Tuesday, August 5, 2014

New BX/LL Class: Cats (Type B Intelligent Animal)

The following is meant to be what I call a "Type B" intelligent animal (which are slightly anthropomorphic, as opposed to the "Type A" versions which are simply talking versions of the normal animal type). If you've missed the previous two posts, so far I've done wolverines and foxes.

Cats

Level Title Exp. Points Hit Dice
1 Bluffer 0 1d4
2 Hoaxer 1,600 2d4
3 Pretender 3,200 3d4
4 Pettifogger 6,500 4d4
5 Charlatan 13,000 5d4
6 Mountebank 26,000 6d4

Unlike foxes who tend to be conniving tricksters (with their own personal goals in mind), cats tend toward being “helpful” tricksters, often lending their manipulative and brazen personalities to aid others in finding success.

The prime requisite for a cat is Dexterity. Cats with a Dexterity of 13 or greater will gain a +10% bonus to earned experience points.

RESTRICTIONS: Cats determine their hit points using four-sided dice (d4). They may advance to a maximum of 6th level of experience. Cats may may not use armor and they may not use shields (as either of them tends to hinder many of the cat’s natural abilities). Though cats generally prefer to use swords, they may use any weapon of normal or small size, but may not use long bows or two-handed swords. A cat character may not have a strength score higher than 12.

SPECIAL ABILITIES: Cats fight and save as thieves of the same level. Cats may use any type of magic item (except armor, shields, or weapons not permitted to them) and may use any type of scroll, including those bearing either cleric or magic user spells. A cat also possesses the following abilities (which all begin at first level):

Sneak: This is akin to both a thief’s ability to move silently and hide in shadows, permitting a cat to do both at the same time. Additionally, if a cat strikes unnoticed from behind, he or she does so with a +3 “to hit” and damage bonus on the attack.

Climb: This ability permits a cat to climb sheer surfaces. A check for success must be made every 100'. If the check fails, the cat will fall from a distance halfway up the surface.

Fall: Due to an uncanny sense of balance, cats are able to reduce the amount of damage they incur from falling. For each experience level, the cat ignores 10' of falling damage, and only takes 1d6 per 20' of falling damage. For example, a 3rd level cat falling 90' would ignore 30' of falling damage, and only take 3d6 damage from the other 60' of falling.

Catwalk: This ability permits a cat move across very narrow surfaces at their normal movement rate (even with running/fleeing). The cat is able to walk across the indicated width for their level without any chance of falling.

Dodge: Cats are able to attempt to dodge any hand-thrown weapon (including daggers, darts, and slings). On any successful “to hit” roll made agains the cat with this type of attack, if the cat rolls the indicated percentage or less, the strike is completely avoided. The DM should use his or her discretion as to where the strike will land if the cat successfully dodges the attack (e.g., it might hit a character or creature standing behind the cat). This ability does not work against bows or crossbows.

Sympathy: A cat is able to protrude his or her eyeballs slightly, making them seem larger and “sad,” in an attempt to gain sympathy from another character or creature. After any undesirable reaction roll, the cat may use this ability against the creature or character in question, forcing the DM to re-roll the reaction roll with a bonus equal to the level of the cat. The cat is able to use this ability a number of times a day equal to his or her level. For example, a 4th level cat may use this ability 4 times a day, gaining a +4 bonus on the reaction roll each time it is used.

Nine Lives: All cats begin with nine lives. Should a cat lose a number of hit points such that the character would be dead, all of the cat’s hit points are immediately restored, and the number of extra lives possessed by the cat is reduced by one.

Cat's Abilities
Cat's LevelSneakClimbFallCatwalkDodge
155%85%10'4"65%
265%90%20'3"75%
375%94%30'2"85%
485%97%40'1"90%
595%98%50'3/4"95%
699%99%60'1/2"99%



3 comments:

  1. The Nine Lives ability is rather clever. I also like how they can use lots of magical items besides weapons and armor, but they are not actually spell casters.

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