Blackgill: Lizardman PC special ability question

Blackgill: Lizardman PC special ability question

Ridiculossus 02 Aug 2012 17:57

Lizardmen can attack with their natural weapons, their teeth and claws for d6 damage—
can anybody think of a decent combat special ability to offset the fact that:

• my natural AC is 5, so I'll be hit a lot, with no chance at magic armor or a shield
• my strength is unexceptional. In fact, all my stats have no bonuses except for con.

Some possibilities:
Blackgill Strong! Blackgill hits +1 hit/damage, like most lizardmen.
Blackgill Fierce! +2 hit/damage with natural weapons only.
Claw/Claw/Bite each attack does 1d6, if any of these is a natural 20, they can crit.

• If Blackgill hits, check if number rolled + level = 20+, if so roll again for second claw attack
• If second claw hits, check if number rolled + level = 20+, if so roll again for bite attack
• If bite hits, roll one last time, if number rolled + level = 20+ bite stays lodged, doing damage next round.

Whaddya guys think? I like the last one, if only because it hasn't been done before and it offers a whizbang perk if I roll high.

Re: Blackgill: Lizardman PC special ability question

Quendalon 02 Aug 2012 18:08

The normal +1 damage for lizardman NPCs is explicitly a strength bonus. If you had a strength bonus, it would apply here!

+1 "to hit" and +2 damage with natural weapons fits with our usual practice for weapon specialization.

The proposed claw/claw/bite progression seems overcomplicated, to the point where I'm not sure how effective it would be in practice.

2 attacks/round with natural weapons when doing nothing else that round fits with our usual practice for bonus attacks.

Last edited on 02 Aug 2012 18:10 by Quendalon Show more