Post by Kirikami on Aug 7, 2011 14:37:01 GMT -5
Drifters are not a single race. They can hail from any species capable of evolution and adaptation, which have self awareness on the humanoid level. The ocean of Stars is vast and deep in all of it's directions. Drifters thrive, no, excel at living in space just by their very nature.
They have some sort of underlying insight of the universe, and how space works. They are those of any race who can 'look into the warp' and intuit the right controls to successfully travel without the aid of on-board computers.
Drifters are outcasts, the races they left behind are but a small lining in the frame of their being. Such people would rather be in space than on a planet, and finds settling down on terrestrial worlds impossible as their wanderlust cannot be sated. This by no means makes them unable to survive on a planet, this just means they are out of their element and in an uncomfortable area even for the most hardy of Drifters.
Every Drifter has a noticeably Supernatural feature about them. This ranges between a gentle glow to their eyes, to skin of colors widely different from their home species. Some Drifters have extremely long and sharp noses, while others might even have a third eye. Whatever is the case it's between DM and player if it's any more than aesthetics- this template assumes that it's not.
Any Humanoid, Monstrous Humanoid, Giant, Dragon and any other conceivable creature that has a Mind and is Living. Constructs, even living constructs do not have the evolutionary capability to become Drifters, and can have their own calculation engines for Intuiting Warp Travel.
Size Type: Size stays the same, but Large or Larger creatures can shrink down one size to better fit the vehicles of space, losing only the penalties and benefits gained by size. The Base Creature's Type stays the same, but gains the [Drifter] Subtype.
Hit Dice: Up by one die size. If a Drifter already has d12 as their class hit die, every d12 get's a +1 bonus for rolling hit points.
Speed: All terrestrial speeds stay the same. All relevant speeds increase by 10 ft when in a non-terrestrial environment. This includes space stations and when operating in a vacuum. (This does not increase the speed of the 'Cosmic Wings' special quality.)
Armor Class: Drifters get a +4 Dodge Bonus to AC while in a vacuum, and never have to take actions to orient themselves in space, thus against attacks while in a vacuum. This means that any attack made upon the Drifter in space does not instantly catch him flat-footed for not being oriented.
Special Attacks: Andromeda's Blessing
Special Qualities: Wings of the Cosmos, Intuit Warp, Astral Endurance, Terrestrial Discomfort. Star Sight
Abilities: As Base Race
Skills: All Drifters have the Navigate and Perception Compound Skills as class skills for all of their hit die, as well as Knowledge (Astrology), (Astronomy), (Astro-Cartography).
Environment: Deep Space, Usually on board a space station, a Starship- as well as their home planet.
Level Adjustment: Pay as you go.
Explained:
Andromeda's Blessing (Su):
Drifters get a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls while in a vacuum or another non-terrestrial environment. This bonus applies even while piloting a Mech/Valkrei or a Starship in the same conditions.
Wings of the Cosmos (Su):
While in a vacuum, a Drifter has the uncanny ability to orient herself (As stated above) in space, and just as much has the uncanny ability to Fly through space like it was the air. Drifters in a vacuum have a fly speed equivalent to twice their walk speed with Perfect maneuverability.
Intuit Warp:
A Drifter may Inuit a course through space using a system's Warp Drive and the Navigate Skill. The Drifter must know loosely where he wishes to end up, like 'The Andromeda Galaxy', or 'The Terra Solar System', whether it is through Star-maps with fair details or from being in that system before. The DC for such a check is equal to the follow;
Never been, no map: DC 45
Never been, Star map, low detail: 40
Never been, Star map, moderate detail: 35
Never been, Star Map, High detail: 30
Been, no map: DC 35
Been, Star map, low detail: 30
Been, Star map, moderate detail: 25
Been, Star Map, High detail: 20
Being very familiar with an area subtracts another 5 from the DC. If a non-drifter can do the calculations (Have at least 5 Ranks in Knowledge (Engineering) and Knowledge (Astronomy)), using a Star Map, the DC increases by 10 overall and may call for time and rolls. A non-drifter without a star map cannot intuit warp, and instantly fails the check, leaving the fate of the ship in the hands of the story.
Astral Endurance:
Drifters are acclimated to surviving in the vacuum of space. They gave a +4 bonus to fortitude saves involving surviving such an environment as well as Survival checks. Examples being: Saves to hold breath, saves to keep conscious, saves to face 'space sickness', saves for resisting the harmful effects of open space, etc. This ability counts as the feat Endurance for the sake of pre-requisites.
Terrestrial Discomfort:
While a drifter is on a terrestrial body (A planet like Earth or similar) they are always ill-at ease to some degree. Charisma Based checks made to gather information take a -4 penalty, and Survival Checks made to track and read whether take a -2 penalty. Drifters take a -2 penalty on Knowledge Checks regarding creatures who live only on planets, or any similar terrestrial environment.
Example: Tiger, Nature, -2. Astral Kraken, Arcana, no penalty.
Star Sight (Su, Ex):
All Drifters can see through the nocturne of space with the ambient starlight all around them. This starlight permeates all of the universe, and allows the Drifter to see like it was a clear day on a planet. While on a Terrestrial Body, this translates into Darkvision 60ft (Ex).
