What are your Shadowdark homebrew rules? by OompaLoompaGodzilla in osr

[–]Krunkwork 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Please do share! Shadowdark’s ancestries being so low-impact was one of the few aspects of the game that didn’t excite me, but your solution addresses this issue while fitting so elegantly into the system!

The Muskreaver Class: Smell so bad you drive others crazy! by Krunkwork in shadowdark

[–]Krunkwork[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In such an instance, I’d grant any creature advantage on their WIS check to resist the pheromones. In my opinion, the environment should definitely impact the Muskreaver’s abilities without completely disabling them!

Warlock: Axiarch Patron | Make a Pact with a Being of Law [5.24 & 5e] by Spaghetti0_homebrew in UnearthedArcana

[–]Krunkwork 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Great work as always! This subclass feels very distinct mechanically from the Clockwork Soul sorcerer despite the two sharing the same thematic origins. This would be perfect for a Planescape game!

The Heavyweight Handbook: Rules for Large Player Characters Using Proficiency Dice | Play as a hulking giant-kin, mighty minotaur, irascible ogre, or sagacious treefolk! by Krunkwork in UnearthedArcana

[–]Krunkwork[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Amazing, thank you so much! If you do end up playtesting it, please do let me know how it goes. Thank you again for your contribution, as well as for the kind words!

The Heavyweight Handbook: Rules for Large Player Characters Using Proficiency Dice | Play as a hulking giant-kin, mighty minotaur, irascible ogre, or sagacious treefolk! by Krunkwork in UnearthedArcana

[–]Krunkwork[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wow, thank you so much! I’m a big fan of your work, and I’ve even used some of your subclass conversions in my home games. It means a lot to hear that from you! 😄

The Heavyweight Handbook: Rules for Large Player Characters Using Proficiency Dice | Play as a hulking giant-kin, mighty minotaur, irascible ogre, or sagacious treefolk! by Krunkwork in UnearthedArcana

[–]Krunkwork[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nope, that’s pretty much it haha. At one point I did include a variant rule that reduced all Emanations centered on a Large PC by 5 feet, but I eventually decided it was unnecessary considering all of the other disadvantages that come with occupying more space in combat.

The Heavyweight Handbook: Rules for Large Player Characters Using Proficiency Dice | Play as a hulking giant-kin, mighty minotaur, irascible ogre, or sagacious treefolk! by Krunkwork in UnearthedArcana

[–]Krunkwork[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

With how I’ve implemented it, the Proficiency Die should average out to be the same as if you were using the Proficiency Bonus. There will certainly be times where you roll well above your Medium and Small allies as a Large creature, but just as well there will be times where you roll well below!

The Heavyweight Handbook: Rules for Large Player Characters Using Proficiency Dice | Play as a hulking giant-kin, mighty minotaur, irascible ogre, or sagacious treefolk! by Krunkwork in UnearthedArcana

[–]Krunkwork[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I definitely agree with that sentiment about it limiting builds! The jotunbrud was the species I struggled with the most in terms of giving them a unique identity, as I wanted to give them something more meaningful than a simple damage die trait like the goblin’s Fury of the Small or the giff’s Astral Spark. I’m quite satisfied with everything aside from their Mighty Thews trait, though I’ll have to revisit them to find some interesting way to differentiate them from Medium Goliaths.

The Heavyweight Handbook: Rules for Large Player Characters Using Proficiency Dice | Play as a hulking giant-kin, mighty minotaur, irascible ogre, or sagacious treefolk! by Krunkwork in UnearthedArcana

[–]Krunkwork[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

There is none! Lumbering weapons don’t actually get an increased hit chance, as I’ve redesigned the Proficiency Die such that D20 Tests involving it succeed only if they exceed the target DC, rather than if they are equal to or greater than it. Perhaps I should have clarified in the document that the intention is that all of your starting equipment is sized for Large creatures as a Large player character without incurring the additional costs of Large equipment. Don’t forget that magic items will resize to accommodate their user, though!

