestions on how to role-play a member ofthis particular race. The players can use thesesuggestions or ignore them as they see fit.

Special Advantages. This lists any specialadvantages benefiting the members of a par-t icular humanoid race.

Humanoid Races • 15

Special Disadvantages. This lists any specialdisadvantages that hinder the humanoid.

Monstrous Traits. These are the typical traitsexhibited by the members of this race. Suchtraits help distinguish one humanoid race fromanother.

Optionally, the DM may require humanoidcharacters to take additional monstrous traits,depending on the number of special advan-tages the humanoid has (see Chapter Five).

Superstitions (Optional). This section listssample superstitions that best f i t a particularhumanoid race.

Proficiencies. The entries for weapon andnonweapon proficiencies list each humanoidrace's init ial selections. Unless the DMapproves another proficiency, or a special kit istaken, PCs of a particular humanoid race mustselect their initial proficiencies from their lists(proficiencies available through humanoid kitsare listed in Chapter Three). When a new profi-ciency slot is gained by level advancement, thenew proficiency can be selected from anyweapon or group available to the kit or charac-ter class,

AarakocraAbility Score Adjustments. The initial abil-

ity scores are modified by a +1 bonus to Dex-terity, and a -1 penalty to Strength andConstitution.

Ability Score Range

AbilityStrengthDexterityConstitutionIntelligenceWisdomCharisma

Minimum386333

Maximum161816181718

Hit Dice. Player character aarakocra receivehit dice by class.

Alignment. Aarakocra tend toward neutralgood. PC aarakocra may be of any alignment.

Natural Armor Class. 7.Background. Aarakocra are a race of intelli-

gent bird-men that live among the highestmountain peaks. The average aarakocra stands

16 • Chapter Two

Class RestrictionsClassWarrior

FighterRangerPaladin

WizardMageIllusionist

PriestClericDruidShamanWitch Doctor

RogueThiefBard

Maximum Level

11——

——

——7

—

11—

about five feet tall and has a wing span oftwenty feet. Halfway along the edge of eachwing is a hand with three human-sized fingersand an opposable thumb. An elongated fourthfinger extends the length of the wing and locksin place during flight.

The hands cannot grasp while flying, but arenearly as useful as human hands when anaarakocra is perched and its wings foldedback. Their powerful legs end in four sharptalons that can unlock and fold back to revealanother pair of functional hands.

These humanoids have hollow, fragile bones.Their faces combine the features of both par-rots and eagles. They have gray-black beaksand black eyes. Plumage color varies, butmales generally have red, orange, and yellowcoloration, while females tend toward brownand gray.

Aarakocra live in small tribes which controlhunting territories and share a communal nest.The eldest male serves as leader, the secondoldest as shaman.

Languages. Aarakocra, giant eagle, common.Role-Playing Suggestions. Aarakocra are

reluctant to engage in ground or grapplingcombat because of their fragile bones. Theylove gems and other shiny objects. Their reli-gious ceremonies are simple affairs involvingwhistled hymns. Sunset on the first day of eachnew month is of religious significance.

These bird-men enjoy peace and solitude.They love their freedom, and are extremelyclaustrophobic. Most of them will not enter acave, building, or other enclosed area withouta very good reason.

Aarakocra PC adventurers must have clearmotivations. Some leave on a quest to aid theirpeople, others because they do not fit in withthe rest of their tribe.

Aarakocra who learn common interspersethe language with their native bird-like sounds.Caws, screeches, and whistles punctuate theirbroken sentences in typical bird-like fashion(like a parrot mimics human speech).

Aarakocra fighters prefer heavy fletchedjavelins when they must go to bat t le . Anaarakocra can carry up to six javelins in indi-vidual sheathes strapped to his chest. Whileflying, he can clutch a javelin in each of hislower hands, throwing them or stabbing oppo-nents as necessary. Aarakocra who have lefttheir home territory and traveled to more civi-lized lands will sometimes wear pieces of stud-ded leather armor to provide additionalprotection. They never carry shields.

Some tribes of aarakocra carry a specialweapon, called a flight lance. See ChapterSeven: Arms and Armor, for more details.

Special Advantages. The bird-men have theability to fly, with a movement speed of 36 anda maneuverability class of C.

Aarakocra talons cause 1-3 points of damageand can strike twice in a round. Their beaksalso cause 1-3 points of damage. They receiveno attack penalties for aerial missile fire. Whenusing two javelins, an aarakocra can make adiving attack. They must dive at least 200 feetto use this special attack. The attacks are usu-ally accompanied by a blood-curdling shriek,gain a +4 bonus to the attack rolls, and causedouble damage.

