A is for Anshu

ANSHUS v1.1

Anshus are feline like demi-humans that typically reach heights of just under six feet tall.  They weight around 160 pounds with a slim, athletic build.  Their body is covered in a light coat of fur ranging from dark brown to golden yellow.  They hold traditions in high regard and have a deep respect for their lands believing that most of their needs can be met naturally.  Anshus are commonly employed as scouts in human armies.  The prime requisite for an anshu character is Dexterity.  A Dexterity score of 13 or greater will give an anshu character a bonus on earned experience points.

RESTRICTIONS: Anshus use six-sided dice (d6) to determine their hit points.  They may advance to a maximum of 12th level of experience.  Anshus may use any type of armor and may use shields.  They may use any weapon of normal or small size. 

SPECIAL ABILITIES: Anshus have infravision (heat-sensing sight) and can see 60 feet in the dark.  Anshus are in-tune with the wilder areas of Toldara that they call home.  Anshus have clawed fingers that can be used to inflict d4 damage; this damage is adjusted by their Strength modifier and always inflicts a minimum of one point of damage.  Anshus are skilled at the Thieves’ Abilities to Move Silently, Climb Sheer Surfaces, Hide in Shadows, and Hear Noise. Survival, Concealment, and Climbing; these skills are handled similar to the Thieves' Abilities.

Survival: This skill represents the knowledge to survive away from civilized areas - what is edible and what is poisonous, how to make do for shelter, etc. 

Concealment: This is the ability to not just move silently but also move unseen.

Climbing: While everyone can climb or attempt to climb, an anshu is particularly proficient at climbing due to their feline-like tail that aids them. 

Levels: Anshu characters require the same experience points per level as Dwarves.

Saving Throws:  Anshu characters use the same entries as the Fighter for their saving throws.

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Thoughts: This information for the Anshu race is just my first impression.  My goal was something like a fighter type with some of the thieving abilities thrown in to the mix. I am unsure of the weapon/armor notes above – I am actually thinking these guys would probably use bows mainly and resort to swords in close quarters.  I also would like to give them some sort of “in tune with nature” type of ability.  The 3 skills are taking shape but I may give them some more or change them further; I still need to come up with initial percentages and leveling bonuses.  If any of you B/X experts out there have any suggestions feel free to make them because they will be highly appreciated! 

Player Character Races of Toldara

The Toldara campaign not only uses the standard races presented in the core rules - with some modifications - but also allows more options for player characters.  A quick summary of these races and changes is detailed below.

• Anshu: A humanoid feline race.
• Goblin: Not all of the Goblins are minions of evil; some have risen to great heroic deeds. 
• Half-Orc: The Half-Orc race is not a simple mix of human and orc; some details can be found in this post.
• Human: In addition to the statistics presented in the core rules, the ability scores of a human character are generated by rolling 7 sets of scores and choosing the 6 scores to use.
• Karnin: A canine humanoid race.
• Oranian: A winged bird-like humanoid race from the Oran mountain regions.
• Slarn: A reptilian or lizard like race of humanoids.

The Anshu and Karnin are often at odds with each other.  Their nations have been in a constant cycle of war with intermittent periods of peace but something seems to always ingnite the feud again.  Individual members of each race are, of course, able to over prejudices or preconceived notions when it comes to members of the other race.

The Goblin started out as a one person experiment in Alex's game.  It was such a success that other people wanted to play goblins occasionally also.  Part of the history of Toldara is the first age had a war between the gods of light and the gods of darkness.  Members of the goblin race discovered that being a minion of the gods of darkness wasn't what it was cracked up to be.

The Half-Orc origin is a result of my personal dislike for the often used rape or spoils of war origin of the race so I came up with the explanation I use in the Toldara campaign.

The Human characters getting an extra roll during ability score generation was just done to give them further advantage for lack of any real special abilities.

For information on the Oranian race, Alex is the best source of information.

In regards to the Slarn race, I am not sure whether to do a full fledged write up or just use the lizard man entry and do some background tinkering like the Half-Orc or something similar in the timeline to the Goblins of Toldara.