HYPERBOREA / Demihumans!

**Posted by The Butcher** 10/19/2014 2:46 pm

If this topic doesn't get me kicked off these forums, nothing will. ;)

It's not that I don't like Hyperborea -- quite the contrary! -- it's that I like the AS&SH system bits well enough that I want to use them with just about everything.

Case in point: if I used AS&SH to run, say, a Forgotten Realms campaign, how'd you handle demihuman characters? I'm inclined to extrapolate from AD&D 1e but I'd love to know whether anyone's done it in the past and how'd you handle the Half-Orc Cataphracts and Gnome Pyromancers.

**Posted by joseph** 10/20/2014 6:43 am

I would also look at AD&D, but any early edition would fit. When I get back to my homebrew, I intend to write up races as they are used and will likely give the various human races of my world some small benefit to off set those of the demihumans (I don't really use level limits).

Sounds like a good article for AFS actually...

**Posted by The_Great_Lestrade** 10/23/2014 12:19 pm

This isn't based on any reading in particular but I would leave the classes alone and just look at base stats + some abilities. Give some modifiers to the baseline stats for different races. So a Halfing might get a dex boost and strength cap for instance. Second, give dwarves the ability to smell gold and see changes in rock elevations etc and infravision, elves some innate magic boost regardless of class etc. IF each race is defined by some sort of special ability it makes it easier differentiate in play. Dungeon Crawl Classics does a very good job of this, but it does use race as class.

**Posted by Rastus_Burne** 1/19/2015 5:35 am

I think if you were to add demis the easiest options would be porting from AD&D or B/X, but with some slight flavour modifications for the Hyperborea setting. The other option is looking in the Monster Manuals (1e or 2e) and picking up on some of the options there for inspiration. I've always thought it would be cool to add brownies as a playable race for example (I've had brownie NPCs in AD&D before), but more Norse, and less pop-cultural fairy tales.

**Posted by bat** 7/25/2015 11:23 am

Late to the party thread necromancy. I agree on using the 1e MM as a base for introducing demi-humans into AS&SOH. I just got the game and I love it! But it does need a couple of lines about introducing demi-humans to appease us gnome enthusiasts.

Last edited by bat (7/25/2015 11:24 am)

**Posted by Chainsaw** 7/25/2015 2:15 pm

Welcome aboard, bat!

**Posted by Mortificateur** 7/25/2015 10:42 pm

I'm just so happy that there's no elves in the game hahaha!

**Posted by Ghul** 7/26/2015 8:52 am

Welcome aboard, bat! Death to all gnomes! ;)

**Posted by bat** 7/26/2015 11:17 am

Thank you for the welcomes, kind sirs!

Oh, I am making them for my blog to tie-in with AS&SH! First up, Hyperborean Gnome! Try to stop me!

**Posted by flumph** 8/18/2015 10:24 pm

I allow elves, but only if they're played like keebler elves.

**Posted by thewisewizard** 10/12/2016 2:10 pm

I don't think typical tolkienesque elves fit the setting very well. But I think that the Light and Dark Elves of Nordic myth could work well as monsters in Hyperborea.

**Posted by Handy Haversack** 10/21/2016 7:26 am

Monsters . . . rations . . . furniture . . .

**Posted by Master Magician Rennalds** 1/14/2017 12:04 am

Gotta say, personally I am glad to be rid of the demi-humans. As someone who has never liked LOTR, and has yet to see an elf or dwarf properly RP-ed its actually a huge + for me

**Posted by fireinthedust** 4/20/2017 10:14 pm

Suggestion: the Atlanteans have water breathing WITHOUT needing a racial modifier. Why would elves or dwarves be different?

OR: just port over the DCC dwarf, elf, and halfling classes. Adjust certain numbers to fit the setting, based on the ASSH classes: Dwarves as Cataphracts, Elves as Warlocks, Halflings as Thieves, Gnomes as Arcane Tricksters. Add racially appropriate changes to the class, substitutions or replacement racial abilities. Go from there. It should work approximately fine.

**Posted by Druvas** 4/21/2017 7:10 am

If I ported demi-humans, it would be as lesser beings made to suffer. But I'm an &*#%@ on occasion(s). :-)

**Posted by mavfire** 4/22/2017 10:07 am

I like elves....on the end of a pointy stick!

**Posted by bat** 10/31/2017 11:08 am

For the second edition and second campaign go I am going to include these races, not as playable options, as I'd like to, but as they are portrayed in myths and legends and in S&S stories, on the fringes. As creatures to avoid or appease. Gnomes become Nisse, Elves deadly creatures of the forest, Dwarfs become more martial and less of a degenerate race.

**Posted by Druvas** 11/01/2017 9:41 am

bat wrote:
For the second edition and second campaign go I am going to include these races, not as playable options, as I'd like to, but as they are portrayed in myths and legends and in S&S stories, on the fringes. As creatures to avoid or appease. Gnomes become Nisse, Elves deadly creatures of the forest, Dwarfs become more martial and less of a degenerate race.

I love this idea and just might steal it. It reminds me a lot of Broken Sword by Poul Anderson.

**Posted by 1970** 11/01/2017 2:35 pm

I have to admit that one of the reasons I like AS&SH is that there are no demihumans attached to it. I may still port in faeries, but the scary ones from Grimm's Fairy Tales, not the LotR kind.

**Posted by jcstephens** 11/03/2017 6:08 pm

1970 wrote:
I have to admit that one of the reasons I like AS&SH is that there are no demihumans attached to it. I may still port in faeries, but the scary ones from Grimm's Fairy Tales, not the LotR kind.

Or Carcosan Space Aliens. Or both! It all depends on where you've set the Weirdness dial.