An aarakocra shaman of 7th level can, withfour other aarakocra, summon a friendly airelemental in three rounds of chanting and aer-ial dancing. It will perform favors, although itwill not endanger its life for them.

Special Disadvantages. Aarakocra are veryclaustrophobic. Those who engage in combatin enclosed areas (buildings, dungeons, etc.)receive a -3 penalty to their attack rolls.

Monstrous Traits. Monstrous speech;aarakocra make bird sounds when speaking,even if talking in the common tongue.

Superstitions. Fear of enclosed spaces.Weapon Proficiencies: Dagger, dart, javelin,

flight lance (if available).Nonweapon Proficiencies: Alertness, animal

noise, danger sense, direction sense, hunting,survival (mountains), weather sense, weaving.


AlaghiAbility Score Adjustments. The initial abil-

ity scores are modified by a + 2 bonus toStrength and a -2 penalty to Intelligence.

Ability Score RangeAbilityStrengthDexterityConstitutionIntelligenceWisdomCharisma

Minimum12312333

Maximum191718161616

Class Restrictions

* Int 15+, Wis 12+, Cha 15+ alignment neutralgood.

Hit Dice. Player character alaghi receive hitdice by class. In addition, they receive 9 bonushit points at first level.

Alignment. Alaghi tend toward true neutralalignment. PC alaghi may be of any alignment.Alaghi druids are neutral good.

Natural Armor Class. 4.Background. Alaghi, distant relations to yeti,

are forest-dwelling humanoids. They have bar-

rel chests, short necks, and wide, flat heads.Their short legs are thick, their hands and feetare large, and their hair is thick: blond, reddishbrown, or charcoal gray. They stand about 6feet tall and weigh over 300 pounds.

Most alaghi live as semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers. Sedentary alaghi set up communi-ties of crude huts or large cave complexes.Alaghi communities are generally mistrusted,though some neighbors will trade manufac-tured goods for pelts, game, and ore. The rarestalaghi are philosophical hermits that are neu-tral good and have druidic abilities.

The primitive alaghi fashion crude stoneknives, hand axes, and tools, as well as simplewooden javelins. A favorite tactic employed bythe alaghi is to hurl missile weapons from hid-ing, ambushing their opponents.

Languages. Alaghi, common.Role-Playing Suggestions. These forest

dwellers tend to be shy and peaceful. The her-mitic alaghi are curious and helpful to those inneed. They love riddles and games of strategy,often seeking competition from willinghumans and demihumans. They especiallyenjoy a good game of chess.

Players should pick the alaghi character's

18 • Chapter Two

Class Maximum LevelWarrior

FighterRangerPaladin



RogueThiefBard

12——

——

—11*——

——

background — nomadic, hermitic, or sedentary.Most will probably be nomadic, traveling insearch of adventure as their less heroic kin seekgame and wild plants. Nomadic alaghi do notnecessarily live in harmony with nature, but theyrespect it and know how to use it withoutdestroying it. Sedentary alaghi are like primitivehumans, often greedy and raiding to survive.Hermitic alaghi live in harmony with nature,usually serving as druids and enjoying friendlyrelations with their woodland neighbors.

An alaghi deciding to become an adventurermight leave home for a variety of reasons. Anomad leaves its group to seek knowledge,treasure, or adventure. A sedentary alaghigrows tired of community life and again takesup the life of a nomad, eventually hooking upwith a group of adventurers and finding a newand exciting activity. A hermitic alaghi maydecide to give up a life of solitude for somegrand cause — one that usually involves con-cerns of nature and druidic lore.

Special Advantages. The alaghi's huge fistscan inflict 2d6 points of damage. Alaghi canmove silently as per the thief ability, and theycan hide in natural surroundings. At 1st level, thebase scores are 40% and 35% respectively. Eachtime an experience level is gained, the alaghireceives another 5% in each skill.

Special Disadvantages. Alaghi take damageas large creatures.

Monstrous Traits. Fearsome appearance,punctuate sentences with hisses, hoots, andgrunts. Sedentary alaghi must suppress theurge to slay and eat any non-alaghi they meet.

Superstitions. Fear things which appear tothem as unnatura l , including wizard spells,undead creatures, and metal arms and armor.

Weapon Proficiencies: Club, hand axe,javelin, knife (all stone weapons).

Nonweapon Proficiencies: Animal lore, ani-mal noise, direction sense, eating, endurance,gaming, hiding, hunting, intimidation, naturalfighting, survival (forest).

BeastmanAbility Score Adjustments. The initial abil-

ity scores are modified by a +2 bonus to Dex-terity, and a penalty of -2 to Charisma.

Ability Score Range


Class Restrictions

Minimum666333

Maximum18/50

1816181816

Hit Dice. Player character beastmen receivehit dice by class.