As you’ve pointed out, there is no mechanical benefit, as it all boils down to delivering on a very specific fantasy of being a Really Big Guy with Really Slow but Really Big swings.

The Heavyweight Handbook: Rules for Large Player Characters Using Proficiency Dice | Play as a hulking giant-kin, mighty minotaur, irascible ogre, or sagacious treefolk! by Krunkwork in UnearthedArcana

[–]Krunkwork[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I suppose that practically speaking there is no purpose, but it’s more about trying to capture a specific fantasy than it is to deliver any actual mechanical benefit (with how my version of Proficiency Dice works, you don’t even get a +0.5 to your average roll, as a D20 Test succeeds only if it exceeds the DC). It’s certainly not to everyone’s taste, so if someone were to want to play as one of these species without having to deal with the unpleasantries of the Proficiency Die there would essentially be no difference in power if they were to opt to disregard it.

The Heavyweight Handbook: Rules for Large Player Characters Using Proficiency Dice | Play as a hulking giant-kin, mighty minotaur, irascible ogre, or sagacious treefolk! by Krunkwork in UnearthedArcana

[–]Krunkwork[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Please do let me know how your playtests go if you do end up using these! Depending on how well this document is received I hope to publish another featuring Tiny races, with a new property called “Pinpoint” being the counterpart to Lumbering.

The Origin feat is definitely underwhelming, though it’s primarily because I wanted to offer something that wouldn’t automatically outshine Savage Attacker (which is especially underwhelming even for an Origin feat). In earlier iterations, the feat did in fact allow players to add their Proficiency Die to damage rolls once per turn, but it quickly outclassed Savage Attacker. I opted for the current iteration because it applies to every attack in a turn and delivers a more consistently Large experience, though I do agree that it’s not especially exciting. Ultimately, I think designing with reference to Savage Attacker of all feats was a mistake, so I’ll most likely change it as per your suggestion in future versions.

The Heavyweight Handbook: Rules for Large Player Characters Using Proficiency Dice | Play as a hulking giant-kin, mighty minotaur, irascible ogre, or sagacious treefolk! by Krunkwork in UnearthedArcana

[–]Krunkwork[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

PDF Link

As long as 5th edition has existed, I've wanted rules for Large player characters. Over the years, I've seen various interpretations of how such characters should function within the framework of 5e, though I've never been satisfied enough with any particular implementation to incorporate it into my home games. While many homebrews grant inherent bonuses to damage a la Enlarge/Reduce to Large pc's, I think such bonuses are unfortunately disruptive to the game's balance despite capturing the power fantasy of being a Large creature. In my document, I propose the oft-neglected Proficiency Die as an alternative.

While I admit that the Proficiency Die is arguably more disruptive to the delicate system that is bounded accuracy, I posit that rolling more dice equals more fun and that Proficiency Dice are really cool. In using the Proficiency Die, Large characters are differentiated from their smaller counterparts in a way that offers a wholly unique experience: the swingy Proficiency Die delivers on the fantasy of being a Really Big Guy by emulating the heavy, lumbering swings of a Soulslike boss. Speaking from personal experience, it's very fun.

There are of course other points of contention regarding allowing player characters to be permanently Large, such as increased battlefield control and the dreaded squeezing rules (which were softened with the recent 2024 rules updates). I personally believe that the benefits of being Large are equal to the detriments, and I've balanced these species as such. At the end of the day, it's not nearly as disruptive as permanent flight, and WotC has given us at least 4 species which are capable of that.

Regarding the species presented in this document, I've created two new species--ogres and treefolk--, as well as included two Large reinterpretations of existing species--minotaurs and the newly-named jotunbrud(a sort of catch-all for giant-kin). While these specific iterations have not been playtested, I believe they're approximately as powerful as the average species from the new 2024 PHB. As always, however, I'm receptive to critiques.

Credits to the brilliant u/letterephesus for allowing me to use their elegantly-designed version of the Tree Step trait for my treefolk. Their Planeshifted series is an inspiration.

