The Shing are an awesome idea but they seem to have failed to give them a fighting chance. They are S.D.C. creatures and under the M.D.C. entry it says: "By magic or force fields only." Only one of the 6 options for R.C.C. magic provides a protective spell (Armor of Ithan) and no starting equipment is listed. So even if you take that one option at level one you have 10 M.D.C. A decent damage roll from an energy pistol would take one out.
As G.M. I could allow them to have a Naruni forcefield as starting equipment but that makes them dependent on the Naruni and these guys are supposed to be bad asses all on their own who fight off invaders by teleporting onto the enemy ships in orbit. They are supposed to have run off Golgans, Deevils and demons (among others).
What are your thoughts on this? How would you "fix" them? I am tempted to convert their hit points and S.D.C to M.D.C. AND let them add the spells of one of the 6 racial magic options as bonus spell knowledge to one of the magic O.C.C. options they are given. I don't think that's unbalancing since they don't have opposable thumbs and have no manufacturing capabilities.
The Shing from Dimension Book 14 missing M.D.C.?
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drewkitty ~..~
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Re: The Shing from Dimension Book 14 missing M.D.C.?
If it is the typical PB musshing together of a Race profile with a RCC Skills set, then drop the RCC bit and use an OCC.
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Re: The Shing from Dimension Book 14 missing M.D.C.?
I hadn't noticed that before, Rifter11. Thanks!
As a simple fix, since the description mentions the Shing's use of talismans, charms, bands, and body paints I'd just add an entry for starting equipment. Some printed examples to consider are the Splugorth Talismans of Armor, fetishes in Rifts WB15:Spirit West, and a M.D.C. version of Danzi Spirit Tattoos from PFRPG11:Eastern Territory.
The O.C.C. options listed under the species can each have an M.D.C. armor effect available by level 1-2. Also, the writeup leads me to think that most Shing are "learned" casters, and can learn spells at any time. Exceptions would be the "intuitive" Mystics and those with the Earth Magic selection, which could be considered a variant Warlock which trades elemental friendship/summoning for accelerated spell access. I don't see anything suggesting that the Shing would have to replace their natural P.P.E. score with that granted from a class, and would go so far as to say that a Shing Mystic would add their class I.S.P. to their native base I.S.P., particularly since they're largely hamstringing themselves. I'd say selecting an O.C.C. is for Shing almost always preferable, with exceptions of if a player wanted to take advantage of the lower cost in the Dimension Magic option or wanted to use a level 8 Earth Warlock effect at character level 2. Perhaps a few O.C.C. Related skills should be spent on selections from the R.C.C. skill list for thematic reasons.
As a simple fix, since the description mentions the Shing's use of talismans, charms, bands, and body paints I'd just add an entry for starting equipment. Some printed examples to consider are the Splugorth Talismans of Armor, fetishes in Rifts WB15:Spirit West, and a M.D.C. version of Danzi Spirit Tattoos from PFRPG11:Eastern Territory.
The O.C.C. options listed under the species can each have an M.D.C. armor effect available by level 1-2. Also, the writeup leads me to think that most Shing are "learned" casters, and can learn spells at any time. Exceptions would be the "intuitive" Mystics and those with the Earth Magic selection, which could be considered a variant Warlock which trades elemental friendship/summoning for accelerated spell access. I don't see anything suggesting that the Shing would have to replace their natural P.P.E. score with that granted from a class, and would go so far as to say that a Shing Mystic would add their class I.S.P. to their native base I.S.P., particularly since they're largely hamstringing themselves. I'd say selecting an O.C.C. is for Shing almost always preferable, with exceptions of if a player wanted to take advantage of the lower cost in the Dimension Magic option or wanted to use a level 8 Earth Warlock effect at character level 2. Perhaps a few O.C.C. Related skills should be spent on selections from the R.C.C. skill list for thematic reasons.
Re: The Shing from Dimension Book 14 missing M.D.C.?
Thanks for the input and those are some great ideas! I like the Splugorth talisman idea combined with the fetishes. I'll say they developed their own versions of the talismans but theirs are made from sea shells, bird feathers, shiny rocks, etc.