Alignment. Beastmen tend toward neutral(good) alignment. PC beastmen may be of anyalignment.

Natural Armor Class. 8.Background. Beastmen are short, slender

humanoids with a fine layer of dark green orolive colored fu r covering their bodies. Aninner coat of coarse black fur lies beneath this,which gives them a natural camouflage ability.


WarriorFighterRangerPaladin



RogueThiefBard

1012—

——

————

10—

Class Maximum Level

Beastmen can instinctively create patterns ofstripes or spots across their bodies. The col-oration helps them blend in with shadows ofthe forests from which they hail.

In their native forests, beastmen are danger-ous hunters and adversaries. However, theyseek to avoid combat and even contact withothers unless they must defend themselves ortheir tribes. They are experts with spears, stoneaxes and knives, bolas, nets, and blowguns.Some beastmen know how to create a specialpoison for their blow gun darts. Those who faila saving throw vs. poison at a +4 bonus die in2d4 rounds. The toxin can only be prepared inthe wild and with the proper ingredients,

Beastman culture is self-sustaining and itdoes not discriminate against either sex. Theaverage beastman has no need or desire totrade or interact with other races. Of course,beastmen PCs are not of average stock. Theypossess a healthy curiosity to learn and seenew things, though they still hold their ownculture to be the superior one.

Languages. Beastmen, common.Role-Playing Suggestions. Beastmen seldom

wear clothing or ornamentation as it interfereswith their natural camouflage ability and withthe use of their language.

As the beastman language involves spokenwords, hand and body gestures, and even theshifting of fur patterns, all other languagesthey may learn are considered simplistic andprimitive. This gives beastmen a natural feel-ing of superiority over other races.

In the wild, beastmen take on leadershiproles depending upon the circumstances. Thebest qualified takes charge as needed. Whenworking with non-beastmen, they try to con-tinue this honored tradition, usually to the cha-grin of their companions.

Special Advantages. Beastmen can makethemselves undetected in forest settings, ableto hide with 90% chance of success. Opponentswho are not aware of the beastman's presencesuffer a -6 penalty to their surprise rolls.

Beastmen do not believe in magic, ghosts,spirits, or the supernatural. Only those thingswhich can be seen, touched, tasted, smelledand heard exist. Beastmen are not hindered bysuperstitions.

A beastman who is proficient in herbalismcan expend a proficiency slot to develop theability to make beastman blowgun poison.

Special Disadvantages, By nature, beastmenare nonmagical. They have 80% magic resis-tance, even to beneficial effects. They cannotuse magical items except for magical weapons,and cannot themselves initiate any specialmagical functions of such weapons.

Monstrous Traits. Appearance, tendency toroar when completing a hunt.

Superstitions. None.Weapon Proficiencies: Bola, blowgun, hand

axe, knife (stone or wooden weapons).Nonweapon Proficiencies: Alertness, animal

lore, animal noise, cooking, fire-building, fish-ing, hiding, hunting, rope use, set snares, sur-vival (forest), tracking, wild fighting.

20 • Chapter Two

Minimum888333

Maximum181718161814

Maximum Level

BugbearAbility Score Adjustments. The initial abil-

ity scores are modified by a +1 bonus toStrength and a -1 penalty to Intelligence andCharisma.

Ability Score Range


Class RestrictionsClass

Hit Dice. Player character bugbears receivehit dice by class. In addition they receive 3bonus hit points at first level.

Alignment. Bugbears tend toward chaoticevil. PC bugbears may be of any alignment,usually neutral (in rare cases good).

Natural Armor Class. 10.Background. Bugbears are giant, hairy rela-

tives of goblins. They are large, standing aboutseven feet tall, with muscular frames and the

look of true carnivores. They have light yellowto yellow brown hides, with thick coarse hairthat ranges in color from brown to brick red.Bestial eyes of greenish white with red pupilsstare out from savage faces. Wedge-shapedears rise from the top of their heads, and theirmouths are full of long sharp fangs.

Bugbears have exceptional sight and hearing,and they move with amazing stealth. They livein caves and underground lairs. Bugbearfemales are not given the same opportunitiesand privileges as the males, and a good num-ber of adventurer bugbears are females look-ing for better lives.

These large humanoids live by plunderingand ambush. They sometimes take slaves, andare often cruel and mean-spirited. They areexcellent hunters. They eat anything they kill,including humans and humanoids smallerthan themselves. Some adventuring bugbearsleave their lairs because they cannot stand toeat intelligent creatures.

A bugbear tribe will have shamans or witchdoctors of up to 7th level, but not both.

Languages. Bugbear, goblin, hobgoblin, com-mon.

