Request - Shumi race

[Marc_Wilkinson]

Now I know this has more than likely been brought up before but how about making Shumi as a playable race? Then, you can have Moomba as a racial archetype for it as they are a devolved state of the Shumi. Thoughts?

[Kaiser6012]

Hmmm...

The Shumi could be a thing - it'd be a bit difficult justifying, as the race is (from what I recall of FF8) rather pacifistic and insular, but by the same token we've got Nu Mou and Viera, don't we?

That being said, racial archetype is, I feel, not the best way to go about the whole Moomba issue. Indeed, the roleplaying ramifications of playing a Moomba are not to be taken lightly. I would probably just say a blanket "no" on the possibility of playing a Moomba, making them a monster with sentience unless the player had an airtight story concept.

Actually, that's got me thinking...

Shumi
Insular, enigmatic, inscrutable... the Shumi have been described as all these and more. Skilled artisans, inventors and artists, the Shumi live solitary lives away from the rest of the world, mostly in hermetically sealed villages that can differ wildly from the outside environs. It is not unheard of, for example, to find a Shumi tribe living in a lush forest pod, complete with springs and complex ecospheres, within the frigid tundra of the far north.

Their personality goes towards the humble. A Shumi that lives within a tribe possesses no name, but instead bears a title that indicates their occupation. It is not uncommon to find Shumi named "stone-cutter" or "apprentice smith" within a village. Those who leave, though, have been known to take on names for varying reasons. If a Shumi leaves a village, they find their industrious, focused outlook on life can carry them far in life on the outside.

Rumors of their more jovial nature, in particular their love of practical jokes at the expense of others, is unsubstantiated.

Racial Traits
Medium: As medium creatures, Shumi recieve no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Shumi base land speed is 30 ft.
+2 DEX, +2 INT, -2 CON: Shumi are well renowned for their skill at working machines and artistic materials, both in invention and implementation. They have the insight to invent a machine and the deft hands to maintain it. However, their physique is not cut out for strenuous activity and they, in general, tend towards being portly rather than athletic.

Skill Focus (Craft): A Shumi takes to their chosen profession unlike many others. Only the most skilled of craftsmen can match the Shumi's work. The Shumi gain the Skill Focus feat for a single Craft skill for free at 1st level.

Portly: Though the Shumi are not good at physical exertion, their physiology allows for some measure of protection against physical harm. Their CON score is treated as 2 higher for the purposes of determining bonus hit points per level.

Magically Attuned: Though there is no acknowledgement of this from the Shumi Tribes, it seems they have a peculiar gift for harnessing latent magical powers, whether through weapons infused with magicite or through familiartiy with some of the more powerful magics in the land. A Shumi can choose a single spell of first level from any base class that they may apply to any class spell list. In effect, the Shumi "knows" this spell no matter what class they are. This ability does not grant the Shumi MP, merely the ability to cast it should they find a way to gain MP.

Evolutionary Aspiration: Through time, a Shumi goes through a process of metamorphosis, whereby their unique physiology changes depending on various (currently unknown) factors. Most aspire to metamorphose into the creature known as Moomba, friendly little creatures with striking red manes that resemble bipedal cats of about TaruTaru size. In this vein, most Shumi seek to emulate their friendly, trusting nature. When a Shumi aids another, they grant a bonus of +3 instead of the normal +2.

Alternate Racial Abilities

Materia Attuned: As some Shumi stone cutters and jewelers have found, working materia can be just as easy for them as working a fine gemstone. If chosen, a Shumi with Materia Attuned always treats Use Materia as a class skill, and gain a +2 to Use Materia for the purpose of determining caster level. This ability replaces Magically Attuned.

Magitech Attuned: Shumi artificers are spectacular at their jobs, and most find the blending of magic and machine somewhat more accessible than most. Shumi that take Magitech Attuned gain Magitech Proficiency as a bonus feat. This ability replaces Magically Attuned.

Mana Attuned: Shumi, either through their mastery of terraforming or through their reflective, almost zen existence, find themselves nexi to more powerful magics than some other races, though this is not by any means a common occurrence. Shumi that are Mana Attuned treat their spellcasting stat or stats as being 2 higher for the purpose of determining bonus MP. This ability replaces Portly.

Elder Shumi: The elder shumi, an evolved member of the Shumi tribe, act as the main leader and diplomat to their tribes and to those who seek their aid. As such, they have become used to dealing with people and are more apt at negotiations than most other Shumi. This ability grants a +2 bonus to Diplomacy and allows the Shumi to make a Perception or Sense Motive check (Their choice) against a target's Bluff check upon first meeting the target in a social situation. If successful, the Shumi has taken the measure of the target and knows how to make a good first impression, making the initial reaction to the Shumi (and any associated companions) one step higher than normal: Hostile people become unfriendly, unfriendly people become indifferent, etc. If the Shumi knows about the target beforehand (through rumours, firsthand accounts or prior observation of the target) they gain a +2 circumstance bonus to the roll. This ability cannot move a starting disposition above friendly. This ability replaces the Skill Focus (Craft) and Evolutionary Aspiration abilities.

Emotional Evolution: Though most Shumi evolve into forms that either emulate their beloved Moomba or a form that helps the tribe, some take a turn towards the darker and more selfish side to their nature. In time, their body grows to reflect this change, becoming more grotesque as their corruption grows. A Shumi with this ability takes a -2 penalty to DEX and STR as their body becomes even more bloated and corpulent on the negative mindset, but gain a +2 to an ability of their choice as they become more able to carry out their desires. This ability replaces Evolutionary Aspiration and Portly abilities.

