I will soon wrap up my
Warhammer 40K: Wrath & Glory campagin and move onto running
Lamentation of the Flame Princess. Not surprisingly, it will be set in a weird-fantasy version of Europe at the height of the 30 Years War. Originally I planned on including Dwarves and Elves, describing them as remnants of pagan faerie empires or whatever. I soon decided, though, that while I wanted to keep the demihuman classes I wanted to make them different from the classic fantasy standbys. Reskinning was the way to go--keep the classses mechincally the same (or with slight tweaks) and change all the fluff.
Changing the Halfling to the Outlander was my least creative change. A lot of people have turned the Halfling into some kind of ranger or explorer class. Their bonuses with ranged weapons and natural woodland abilities make this easy. I decided to stick with the precendent and make them "Outlanders," often Native American or African tribesmen, but also buckskinners or mountain men. Mostly, I just thought Mani in
Brotherhood of the Wolf was always cool.
For the Dwarf, I still wanted to keep the class hardy and crafty. If I could inject some Hollow Earth weirndess into their subterranean kingdoms, all the better. Molemen were the obvious choice. They are heavily inspired (that is, lifted almost directly) by mole-men John Hodgman writes of in
More Information Than You Require. This is not the first time I've stolen his
Molemen.
For Elves, I chose to turn them into Serpentblood. I've always loved the Yuan-Ti in D&D, and I've always been fascinated/amused by the hidden reptilian masters of UFO lore. Of course, the Snake Men of Valusia and King Kull were also an influence. These are all the same reasons I brought the Sneaky Snakes into
Hobomancer. Also I'm pretty sure Selena from the core LotFP cast is supposed to be half-snake or something. Anyway, replacing elves with decendants of extra-dimensional reptilian sorcerer kings lets me add some weird conspiracy stuff to the campaign.
Here, then, are the class write-ups...
Outlanders
Outlanders are warriors and survivalists
specialized for operating in the wilderness and on the frontier--the lands outside supposed "civilization." Many outlanders are from places that
Europeans would disparagingly call “primitive”—often uncolonized America or Africa. Some European frontiersmen also qualify as Outlanders (your
mountain man or buckskinner types).
The Outlander is a reskin of the LotFP
Halfling class. In most ways they function identically to that class, except
that they have no restriction on weapon sizes and only receive the +1 bonus to
AC if they are lightly encumbered or less.
Molemen
Molemen are hideous subterranean humanoids with hunched
bodies, withered, rodent-like faces, translucent skin, and borderline-heretical
beliefs in liberal democracy. They can pass for ugly, stunted humans. Most
people just assume they are foreigners from whatever country their homeland
hates the most (“Beady eyes, weird teeth… the man’s obviously Welsh”). Molemanic women are just as hideous as their menfolk. High-ranking
Molemen often wear powdered wigs. Molemen will introduce this fashion to European
nobility in the latter half of the 17th century.
Molemen
possess a sophisticated culture and civilization deep below the Earth that
values industry and learnedlness. Molemanic societies are sexually
egalitarian and comprise some of the few functional democracies in these
benighted times. Sadly, these subterranean republics are currently experiencing
some unspoken catastrophe. Many exiles and refugees have made their way to the
surface world. In 1825, the Molemen will form an alliance with the American president, John
Quincy Adams, who well lend them aid and arms in an attempt to reclaim the Hollow Earth.
Mechanically, Molemen are a reskin of the LotFP Dwarf class
and function exactly like that class, including combat options and carrying
capacity. In my campaign, I have gotten rid of the Architecture skill. Dwarves (and Molemen by extension) replace it with
Tinkering.
Serpentblood
Serpentblood are descendants
of the extradimensional reptilians that once ruled the Earth from the lost
empire of Valusia, back when mankind was young. Modern serpentblood little
resemble their ophidian forbearers, but often grow more snake-like as they grow
in power. Serpentblood are normally raised unaware of their heritage, and the
xenogenetic traits often skip several generations. Around puberty, a newly
awakened serpentblood is visited in their dreams by their reptilian
ancestors, who make them aware of their alien birthrights and direct them
towards other of their kin for training. As decendants of alien sorcerer-kings,
all serpentblood have a natural talent for magic and combat. Awakened
serpentblood have several conclaves hidden in the jungles of South America and
central Asia, as well as Greece and the mountains of Romania.
Mechanically, Serpentblood are a reskin of the LotFP Elf
class. In most respects they function
exactly like that class, including spellcasting and combat ability. They are
chaotic in alignment and share the same vulnerability to holy water and the
like. Their natural Search ability is
due to their semi-functional jacobson’s organs. Serpentblood often become more
snakelike as they grow in power. At 2nd level and each level
thereafter, roll a Save vs. Magic (using the saves for the new level). If the roll
fails, roll 1d8 on the chart below to determine what serpentine trait
manifests. Repeated instances become more pronounced.
1. Eyes become snakelike with slitted pupils.
2. Tongue grows longer and forked.
3. Pigmentation becomes mottled or banded like a snake.
4. Character grows a thin (non-prehensile) tail.
5. Character loses all body hair.
6. Skin becomes scaly
7. Character develops a taste for small birds and rodents, preferably live and whole.
8. Teeth become sharp and fang-like.
I might lose some of my (questionable)
OSR cred here, but I like meta-currency. I like Bennies, I like Fate
Points, I like Yum Yums, I even like Inspiration. I like letting my
players have that little bit of “oomph” to spend when they really
need it or when they're doing something personally important. Back
in my Rules Cyclopedia game, I successfully grafted on Aspects and Fate Points, and when I ran Stars Without
Number, I used Jeff Rient's Big Purple d30 rule to good effect, so I
know it works. Also it makes my players happy, and that's not a bad
thing, right?