Role-Playing Suggestions. Bugbears speak afoul sounding language punctuated by ges-tures, grunts, and snarls. They even use thesebestial habits when talking in common, mak-ing other races doubt their intelligence.

Even the bravest bugbear PC has t roublebreaking away from its tribe. They prefer toambush their foes rather than attack head on.If outnumbered or overmatched, most willretreat to fight another day.

Adventuring bugbears remain territorialeven after they leave their lairs. They mentallymark out territory wherever they go, evenwhen traveling. Anything which comes intothis space becomes their property (at least intheir own minds), or the property of their newtribe (their PC companions). They are naturalbullies, forcing their wills on weaker compan-ions. They are an opportunistic race, prone to





RogueThiefBard

12——

——

8—77

9—

temper tantrums and violent outbursts.Bugbears enjoy wine and strong ale — often

to excess. They are stubborn by nature, findingit difficult to negotiate or compromise. Greedcourses through their bodies like blood, andeven the most noble bugbear covets glittery,shiny objects and weapons.

Special Advantages. Bugbears have infra vi-sion to 60 feet. Their stealth gives opponents a-3 penalty to their surprise rolls,

Special Disadvantages. Bugbears take dam-age as large creatures.

Monstrous Traits. Monstrous appearance,snarling language, long sharp claws.

Superstitions. Always watchful for omensfrom the gods; afraid of lightning and violentweather changes; seek to keep on the good sideof Skiggaret, the bugbear god of fear.

Weapon Proficiencies: Throwing (footman's)mace, goblin stick, hand axe, morning star (greatclub), spear, warhammer.

Nonweapon Proficiencies: Close-quarterfighting, drinking, eating, hunting, intimida-tion, looting, natural fighting, wild fighting.

Bullywug, AdvancedAbility Score Adjustments. The initial abil-

ity scores are modified by a +1 bonus to Dex-terity and a -1 penalty to Intelligence andCharisma.

Ability Score Range

Minimum646363

Maximum18/75

1818141614

Maximum Level


Class RestrictionsClass

Hit Dice. Player character bullywugs receivehit dice by class.

Alignment. Bullywugs tend toward chaoticevil. PC bullywugs may be of any alignment,but most are neutral or (rarely) good,

Natural Armor Class. 6.Background. Bullywugs are bipedal frog-like

amphibians inhabiting swamps, marshes, andother dank locations. They are covered with asmooth, mottled olive green hide that gives

22 • Chapter Two




RogueThiefBard

10——

——

——7

—

9—

them a natural protection. They have the facesof enormous frogs, characterized by widemouths and bulging eyes. Like frogs, theirhands and feet are webbed. They wear noclothing, but do make use of crude armor,weapons, and shields.

Bullywugs have learned to cooperate witheach other in order to survive and to worktogether when hunt ing. They are skilledhunters and fishermen, and can use and buildsnares and nets.

These frog-men grow up in a savage society.Males are dominant, as females are lookedupon as nothing more than egg bearers. Onlyleaders and their god are shown any kind ofrespect. Bullywug shamans can advance ashigh as 7th level, and will always be male.

Bullywugs need to keep their skin moist,which is why they favor swamps and marshes.They love treasure, even if the regular benefitsof wealth are lost on their society. Coins, jewelsand magical items are hoarded whenever theycan be found.

The average bullywug does not display thegreed or lust for power seen in other chaoticraces. They rarely fight among themselves,except when a leader grows too old or whenthe smaller, more savage bullywugs meet theirlarger, more advanced cousins. Bullywugstend to harm their environment, often huntingand fishing an area until its natural resourcesare depleted. Most hate humans, attackingthem on sight.

Languages. Bullywug, common.Role-Playing Suggestions. Bullywug PCs

are assumed to be the larger, more intelligent(advanced) bullywugs. These range in sizefrom 6 to 7 feet, and are broader than theirsmaller relatives. They are more aggressive,better organized, and better equipped than thenormal bullywugs.

Often it is the females who decide to leavethe lair and take up the life of an adventurer,for the opportunities in their own society areextremely limited. While bullywug PCs tend to

remain chaotic, they sometimes shed their evilnatures as they try to find a place for them-selves in the outside world.

Of course, as most other h u m a n s andhumanoids fear and detest bullywugs, life foradventurer bullywugs is diff icul t and danger-ous. The successful ones will learn to dependon and cooperate with whatever adventuringgroup they can latch onto, for their survivaldepends on cooperation.

Adventuring bullywug shamans often takeup service with a new god, for they are usuallyfleeing from the wrath of the chaotic evil deityof their race.

Special Advantages. Bullywugs havechameleon abilities that make them 75% unde-tectable in natura l surroundings. This letsthem ambush opponents, whose surprise rollsreceive a -2 penalty (-6 if attacked by hop).

