Traits/Abilities

[Naryzhud]

Thought it would be a good idea to have a consolidated list of Traits and Abilities we could refer to so we can avoid duplication and nomenclatural confusion. Feel free to add new ones/suggest changes to old ones and we can get them sorted and confirmed onto the list of 'official things'.

Just a few to get us started then

Abilities

Bite - Basic Melee Attack
Bite is a standard melee attack that deals 1d10 damage. For every level past the first gain +1 to hit and +1 to damage.

Latch On (Mandibles) - Special Melee Attack
Latch On allows a combatant to grapple an opponent even if it is more than 2 size categories larger than it. Once latched on, an insect will hit automatically with all bite attacks against the opponent it is latched on to and can use abilities that require Latch On in order to use. It cannot move from the spot it is latched onto however and loses half its Ag to defend against attacks aimed at it.

Heroic Latch On (Mandibles) - Heroic Special Melee Attack
As latch on except the combatant initiating the attack can run around on the larger combatant at will and does not lose any of its Ag bonus. If an attack against it is successful however, it must test Ag -1 for every point of damage received not to fall off.

Grapple (Mandibles) - Basic Melee Attack
You aggressively rush in and attempt to initiate a grapple with your mandibles. This can only be performed on creatures within 2 size categories of you. Opposed Agi roll. If you tie or have one degree of sucess, you are partially thwarted, and you enter a grapple situation, with no advantage as you lock mandibles. If the opponent does not have the grapple mandibles ability, or you attain 2 or more degrees of success, you enter a grapple with advantage, putting your opponent in a grapple with disadvantage. This represents you locking your mandibles around a leg or body part. If you're more then 2 size categories bigger, you always have grapple advantage.

Crush (Mandibles) - Special Melee Attack
If you are in a grapple with advantage, you may crush with your strength, and hurt your opponent this way. Deal Str bonus physical damage to your opponent.

Formic Spray (Thorax) - Special Melee Attack
A complex action that requires grapple advantage. Roll an opposed Fex check to see if you hit successfully. Damage is equal to your formic acid damage - Exo.

Hide - Stealth Move
Make an open Ag test against the opponents Int. If successful opponent cannot see you.

Traits

Formic Acid - Allows you to do damage with formic acid. Starts at d10 – 2 damage at level one. Each successive level is +1 damage.

Resistance to (X) - Creature is resistant to damage and ill effects caused by X and gains +1 to all rolls made to resist these for every level in Resistance.

Camouflage - Gain +1 to Hide checks for every point of Camouflage.


Just a few ideas to discuss and throw around. Some of these were shamelessly stolen from Quest Lord's post in the Combat thread btw.

[Quest Lord]

This seems very useful. Pinning this one up.

[Naryzhud]

This one is mostly for mantids and similar.

Meditate (1-3)

For every level of this ability, you gain +10 to hit on your next attack roll from ambush. For every +10 you get though, you have to spend a turn meditating in ambush before you strike. An insect with higher meditation rank can spend less time and get the attack at a lower bonus however.

So a mantis with Meditate (2) can spend 2 turns meditating and strike with +20 or spend 1 turn meditating and strike with +10.

[Naryzhud]

Grapple (legs) - identical to mandible version but would obviously allow bites to be used at the same time.

Fly - can fly at double your base speed

A flying insect that can grapple can pick up insects up to two sizes smaller with a successful grapple check and drop them to do fall damage as normal. At one smaller and above, they must take a STR check as well to be able to lift them with a penalty of 10 at equal and further ten for each size category larger up to two larger. Beyond this they are too large to pick up.

[Quest Lord]

Grapple (legs) - identical to mandible version but would obviously allow bites to be used at the same time.

But would disallow Crush (mandible) instead.

[Naryzhud]

Bombard (x) - (x) times per day can fire an AOE shot that does (xd10+5) damage to anything hit by it. Ag save for half damage.

@Quest Lord, exactly, perhaps have Grapple be a general skill and Crush require mandibles as a prerequisite for clarity?

[Quest Lord]

Bombard (x) - (x) times per day can fire an AOE shot that does (xd10+5) damage to anything hit by it. Ag save for half damage.

@Quest Lord, exactly, perhaps have Grapple be a general skill and Crush require mandibles as a prerequisite for clarity?

That's going to get out of control pretty quickly. Maybe make it 3 times per day to start with and allow a separate advance to up the number of shots? Something something, exponential power increases are hard to balance.

[Naryzhud]

Sure thing, we'll playtest it and see.

[Sasha]

"The playtest's the thing", huh?

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