Croaker (Frog-men)

[Muze]

First try at a monster/player character... homage to the humble Bullywug... let me know what i did wrong or any changes i can make ... generally any feed back would be awesome.

Croaker (monster) R4.odt

(3.63 MiB) Downloaded 337 times

Croakers (PC ) R3.odt

(3.62 MiB) Downloaded 317 times

[teaman]

I don't know that I've ever seen a frog man type as a PC option! Also, this might fit in nicely with the "Monsters as Player Characters" supplement, though I don't know if that one is considered finished. If so, then this would be a thing of it's own.

Nicely done!

[daryen]

Here are my observations on the "as a PC" entry.

First, it doesn't really belong with "Monsters as a Race" as it has no native hit dice as a PC. All of its hit dice come from its character levels, so it is definitely a "normal" PC race. So, I do agree with that approach. (Plus, there are already several stand-alone PC races. Another isn't going to hurt. )

Now, some questions:
- Why the two point strength loss if they aren't properly hydrated? I recommend the loss be constitution instead. Plus, what happens if it gets to zero? I assume they die, but it should be stated.
- When talking about the "vibrant colors", that really means non-green, correct?
- Why can't the "vibrant colors" be thieves? Sure, in theory, they might take a hit on "hide in shadows", but I don't see why it would affect any of their other abilities. I grant it isn't that big of a deal, but it seems like an unnecessary restriction.
- What class do the yellow/aristocrats take? I assume fighter, but it should say that.
- I do like their other special abilities, like the poison saving throw bonus and the leaping charge. Those are cool.
- You provide their height; what is their weight and how long do they live?
- The height is highly variable: 3.5 feet to 6 feet. Give a little more description here. From the monster entry, I would assume the rare 2-3 HD leaders would be the ones larger than the typical 3.5-4 feet. But how does it work with PCs? And is my assumption on the monster entry correct? You could restrict the taller individuals to the Yellows and Reds if you'd like. (I.e. Greens and Blues are the typical 3.5-4 feet, Reds are 4-5 feet, and Yellows are 5-6 feet. As an example.) But it'd be good to have some guidance on that. (Unless it is intended to be left to the GM.)

Nice race that seems to be pretty in-line and compatible with the others.

[Bumblepig]

I love both the monster and playable race. The color-coded caste system is particularly creative... I really like it when Basic Fantasy takes a well-worn monster or race and then adds a twist to keep things interesting (and players on their toes).
Re: the monster, I'm not sure if you're aware but there's a "Wug" entry in the Field Guide. I don't think it's a problem, though... in BF there are other cases where there's apparent overlap in monsters. Plus, any good fantasy RPG needs at least 3 versions of lizard people and 3 versions of frog people. At the end of the day it just gives the GM more options. I'd take a wug from my GM toolkit for a basic encounter with a swamp race where I don't have to think about special abilities; I'd choose a Croaker for a more interesting/involved encounter.
Re: The Race: FWIW I don't see any problem with the froggies getting weaker (Strength reduction) vs. Constitution reduction.... the point is they need water. As a GM I hate tracking reduced ability scores though, so if I were using them I'd just say they become too weak to function after x amount of time not hydrated. In general, you might want to rethink the hydration requirement. While "realistic", you're baking something into the race could really hamper their use. Could a Croaker even take part in a desert-themed adventure? Another option is to add a Toadman variant that lakes the hydration constraint, but of course then everyone would just choose a toadman.
Not to make a complex race more complex, but it's too bad they don't get something to do with a darting tongue. That might have a limited function, though, unless you're a thief lifting small items or you're battling an insect swarm. I'd say that's a more frog-relevant nuance than the poison resistance.
I saw a couple typos in the Class entry ("Croker", "do (should be "due")" to...).
Again, I love this idea of the Croaker. I really like playable races that deviate from the dwarf-elf-halfling norm. In my current campaign, elves are evil, halflings were wiped out in a lizardman invasion known as "The Great Hobbit Feast", and dwarves live deep in the mountains, far enough away they can't annoy anybody with their poorly-done Scottish accents.

[Muze]

Thank you so much for the feed back ... I hope to address all of these question and points in an update.

[Muze]

A quick re-wright
added tongue attack
removed "water dependency"
added clarification on size
added weight
removed thief restriction on vibrant color variety
added thief ability hindrance of vibrant variety
added age range

I tired to keep it loose while still addressing most of the points made so far ... let me know what ya think.
Thank you all for the feedback. I did not know about the "Wug" entry .... I hope i have given enough differences in the Croaker to still be considered for inclusion. Thanks again for all the awesome pointers let me know any other questions or things to consider.

[teaman]

Here's an illustration for this writeup. Hope you like it:

frogman.png (3.59 MiB) Viewed 5090 times

[Muze]

that is great thank you

[teaman]

that is great thank you

Thanks, use him in good health.

[Muze]

Added Image