Bullywugs employ a hop attack which cancarry them up to 30 feet forward and 15 feetupward. A hop attack gives them a +1 bonusto their attack rolls. If they are using impalingweapons, these cause double damage.

Bullywugs receive swimming as a bonusproficiency.


Special Disadvantages. Bullywugs must wettheir entire bodies three times a day (at least awaterskin full of water is required). If they areunable to find moisture, they begin to loseConstitution at a rate of 2 points per missedbath. If their Constitution falls to zero, they diefrom dehydration.

Monstrous Traits. Appearance, chaotic ten-dencies, webbed hands and feet.

Superstitions. Bullywugs fear dry heat andareas that have little standing water.

Weapon Proficiencies: Club, dagger, shortsword, spear, trident.

Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction sense,fishing, hunting, survival (swamp), weathersense, wild fighting.

CentaurAbility Score Adjustments. The initial abil-

ity scores are modified by a +1 bonus to Con-stitution and Wisdom, and a -2 penalty toDexterity.

Ability Score Range


Minimum11311343

Maximum181618161818

Class RestrictionsClass Maximum LevelWarrior

Fighter 12Ranger 10Paladin —

WizardMage 12Illusionist —

Hit Dice. Player character centaurs receivehit dice by class. In addition they receive 4bonus hit points at first level.

Alignment. Centaurs tend toward neutral orchaotic good. PC centaurs may be any align-ment, but are usually neutral or chaotic good.

Natural Armor Class. 5.Background. Centaurs have the upper torso,

arms and head of a human, and the lowerbody of a horse. These woodland beings aresociable creatures, living in family groupsorganized into larger tribes. Tribes survivethrough hunting, foraging, fishing, agricultureand trade. They tend to shun humans, butoften trade with elves for food and wine.

Centaurs welcome elves into their areas,sometimes even sharing territory with them.Humans and dwarves receive polite invita-tions to leave, while halflings and gnomes areusually tolerated.

Centaurs mate for life, and the males clearlyhave the dominant role in their society. Theyare pastoral beings who can be violent whenthe need arises. They live in harmony withnature and know how to conserve resources.They keep things in balance, planting a tree forevery one they chop down and taking onlywhat the environment can easily give.

These woodland creatures use a variety ofweapons, including oaken clubs, compositebows and medium horse lances. Some carryshields, and a few wear special centaur armor.

Languages. Centaur, elvish, common.Role-Playing Suggestions. Centaur player

characters are either young stallions and mareswho have not yet found their life mates, or

24 • Chapter Two


RogueThiefBard

—147

—

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widows and widowers who have lost theirmates and taken up a life of adventure in orderto ease their pain. They are a strong, proudrace, easily offended and impulsive.

Centaurs live in balance, They must eat a lotto power their great bodies, and have beenknown to over-indulge when it comes to wineand ale. Under the influence of alcohol, cen-taurs display rowdy, boorish, and aggressivebehavior.

Those centaurs deciding to explore the worldas adventurers usually do so to satisfy aninnate curiosity and wanderlust that some-times becomes a compulsion. They make excel-lent companions, good fighters, and hardytravelers. While they might sometimes offer atwo-legged companion a ride, centaurs do notconsider themselves pack animals or sourcesof transportation. In fact, they often becomeinsulted if such a role is suggested. They alsodo not tolerate horse jokes, though otherwisethey have good senses of humor.

Special Advantages. Centaurs can makethree melee attacks in a round: once with theirweapons and twice with their front hooves.Hooves cause 1-6 points of damage each.

Centaurs armed with lances can charge for

double damage, but cannot attack with theirhooves in that same round.

Special Disadvantages. Centaurs take dam-age as large creatures. They have diff icultynegotiating underground settings.

Monstrous Traits. Appearance.Superstitions. Fear of dragons and giants,

see omens and portents in nature.Weapon Proficiencies: Composite long bow,

medium horse lance, great club.Nonweapon Proficiencies: Animal lore, agri-

culture, animal noise, armorer, artistic abilitybowyer/fletcher, brewing, drinking, eating,fishing, hunting, leatherworking, natural fight-ing, running, set snares, survival (forests),tracking, weaving, winemaking.

FremlinAbility Score Adjustments. The initial abil-

ity scores are modified by a +2 bonus to Dex-terity, a +1 bonus to Intelligence, and a -3penalty to Strength.

Ability Score Range


Ability Minimum MaximumStrength 2 11Dexterity 8 18Constitution 4 13Intelligence 6Wisdom 3Charisma 3


Fighter —Ranger —Paladin —

WizardMage 10Illusionist 10

181618

PriestCleric —Druid —Shaman —Witch Doctor —

RogueThief 12Bard —

Hit Dice. Player character fremlins receivehit dice by class.

