The Campaign Builder's Guild

Description is (unusually) minimal - I've kind of glossed over references here to material covered extensively in the Fehladurh flavor write-up already in the wiki. What follows here is the racial krunch-berries a la GURPS:

The Fehladurh are the smallest of the common 'Surface Races.' Ranging 4 to 5 ft in height and slight of frame, most weigh well under 100 lbs. While weaker than many other races, they are more dexterous and tend to use this to their advantage. In spite of their seeming frailty they are rather resilient: effected less by shock and pain than other races and healing more easily from injury. Their .lifespan is roughly 10 times that of humans.

Their vision is extremely sharp, near and far, and extends into the ultraviolet bandwidth of the light spectrum, giving them good night vision as well. They are partially colorblind however and light at the low end of the spectrum does not register on their retinas, causing reds to appear dark gray to black. At present this is not an issue, but during the glacial periods it has significant ramifications since the primary source of ultraviolet light is hidden and much of the visible light from the remaining sun is not visible to them. The upshot of this is roughly the equivalent of the entire human race suffering permanent Seasonal Affective Disorder for 1000 years! (This explains a lot about their ancient history. . .)

The Fehladurh have always taken 'the long view' of things and place great value on thinking things through and planning carefully. They are often slow to reach a decision, but are subsequently very certain that their decision is correct once reached. They have always viewed themselves as caretakers of nature and this includes a feeling of responsibility toward other, less far-sighted races. The events, and their grievous mistakes at the heart of the Kith War have left them rather scarred as a people however. They are quite determined never to repeat their mistakes and so are quite cautious about how they influence the judgment and choices of others. The use of coercive, mind controlling magics are especially taboo among them. Along with this, they are fiercely defensive regarding their honor and honesty of their motives '" suggesting otherwise is the greatest insult one could render them. In such cases they will invariably demand an apology. Refusal, or often even insincerity, is met with the challenge to duel. They are equally fierce and determined when it comes to combating slavery and similar coercion and abuse of others around them.

A unique characteristic which is deeply entwined with this is their subconscious racial memories. The actions and experiences of their ancestors are not entirely forgotten by the descendants. This is a duel edged sword however, since some of those memories are quite horrific. Except when asleep (for those skilled in the Art of Dreaming) these memories are unpredictable '" often helpful, but at times quite debilitating '" even hazardous.

Elven children invariably learn a handful of skills in which the Fehladurh place great value. Regardless of what interests they pursue in life, they will have learned at least the rudimentary principals of these. The Fehladurh are a little more aware of the flow of mana than other races (they're a little more easily effected by magic and this may also have something to do with how quickly they heal,) and even those who do not practice magic have some understanding of how it works. In particular, all elves learn while quite young how to recognize signs of magical coercion. They also make a point of learning about their environment '" both its physical characteristics and activities within it. Dreaming of course is the most reliable means for them to access the memories of their ancestors. They also place great value in diplomacy, both as a means of influencing others without undue coercion and as a practical survival skill: as quick as they are to take offense, without some skill in diplomacy they would likely duel themselves into extinction!

Regarding the Fehladurh propensity for dueling, they learn the preliminary skills at a rather young age. A simple style of stick fighting is practiced by virtually all elves '" particulars vary regionally, but this provides the initial martial training which Fehladurh youth then develop further. Sometime during adolescence an elf will be guided toward a particular dueling practice most suited to their abilities and temperament. Common dueling weapons are small sword, rapier or sabre (with or without main gauche) spear, naginata, or butterfly staff (see Qian Kun Ri Yue Dao in MA). More rarely, some Fehladurh duel with long knife, 'elven bucklers' (I'll describe these later) or bows. Archery duels tend to be particularly lethal among the less skilled.

The small group of Fehladurh commonly called Sea Elves display a markedly different temperament than the rest. Because their ancestors had fled the Kith War (along with their Khurorkh spouses and human children,) they do not carry the same memories nor bear the psychological scars from it the rest do. Sea Elves are much more empathetic toward others, far slower to take offense and see little point in dueling. They do retain some memories of the initial horrors of the war however and as a result are often affected by these after engaging in combat. While many are capable diplomats this too is less emphasized in their culture. Virtually any Sea Elf encountered (by default, away from hir homeland) is capable of serving on a ship's crew. (They don't necessarily learn this skill in their youth '" but by the time one reaches the mainland s/he invariably will have. . .)
 