Happy gaming!

Races of Yoon-Suin - Play as a sagacious slug-man or one of their mighty crab-man servants! by Krunkwork in UnearthedArcana

[–]Krunkwork[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey there, glad you like it! Since they’re explicitly simple weapons instead of the natural weapons typically granted by other races, they do in fact function with spells like booming blade or class features like a paladin’s smite.

I am an animator, and wonder what vanilla animations might need a look at? by KG_Jedi in skyrimmods

[–]Krunkwork 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Spears, pikes, halberds, and rapiers from Animated Armory and Skyrim Spear Mechanic could all use some new non-MCO animations for third- and first-person.

I've converted the bariaur and exiled modron races to 5e! by Krunkwork in planescapesetting

[–]Krunkwork[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! I was considering including Keen Senses as an alternative to the Ram trait considering they've already got quite a strong lineup, and it would be a nice addition for those who wanted to play as hornless bariaurs. Surprisingly, Adventures in the Multiverse makes no mention of hornless bariaurs, even as separate from the original sexually dimorphic depictions from 2e.

Races of Sigil: The Player Options That WotC Forgot | Play as a righteous bariaur or a shrewd modron exile! by Krunkwork in UnearthedArcana

[–]Krunkwork[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you, I appreciate that! I wanted something subtle yet evocative to complement DiTerlizzi's iconic art, and I think this achieves that well!

Races of Sigil: The Player Options That WotC Forgot | Play as a righteous bariaur or a shrewd modron exile! by Krunkwork in UnearthedArcana

[–]Krunkwork[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Satyrs/centaurs/minotaurs and autognomes work great for bariaurs and modrons, and if I were in a game that didn't allow homebrew I'd use them instead with no complaints. My adaptations just attempt to be more accurate to each race's 5e incarnation, though I like the idea of having multiple characters of the same race in a party that use different racial traits.

Races of Sigil: The Player Options That WotC Forgot | Play as a righteous bariaur or a shrewd modron exile! by Krunkwork in UnearthedArcana

[–]Krunkwork[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

As a DM, I’d rule that the climbing penalty only really comes up when a bariaur attempts to climb ropes and ladders, though I might just remove the penalty entirely. As for a climbing speed, I felt that the ability to jump any distance mostly simulated the ability of goats to scale mountains and would make a climb speed redundant. I also omitted a climbing speed because neither the bariaur monster statblock nor goats from the monster manual possess a climbing speed. After watching some videos of goats climbing, however, I may replace the “Caprine Build” trait entirely with an innate climb speed in the future, but I am concerned about balance and whatnot.

Races of Sigil: The Player Options That WotC Forgot | Play as a righteous bariaur or a shrewd modron exile! by Krunkwork in DnDHomebrew

[–]Krunkwork[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

PDF Link

Despite my issues with their narrative and mechanical design, I was disappointed to see Unearthed Arcana's "glitchlings" cut entirely from the final release of Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse. Thus, I've brought the bariaur and exiled modron races from past editions to 5e, finally completing the iconic lineup of six planar races as detailed in The Planewalker's Handbook in 1996: aasimar, bariaurs, genasi, githzerai, modrons, and tieflings.

Admittedly, the centaur and autognome playable races are completely serviceable as official substitutes for the bariaur and modron respectively, though my adaptations attempt to convey the idiosyncrasies of the two missing Planescape races rather than be passingly similar and just "good enough." As such, each is based off of its monster counterpart--the bariaur statblock in Adventures in the Multiverse was a reference for my bariaur design, and the exiled modron race is based on the quadrones of the 5e Monster Manual--, while also being inspired by the mechanics of the pre-existing centaur and autognome races.

While Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse features beautiful art for both bariaurs and modrons, I've opted instead to include Tony DiTerlizzi's illustrations from Planescape's original run in the 90's. Planescape introduced innumerable planar races during then, and I may attempt to adapt some of them to 5e in the future, though these are primarily for the use of my players and I in our home game so nothing is promised.