Alignment. Fremlins tend toward chaoticneutral. PC fremlins may be of any alignmentbut are usually chaotic neutral.

Natural Armor Class. 6.Background. Fremlins are friendly, mostly

harmless gremlins. Like other gremlins, theyare small, winged goblinoids, only growing toabout a foot in height. However, fremlins tendto be plump and slate colored.

Sometimes fremlins, like their gremlincousins, are mistaken for imps. While thismakes gremlins very angry, it causes fremlins

to fall into hysterical fits of laughter. They havelarge, pointed ears, bat-like wings that givethem the power of flight, and an innate immu-nity to non-magical weapons.

Fremlins shun clothing and ornamentation,believing that they should never hide the won-derful bodies they were born with. They refuseto use weapons, and are generally worthless incombat.

These magical creatures live to have fun,usual ly at the expense of others. They loveto play practical jokes, though their humortends to be less harmful than that of theirgremlin cousins.

Languages. Gremlin (includes fremlin andgalltrit), common.

Role-Playing Suggestions. Fremlins arefriendly gremlins who tend to be quite harm-less. These plump magical creatures are usu-ally whining and lazy, complaining about theleast thing and always seeking a way out ofreal work.

Fremlin player characters are tolerable com-

26 • Chapter Two

pardons. They usually hook up with a charac-ter who befriends them or does something toearn their attention. Those they like receivecompanionship, those they dislike become thetargets of their mischievous pranks.

Fremlins will stick with an adventuring partyfor a time, remaining as long as they are keptfed and entertained. While they have someuseful skills and abilities, fremlin PCs are usu-ally played for comic relief. They seldom assistin combat, and often they wind up hinderingthe efforts of their companions by giving awayhiding locations or making other "innocent"blunders.

These magical creatures are cowards, fleeingat the first sign of trouble. They can be annoy-ing, obnoxious, and easily insulted. Often theywill disappear for a time, returning just whenthe rest of their party believes them to be gonefor good. Apologies sometimes bring themback earlier, but usually they stay away untilthey forget whatever it is that made them mador depressed in the first place.

Special Advantages. Fremlins are immune toattacks made with normal weapons. Oppo-nents need a +1 weapon or better to hit them.

Fremlins can fly, with a movement speed of12 and a maneuverability class of B.

Although fremlins rarely fight, they can usetiny weapons specially scaled to their size.Such weapons must be specially made andinflict about one-third normal damage.

Special Disadvantages. None.Monstrous Traits. Appearance, size.Superstitions. Fremlins are afraid of almost

everything.Weapon Proficiencies: Dagger, pixie sword,

other weapons scaled for their size.Nonweapon Proficiencies: Begging, danger

sense, drinking, eating, fortune telling, gam-ing, hiding, reading/writing, set snares, spell-craft.

Giant-kin, FirbolgAbility Score Adjustments, The initial abil-

ity scores are m o d i f i e d by a +2 bonus toStrength and a -2 penalty to Charisma.

Ability Score Range

Minimum148

12883

Maximum191518181814



Fighter 12Ranger —Paladin —

WizardMage —Illusionist —

PriestCleric —Druid —Shaman 7Witch Doctor —

RogueThief —Bard —

Hit Dice. Player character firbolgs receive hitdice by class. In addition they receive 13 bonushit points at first level.

Alignment. Firbolgs tend toward neutral orchaotic good. PC firbolgs may be of any align-ment, but are usually chaotic good.

Natural Armor Class. 3.Background. Firbolgs are the most powerful

of the giant-kin. They look like normal humanswho have grown to a height of 10½ feet tall andweigh over 800 pounds. Stylish firbolgs wear


their hair long and grow long, thick beards.Their pink skin is very dense and thick, givingthem a low natural armor class. They havesmooth voices of deep bass and thick, rollingconsonants.

These great giant-kin live in remote forestsand hills. They distrust most other civilizedraces and tend to avoid them whenever possi-ble. They get along with druids and faerie crea-tures, including elves. They do not attack orkill without reason, but they love to engage inpranks which relieve strangers of their valu-ables.

They have close-knit communities centeredaround the family or clan. Clans exist as gath-erers or nomads, coming together at least oncea year with other clans to celebrate or makeimportant decisions.

Firbolgs live off the land, but they also live inharmony with i t . They trade their greatstrength for food with other peaceful folk, sup-plementing their diet by gathering and hunt-ing. Few monsters bother firbolgs, and theyavoid true giants other than storm giants. Theyrefuse to allow other giant-kin to roam theirterritories.