...Eh? Eh? What do you think? I just knocked it together, but from what I recall of the Shumi it seems to fit.

EDIT: Brought the stat bonuses in line with Pathfinder standard by giving them a con penalty.

[Thimacek]

I suppose the suggested rules for the Shumi are in keeping with the 3.5 version of the game, not the Pathfinder version, right?

[Kaiser6012]

Well, the +2 to two stats and the bonuses tried to keep in line with the Pathfinder modifications. Yes, they are restricted in their choice of Skill Focus as a feat, but they gain something very few races have in the second feature - choice. That's a powerful thing for a race to get, so I figured Skill Focus kinda fits the skill bonus of humes, and the choice of tasty bonus abilities/bonus feats as... well, the feat.

Still, not entirely sure about the balance. Race creation isn't my strong suit. Too weak?

[Thimacek]

Well, the +2 to two stats and the bonuses tried to keep in line with the Pathfinder modifications. Yes, they are restricted in their choice of Skill Focus as a feat, but they gain something very few races have in the second feature - choice. That's a powerful thing for a race to get, so I figured Skill Focus kinda fits the skill bonus of humes, and the choice of tasty bonus abilities/bonus feats as... well, the feat.

Still, not entirely sure about the balance. Race creation isn't my strong suit. Too weak?

In fact, the races in the Pathfinder version are back to +2 to two stats, -2 to one (or alternatively +2 to a single chosen stat, in the case of Humes). The Aegyl even have +2 to 2, -2 to 2, for a total of +0 (I suppose that comes as a tradeoff for their flying).

The only race which can get +2 to 2 stats without penalties are the Humes themselves, by choosing an alternate class feature which substitute both the bonus Skill points and the Bonus Feat. So, +2 to two stats plus bonuses is fairly overpowered as things are right now.

Have you checked the Races part of the website as of now? Vil had a nice idea of including alternate class features for all races for the Pathfinder version, and also favoured class bonuses. Perhaps you could include some extra abilities and keep the options you devised as alternate class features? I feel that might fit!

[Kaiser6012]

Point 1 (the stats): Very true. I've modified that, so we'll see how that goes.

Point 2: Also, rather true. I've not really examined the website too much (been having waaaay too much fun deconstructing most of the stuff in the PFD, to be honest) so I'll give that a go over.

One of the big problems lies with the scarcity of source material - apart from NORG and a completely missable sidequest, the Shumi don't really have much screen time. That being said... I'll go over it and re-edit, see if I can't come up with anything else.

EDIT: Redone the Shumi somewhat. I've added some abilities based on their cultural outlook to the Moomba, made most of the Attunement abilities optionals and made some alternate racial features based on the Shumi Elder and Master NORG.

[Nihilarian]

Interesting.

Magically Attuned: "Any level they have innate knowledge of."? At character creation they should only have access to 1st level spells. Can you retrain this at higher levels? If so, this is a ridiculous racial ability. Permanent access to a single first level spell would be more balanced.

Mana Attuned: I think this should replace Portly, rather than Magically Attuned.

Everything else looks pretty good.

[Kaiser6012]

Hmmm... I was kinda basing the magically attuned off the whole "we have access to the most powerful draw point of the most powerful spell in existence" as a baseline and going from there. But, as you said, it's kinda covered by the Mana Attuned. You're right. Editing now.

As for portly, though... hrmm... those racial abilities were to reflect the disparate attitudes Shumi have to magic. NORG went in heavy for the Magitech, some seem to have a grasp of magic and some others work magical artefacts like nothing else. I'm not so keen on replacing portly as all of them seem to share that physiological trait, but if it's just an option...

I'll give it some thought. It's 1 AM here and I fear I need to get some sleep soon

[Nihilarian]

As I recall, the elder was tall and thin, right? And I don't think the regular shumi were all that broad either. I think it was just Norg.

Regardless, you can still have a portly, magitech attuned shumi. Mana attuned just seems like it should replace Portly, rather than Magically attuned.

[Kaiser6012]

True. I had forgotten.
Welp, that pretty much settles that. I'll polish it up and hope that the OP likes what I've done. Thank you for the help, Nihil and Thimac - it wouldn't be nearly as polished as it is now without your input.

[Marc_Wilkinson]

Wow. I completely missed this. Sorry for the lateness of posting everyone, I've been busy as of late. I love the look of the Shumi, Kaiser, only thing I feel that they should get a knowledge bonus of some sorts. What you think?

Also, I wonder if Vil would add this to the main site (wink wink)

[Kaiser6012]

Maybe, but they never struck me as particularly studious. Industrious, definitely (hence the Skill Focus bonus feat) and possibly a little bit mystical but not outstandingly academic. A race so skilled in biotech needed to get help from an outsider to design a holographic display, after all.

Still, with a class that has the option to go +4 to INT with the right racial variants, there's definitely nothing stopping you from playing it that way just by dint of super-high skill ranks. They make great Engineers, but black magic or Sagacity works just as well.

One thing I'm not 100% sold on, though, is portly - it doesn't quite encapsulate what it's meant to do. Perhaps somewhere down the line I'll change it to Stocky or Hearty, but for now it does it's purpose. I'm glad you like it, and I apologize that I have not done anything for the Moombas. Maybe a little down the line I'll do a monster-esque writeup for them, but that will have to wait for another day.

[Marc_Wilkinson]

Thank you again for doing this, Kaiser. Take your time with Moombas. I do have this to say about them though, they are intelligent enough to be able to learn single words so maybe a playable race is possible for them.