Fehladurh Template [20], Sea Elves [30]
*: Does not apply to Sea Elves;
$: Applies to Sea Elves only

Attributes:         [10]
ST -1            [-10]
DX +1            [20]

Advantages:         [77]
Ultravision         [10]
Telescopic Vision 4      [20]
Acute Vision    3      [6]
Extended Lifespan 3.5   [7]
Hard to Kill         [2]
Hard to Subdue      [2]
High Pain Threshold      [10]
Rapid Healing         [5]
Racial Memory      [15]

Disadvantages:      [-78/-58]
Sense of Duty         [-10]
* Code of Honor      [-15]
Fanaticism         [-15]
Guilt            [-5]
* Flashbacks (Racial)      [-10]
$ Post Combat Shakes   [-5]
Indecisive         [-10]
Magic Susceptibility 1   [-3]
Overconfidence      [-5]
Skinny            [-5]

Quirks            [-2/-5]
Partial Colorblind (Red)
Careful
$ Broadminded
$ Congenial
$ Responsive

Skills            [13/6]
Area Knowledge      [1]
$ Crewman         [1]
* Diplomacy         [1]
Dreaming         [1]
Naturalist         [1]
Running         [1]
Thaumatology         [1]
* Stick Fighting style      [2]
   {Style Familiarity[1]}
   {Small Sword   [1]}
* Dueling Weapon Style   [5]
   {Style Familiarity [1]}
   {1 weapon skill [4]

or}
   {2 weapon skills[2] each or}
   {1 weapon, 1 shield skill[2] each}[/list]

Hmm...looks pretty good, but I do have a coupel of comments.

Firstly, at that height, don't they average SM-1?  It's not listed.

Do those quirks count against the 5-quirk limit?

You've listed several mental disadvantages.  Are these present in all members of the race or just most?  Are there Fehladurh that aren't overconfident or suffer guilt?  Personally, when dealing with racial templates, I prefer to stick to morphological traits and suggest optional mental/social ones - that is unless every member without fail has a given trait.

Do you intend for Fehladurh to be completely immune to shock?  That's mean that one would not be the least bit fazed if a tiger shark bit it in half (until it bled out).  Perhaps a low degree of Resistance might be more appropriate?  Something like Resist Shock +3 (common, 15; +3, x1/3) [5]

That's a lot of skills and honestly, I don't think they're priced properly.  If I recall correctly, +1 to a given skill is worth 2 CP, although I might be mistaken. I'd have to go hunting through books for the actual reference and am being lazy atm.  My other contention is similar to that with your mental/social traits - do ALL members of the race get this or just some?  I'd be more comfortable with either a "pick X points from the following list" or simply suggest common skills for members to take.

That's my two cents.  Do with them as you please.  :)

With the SM break point (4.5) right at the average I think it can go either way - or males aren't, females are. I should include a note though - this one's definitely going to be a player's call as to specific character since they'll commonly fall on either side.

Quirks do not count against it.

Basically, yeah, every member displays the traits. Rare exceptions from the norm might occur but they would need to essentially buy off the disad - they are in some way overcoming a great deal of cultural conditioning to which they were constantly exposed for 200 years, and which is subconsciously reinforced by their racial memories. This would also require backstory. On the other hand, the few who have descended from some of the ass-holes specifically responsible for the Kith War that didn't join in the Druewenh exile for some reason normally suffer more extreme Flashbacks and Nightmares as well.

I'm fine the High Pain Tolerance as written. They are pretty difficult to drop/incapacitate. The flip side is that Skinny maxes HT at 14.

Initial skill buy-in is always 1 CP - difficulty of course means that the relative skill level varies. These reflect an important part of "basic education." Again, deviation is possible but requires backstory.

Quote from: Snargash MoonclawInitial skill buy-in is always 1 CP - difficulty of course means that the relative skill level varies. These reflect an important part of "basic education." Again, deviation is possible but requires backstory.

So they all have a minimum of 1 point in the skill, not a +1 to the skill?  I think I misunderstood what you were going for.

Yeah, looks pretty good, then.  I'd just tack on a note about the SM options, so players are aware it exists.  Pretty cool stuff ya got going on.

Thanks. Yeah - the skill points simply mean that everyone has spent at least a little bit of time learning those things specifically.

I was initially thinking that the SM-1 was at 4 ft so figured there would be a few taking it, but most were just above it. At 4.5 it definitely needs the reminder, esp since what I gave was a general range and so the sexes will most frequently break on other side of the modifier. I had really been going for a different attitude from the normal elven trope, even though many of the trappings (magic, physique and weaponry, etc.) seem the same. When I was writing the flavor last year I felt I wasn't quite finding what I wanted, but looking through the Dis/Advantages, the potential implications of the whole Racial Memory concept gave me the piece I wanted. I'll need to work it into the flavor text in the wiki.