Languages. Firbolg, common, storm giant.Role-Playing Suggestions. Firbolgs are

extremely confident and quite fearless in mostinstances. They are a cautious and crafty race,and over the years they have learned to dis-trust and fear humans and demihumans. Theyare not overly aggressive, preferring to avoidencounters through hiding and deception.When forced to fight, they employ grandstrategies which utilize the terrain and situa-tion around them to best effect. They are taughtto operate as a group, not as individuals, andthey will carry this trait with them when theytake up with adventuring groups.

Firbolg PCs usually adventure to gain knowl-edge. They are especially interested in increas-ing their understanding of magic or theircollection of treasure. They do not ask formuch from their companions, nor do they

expect to give much beyond what is fair.Firbolgs can use any large weapons. They

disdain the use of armor and shields. Only thelesser races need such protection.

Like all giant-kin, firbolg PCs seem strangeand aloof to other player characters. Theirmotivations are different than those of smallerfolk; for example, they often try to live up tothe ideals of storm giants, making them seemeven more strange to lesser folk.

Special Advantages. Firbolgs have magicalpowers usable once per day. These develop, inorder, at odd-numbered levels, starting at 3rdlevel. The powers are: detect magic, diminution(as double the potion), fools' gold, forget, andalter self. These cannot be used when the fir-bolg is engaged in melee combat.

Firbolgs can use large human weapons (liketwo-handed swords and halberds) with onehand without penalty.

When using weapons of their own make(huge double-sized versions of humanweapons), firbolg can wield them with bothhands to inflict double damage.

Firbolgs can swat away incoming missileswith a roll of 6 or better on 1d20. With one free

28 • Chapter Two

hand, they can bat away up to two missiles perround. Large missiles, such as hurled bouldersor catapult missiles, can be caught if the firbolgwishes. Caught missiles can be hurled back atopponents on the next round with a -2 penaltyto the attack roll.

Special Disadvantages. Firbolgs have 15%magic resistance, even against magic that isbeneficial.

Firbolgs never wear armor of any sort, nor dothey carry shields.

Firbolgs take damage as large creatures.When using man-made weapons, firbolg can-

not apply their Strength bonuses.Firbolgs must earn double the experience

points of the base class to advance each level(for a fighter, 2nd level at 4,000, 3rd at 8,000,and soon).

Firbolg Shamans: Firbolg shamans mustearn triple the experience points of the baseclerical class to advance as shamans.

In addition, firbolg shamans gain additionalinnate magical abilities of the illusion/phan-tasm school. At 1st to 5th level, they receivetwo 1st level spells at each level. At 6th and 7thlevels they receive two 2nd level spells. Asinnate abilities, these are randomly deter-mined, and do not change once they are estab-lished. Each of these illusionist spells can beused once per day.

Monstrous Traits. Size.Superstitions. Firbolg have an innate fear of

human and demihuman mobs.Weapon Proficiencies: Club, halberd, giant-

kin halberd, giant-kin two-handed sword, two-handed sword.

Nonweapon Proficiencies: Agriculture, ani-mal handling, animal training, blacksmithing,cooking, eating, gaming, herbalism, hunting,intimidation, reading/writing, set snares,weaponsmithing, weather sense.

Minimum111381133

Maximum181916171618

Giant-kin, VoadkynAbility Score Adjustments. The initial abil-

i ty scores are modified by a +1 bonus toStrength, a +2 bonus to Dexterity, a -1 penaltyto Constitution, and a -2 penalty to Wisdom.

Ability Score Range



Fighter 11Ranger 11Paladin —

WizardMage 8Illusionist —

PriestCleric —Druid —Shaman 7Witch Doctor —


Hit Dice. Player character voadkyn receivehit dice by class. In addition, they receive 7bonus hit points at first level.

Alignment. Voadkyn tend toward chaoticgood. PC voadkyn may be of any alignment,but are usually chaotic good.

Natural Armor Class. 8.Background. Voadkyn are also known by the

more common name of wood giants. They areone of the smallest of the giant-kin races,


vaguely resembling giant-sized wood elves.They stand about 9½ feet ta l l and weighapproximately 700 pounds. They have thesame physical proportions as humans, whichgives them a thinner, lighter look than othergiant-kin. Wood giants have no facial or bodyhair. They have large heads as compared totheir bodies, and their jaws, chins and mouthsare especially prominent. Their ears are on ahigher plane than human ears, resting almostcompletely above the line of the eyes.

The skin of a wood giant can be any shade ofbrown mixed with yellow or green. They liketo wear leather armor or ring mail, and theycarry a special steel-tipped sheath for theirsword which allows them to use it as a walk-ing stick. They often disdain footwear, leavingtheir feet bare, though they do wrap theirankles in strips of leather. They dress in loosetrousers or short kilts stained in forest colors,and always wear a leather forearm sheath toprotect their bow arm.

