Mythic Races
Fantasy Flight Games seems to be following suit after Sword & Sorcery Studios in producing D&D-audience targeted d20 hardbound supplements. FFG's first such book was the well-received Traps & Treachery, which focused on thieves' guilds, traps, and puzzles for the d20 system.
Their second book in this series is Mythic Races. Mythic Races is a hardbound book that introduces a variety of new races for player or GM use.
A First Look
Mythic Races is a 176-page hardbound book priced at $24.95 US. The cover is blue with a metal-bound tome motif. Like FFG's Traps & Treachery, the cover's appearance is uncomfortably close to that of the Dungeons & Dragons hardbound rulebooks. In this case, the book would be easily confused at a glance with the Dungeon Master's Guide and the Manual of the Planes.
The interior is black and white. The interior illustrations are generally very good. If you have Traps & Treachery, you should recognize the work of Eric Lofgren in the pages of Mythic Races. Jesper Ejsing and Kieran Yanner also contribute their talents to the book.
As with Traps & Treachery, the text density is fairly low, with large font, line spacing, and column spacing. As with other FFG d20 products, a large proportion of the book is devoted to ads and other promotional material. In the case of Mythic Races, there is a full-page Dragonstar ad and a 4-page product catalog.
A Deeper Look
Mythic Races features 27 new races in d20 format. The format of the races is fairly uniform. Each race has a general description and d20 statistics, including one or more prestige classes for each race. The general description includes an introduction, personality traits, physical description, relations with other races, alignment tendencies, lands, religion, languages, names, and tendencies of adventurers drawn from the race.
A brief overview of the races follows:
Aaleear: A race of diminutive artistic fey creatures. The aaleear are basically gnomes taken one step toward fairies. The included prestige class is aaleear enchanter, which has the ability to give items temporary enchantments. The aaleear enchanter has a botched progression table, and appears to be fairly weak unless you give it spell progression. As it stands, no spell progression is mentioned.
Anaema: The anaema are an essentially human race with one major difference: they are insubstantial, existing in a state halfway between material and incorporeal creatures. They do not use the d20 rules for incorporeal creatures, probably a step to keep the race more playable. They take only subdual damage from non-magical weapons, but must make Concentration checks to interact with corporeal objects. There is a feat that allows them to create special items that they may handle normally. The featured prestige class is the anaeman crafter, which is a spellcaster with a focus on item creation.
Animen: Animen are basically animal-headed humanoids. The text describes them as being planetouched, originating as a race from a plane of wild chaos tinged with benevolence. Despite calling the race planetouched, nowhere in the system text does it mention Animen being outsiders. Animen receive one animalistic ability owing to their heritage in addition to some standard bonuses. Animen have an ECL modifier of 3, which seems a little high for the abilities granted, especially if they are not considered outsiders. The prestige class for Animen is the animan atavist, which gains abilities to take the form of or conjure a representation of their aspect creature.
Artathi: Artathi are the first catlike race described in Mythic Races. The artathi are catlike humanoids. They are split into seven castes, each resembling one of seven great cat types: lion, tiger, puma, lynx, cheetah, leopard, and jaguar, plus an eighth separate type, the snow leopards. Each type has differing ability score modifiers and favored classes. So if you have been hankering to play a thundercat since your youth, this is your chance! The presented prestige class for the artathi is the chosen of Ba En Aset, religious champions chosen of their deity. They receive several paladin-like and spell-like abilities.
Blickish: Blickish are a planetouched race of people related to halflings. The blickish possess the ability to blink as the spell. The presented prestige class is the blickish infiltrator, which further develops their character's natural blink ability.
Coivald: The coivalds are another somewhat gnome-like race, with a bit more of a pronounced bent toward nature. The presented prestige class is the Green Mystic, a diving spellcasting class with the ability to read natural omens and call totem creatures.
The Curst: The curst are a race of humanlike creatures that are the victims of a divine curse. All curses bear some physical deformity. However, they are immune to the bestow curse spell and resistant to a number of other spells. The featured prestige class is the soulless, a desperate curst who bargains with outsiders to gain powers drawn from their affliction.
Eleti: The eleti are a race of intelligent skeletons. As banal as that sounds, they are actually fairly well done, and they are definitely among the neatest creatures in the book. An eleti reproduces by gathering energy into one of its own bones over a year, and then places that bone in an inanimate skeleton to give a new eleti birth. Eleti are subject to most of the influences that undead are affected by, but also share undead immunities. The featured prestige class is the eletum aemidum, which gains improved control over its undead abilities.
Fairies: Hopefully, this needs little explanation. Fairies are tiny butterfly-winged fey creatures. As with classical myth, there are two varieties of fairies: seelie and unseelie. In addition to the obvious abilities granted by their stature and wings, fairies receive natural invisibility ability, faerie fire ability, and a set of additional spell-like abilities that vary depending on whether the fairy is seelie of unseelie. The one aspect I found troubling is that all fairies receive d4 HD, regardless of class, which seems problematic and unbalanced. The presented prestige class is fairy dreamer, which is a spellcaster with spell-like abilities with regards to dreams.
Illonis: The illonis are another cursed human-like race of wanderers. The illonis are universally blind, but have an echosense ability. The featured prestige class is the illonis doomsinger, a class that sings haunting songs that can have harmful effects.
The Luminous: The luminous are humanoid beings with a close connection to the positive energy plane. Luminous have enhanced turning abilities, ability to shed light and resist necromancy spells, as well as access to feats that let them further use their racial abilities. The featured prestige class is the luminous lightbringer, which further sharpens the luminous racial abilities against evil foes.