Pay as you go:
A Drifter does not instantly take a levle adjustment. Drifters take a 20% XP penalty when they gain XP. The penalty amount is added into a pool, until it reaches 1000 Xp. When that number is filled, the 20% penalty is removed for the remainder of the Drifter's life.
They have some sort of underlying insight of the universe, and how space works. They are those of any race who can 'look into the warp' and intuit the right controls to successfully travel without the aid of on-board computers.
Drifters are outcasts, the races they left behind are but a small lining in the frame of their being. Such people would rather be in space than on a planet, and finds settling down on terrestrial worlds impossible as their wanderlust cannot be sated. This by no means makes them unable to survive on a planet, this just means they are out of their element and in an uncomfortable area even for the most hardy of Drifters.
Every Drifter has a noticeably Supernatural feature about them. This ranges between a gentle glow to their eyes, to skin of colors widely different from their home species. Some Drifters have extremely long and sharp noses, while others might even have a third eye. Whatever is the case it's between DM and player if it's any more than aesthetics- this template assumes that it's not.
Drifter Template
Any Humanoid, Monstrous Humanoid, Giant, Dragon and any other conceivable creature that has a Mind and is Living. Constructs, even living constructs do not have the evolutionary capability to become Drifters, and can have their own calculation engines for Intuiting Warp Travel.
Size Type: Size stays the same, but Large or Larger creatures can shrink down one size to better fit the vehicles of space, losing only the penalties and benefits gained by size. The Base Creature's Type stays the same, but gains the [Drifter] Subtype.
Hit Dice: Up by one die size. If a Drifter already has d12 as their class hit die, every d12 get's a +1 bonus for rolling hit points.
Speed: All terrestrial speeds stay the same. All relevant speeds increase by 10 ft when in a non-terrestrial environment. This includes space stations and when operating in a vacuum. (This does not increase the speed of the 'Cosmic Wings' special quality.)
Armor Class: Drifters get a +4 Dodge Bonus to AC while in a vacuum, and never have to take actions to orient themselves in space, thus against attacks while in a vacuum. This means that any attack made upon the Drifter in space does not instantly catch him flat-footed for not being oriented.
Special Attacks: Andromeda's Blessing
Special Qualities: Wings of the Cosmos, Intuit Warp, Astral Endurance, Terrestrial Discomfort. Star Sight
Abilities: As Base Race
Skills: All Drifters have the Navigate and Perception Compound Skills as class skills for all of their hit die, as well as Knowledge (Astrology), (Astronomy), (Astro-Cartography).
Environment: Deep Space, Usually on board a space station, a Starship- as well as their home planet.
Level Adjustment: Pay as you go.
Explained:
Andromeda's Blessing (Su):
Drifters get a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls while in a vacuum or another non-terrestrial environment. This bonus applies even while piloting a Mech/Valkrei or a Starship in the same conditions.
Wings of the Cosmos (Su):
While in a vacuum, a Drifter has the uncanny ability to orient herself (As stated above) in space, and just as much has the uncanny ability to Fly through space like it was the air. Drifters in a vacuum have a fly speed equivalent to twice their walk speed with Perfect maneuverability.
Intuit Warp:
A Drifter may Inuit a course through space using a system's Warp Drive and the Navigate Skill. The Drifter must know loosely where he wishes to end up, like 'The Andromeda Galaxy', or 'The Terra Solar System', whether it is through Star-maps with fair details or from being in that system before. The DC for such a check is equal to the follow;
Never been, no map: DC 45
Never been, Star map, low detail: 40
Never been, Star map, moderate detail: 35
Never been, Star Map, High detail: 30
Been, no map: DC 35
Been, Star map, low detail: 30
Been, Star map, moderate detail: 25
Been, Star Map, High detail: 20
Being very familiar with an area subtracts another 5 from the DC. If a non-drifter can do the calculations (Have at least 5 Ranks in Knowledge (Engineering) and Knowledge (Astronomy)), using a Star Map, the DC increases by 10 overall and may call for time and rolls. A non-drifter without a star map cannot intuit warp, and instantly fails the check, leaving the fate of the ship in the hands of the story.
Astral Endurance:
Drifters are acclimated to surviving in the vacuum of space. They gave a +4 bonus to fortitude saves involving surviving such an environment as well as Survival checks. Examples being: Saves to hold breath, saves to keep conscious, saves to face 'space sickness', saves for resisting the harmful effects of open space, etc. This ability counts as the feat Endurance for the sake of pre-requisites.
Terrestrial Discomfort:
While a drifter is on a terrestrial body (A planet like Earth or similar) they are always ill-at ease to some degree. Charisma Based checks made to gather information take a -4 penalty, and Survival Checks made to track and read whether take a -2 penalty. Drifters take a -2 penalty on Knowledge Checks regarding creatures who live only on planets, or any similar terrestrial environment.
Example: Tiger, Nature, -2. Astral Kraken, Arcana, no penalty.
Star Sight (Su, Ex):
All Drifters can see through the nocturne of space with the ambient starlight all around them. This starlight permeates all of the universe, and allows the Drifter to see like it was a clear day on a planet. While on a Terrestrial Body, this translates into Darkvision 60ft (Ex).
Pay as you go:
A Drifter does not instantly take a levle adjustment. Drifters take a 20% XP penalty when they gain XP. The penalty amount is added into a pool, until it reaches 1000 Xp. When that number is filled, the 20% penalty is removed for the remainder of the Drifter's life.