Wood giants live in the same forests favoredby wood elves, whom they are good friendswith. In fact, the two races often co-exist. Theyshare a bond that goes back further than the

oldest legends. They do not make their ownlairs, preferring to live under the stars or toshare a wood elf lair when shelter is needed,

The bond between wood giants and woodelves extends to the other elven races. Woodgiants tolerate the company of any good elves.Usually, they do not mix with other intelligentcreatures, except for the occasional treant.

A small number of voadkyn have druid pow-ers. Voadkyn druids are never found in thesame community with voadkyn shamans.

Voadkyn are flighty and frivolous by nature.They have a fondness for finely cut gems andwell-crafted magical items. They also love toeat and drink wine, usually in large amounts.

Languages. Voadkyn, treant, sylvan elf, com-mon.

Role-Playing Suggestions. Wood giants givein to sudden whims and rarely take anythingseriously. Those that decide to become adven-turers are mostly in it for the fun they believeawaits them and for the treasures they believethey will earn. They are fun-loving beings.More serious companions consider them to beirrational, foolish, and even obnoxious. Still,most believe wood giants to be friendly andenjoyable company.

Voadkyn PCs are slightly more ambitiousthan those who remain in the forest, but theystill appear to be unmotivated, plodding, evenlazy beings. This temperament makes themslow to anger, but they will fight to defendthemselves or their allies.

Wood giants love to eat, and they alwayshave a sack of nuts and seeds from which tosnack. When traveling with other adventurers,a wood giant can be heard munching on someplant byproduct almost constantly. They eat allkinds of vegetables and plants, includingleaves and roots that other humanoid racesfind inedible. They do not eat meat.

Special Advantages. Wood giants, like elves,are 90% resistant to sleep and charm spells.They have infravision up to 90 feet.

At 7th level, wood giants gain the ability to

30 • Chapter Two

polymorph (self) into any humanoid creature,from three to 15 feet in height. They cannotform themselves into another specific person,only into a typical member of the race.

Voadkyn can move silently in forests, andany opponents there suffer a -4 penalty ontheir surprise rolls. In fact, voadkyn can blendinto forest vegetation so well that only crea-tures able to detect invisible objects can seethem. Voadkyn are quick, and can move out ofhiding, fire an arrow, and return to their hidingplace in the same round.

The favorite wood giant weapon, a huge longbow, gives a wood giant a +1 bonus to attackrolls and a 50% increase in range. The large-sized arrows for these bows cause 1d8 pointsof damage. The voadkyn must be at full size touse this bow.

Special Disadvantages. Voadkyn take dam-age as large creatures. They get no a t tackbonus for high strength.

Voadkyn warriors use the Paladin XP table.Monstrous Traits. Size.Superstitions. Voadkyn dis l ike enclosed

spaces. They believe that nights when the starsare hidden precede days of ill fortune, and arereluctant to do much on such days.

Weapon Proficiencies: Giant-kin dagger, giant-kin long bow, giant-kin mace, two-handed sword.

Nonweapon Proficiencies: Alertness, animallore, animal noise, animal training (direwolves), bowyer/fletcher, direction sense,drinking, eating, fast-talking, gaming, hiding,hunting, set snares, survival (forests), wine-making.

GnollAbility Score Adjustments. The initial abil-

i ty scores are modified by a +1 bonus toStrength, and a -1 penalty to Intelligence andCharisma.

Ability Score Range



Fighter 11Ranger —Paladin —

WizardMage —Illusionist —

PriestCleric 9Druid —Shaman 5Witch Doctor 5


Minimum655333

Maximum181818141614

Hit Dice. Player character gnolls receive hitdice by class. In addition they receive 2 bonushit points at first level.

Alignment. Gnolls tend toward chaotic evil.PC gnolls may be of any alignment, but areusually some form of neutral.

Natural Armor Class. 10.Background. Gnolls are large, evil, hyena-

like humanoids that roam the land in looselyorganized bands. They stand about 7½ feet tall.


They are humanoid, but the fine details moreclosely resemble a hyena. The skin of a gnoll isgreenish gray that gets darker near its muzzle.They have short manes of reddish gray to dullyellow hair.

Gnolls usually live beneath the ground orwithin abandoned ruins. Underground tribesoperate mainly during the night. The strongestgnolls rule their brothers, using fear and intim-idation to best advantage. Gnoll females fightas well as the males, though they rarely get touse the best armor and weapons available tothe band.

Gnoll society uses slaves, and they oftenwork with other humanoi

note: this version is incomplete. pages 10, 34, 56, 64, 71 & 99 are …...

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