Mhuintirrs: The mhuintirrs are shapechangers that may take on the form of jaguars. They are born in human forms but realize their shapeshifting heritage upon maturity. Mhuintirrs have access to a number of feats that allow them to better master their shapeshifting abilities. Their featured prestige class is the mhuintirr claw of the hunt, a class that focuses on stalking and hunting in the mhuintirr's alternate form.
Niomus: The niomus are a race of bat-winged humanoids that dwell on windswept peaks. The featured prestige class is the niomus windweaver, a spellcaster that has enhanced mastery over air and electricity based spells.
Ooloi: The ooloi are friendly amphibious race of people that dwell primarily in the sea. The featured prestige class is the ooloi journeyman, a divine spellcaster specializing in diplomacy.
Pevishan: The pevishan are a race of humanoid creatures that are touched by the essence of arcane magic. Each pevishan has a birth school corresponding to one of the eight schools of magic in d20. In addition to hair color and markings, the birth school determines the nature of the pevishan's spell-like abilities. The featured prestige class is the pevishan spell siphon, whose abilities build a closer connection with the nature of the arcane and eventually grant them the ability to absorb spells.
Quissians: The quissians are a reptilian warrior race. The featured prestige class is the quissian blademaster, a combat oriented class with the ability to strike with great precision.
Rezurbeks: Rezurbeks are a short, muscular, hairy race of uncivilized brutes that can rage as a racial ability. I guess you can call them "more half-orc than half-orc." The featured prestige class is the rezurbek buerin, rezurbek champions that essentially become wereboars.
Rhonians: The rhonians are a race of wingless bird-like creatures. The are very diplomatic in nature, receiving bonuses to skill checks involved in influencing others. The featured prestige class is the rhonian emissary, which gains abilities enhancing their roles as diplomats and bodyguards.
Rhoode: The rhoode are servants of the rhonians and physically resemble toad-like humanoids. Rhoodes are laborers by nature and receive skill bonuses to that end. The featured prestige class is the rhoode recorder, which gains abilities enhancing their secretarial role.
Risen Demon: The idea behind the risen demons is fairly straightforward: fiends that have somehow come to turn their back on the twisted ways of their kind. These creatures are stripped of their power and banished to the land of men. Risen demons appears as humans with some diabolical traits that reflect their heritage. Risen demons are treated as outsiders, and for the purposes of spells and effects they are treated as both their true alignment and the alignment opposite to it. There are two featured prestige classes for the risen demon: the risen avenger and the risen redeemer. The risen avenger can sacrifice bits of their own demonic essence to improve their combat capabilities. The risen redeemer can channel their own demonic essence to heal others instead.
Sendasti: The sendasti are a desert dwelling humanoid race that only looks vaguely human. They have a special hardiness and skill bonuses that enhance their ability to survive the desert environment. The featured prestige class is the sendasti windmaster, a master of desert survival who is also very handy with a blade.
Siarrans: The siarrans are a gentle artistic race of four-armed humanoids. As they advance in level, they may select feats that allow them to take advantage of their extra arms. The featured prestige class is the siarran bladedancer, who develops the art of fighting with all arms.
Sktak: The Sktak are a race of bulky humanoids with scaly skin. They are hardy, resistant to heat, and proficient in mounted combat. The featured prestige class is the sktak windrider, mounted holy warriors with some spellcasting ability.
Stonegrunts: Stonegrunts are a race of creatures that appear to be made of stone and were originally brought to life by the dwarves. They are strong and resilient (with racial damage reduction) but none too dexterous. The featured prestige class is the siege grunt. The siege grunts are specialized in the defense of fortifications.
Tremen: Tremen are a race of intelligent mobile plants with the likeness of trees. They have the plant creature type. Their featured prestige class is the forest guardian, a divine spellcasting class charged with defending the forest and capable of calling for its aid.
Uthuk Y'llan: If you have purchased a number of the FFGs Legends & Lairs instant adventures, you will already be familiar with the Uthuk Y'llan. The Uthuk Y'llan are the brutal followers of the dark goddess Y'llan. They appear as large humans that often have bone spurs protruding from their bodies. The featured prestige class is the Uthuk Qi'nok, a very powerful (probably too powerful) arcane spellcasting class that has fighter-type BAB advancement, full spellcasting advancement, and a decent set of class abilities.
Vermen: The vermen are a malicious race of insect headed humanoid creatures created and since forgotten by a demon lord. Vermen receive the ability to disguise themselves as humans with illusions, as well as having the qualities of vermin and one ability from a list owing to their vermin nature. The featured prestige class for the vermen is the vermen corrupter. The vermen corrupter gains abilities to spread disease, poison, and other maladies.
Summary and Conclusions
There are a variety of good ideas in here, and alternate races for general use is a topic that has not been covered extensively in any other product, so the market is definitely there. There is some very good writing in Mythic Races. Some ideas I did not find too innovative or interesting, but I imagine that there is something in here for nearly any GM. However, I imagine that most GMs will not be able to use more than a few of the races.
As the various races are by different authors, there is some overlap in ideas. For example, there are multiple reptilian races, multiple fey races, multiple cursed races, and so on. Also owing to the variety of authors, the balance along with d20 rules and conventions compliance also vary wildly. Many of the prestige classes seem well conceived and well balanced. Others deviate in a variety of ways, including editing errors and nonstandard or erroneous save and BAB progressions. Some races seem as if they are missing elements such as race designation other than humanoid, and many races have an ECL that seems to be incorrect for the power that they are given - in many cases, it is actually too conservative.
-Alan D. Kohler
Go to forum!
(Due to spamming, old forum discussions are no linked.)