Variant: Hit Dice by Race

This variant is inspired by the way Hit Dice work in OD&D.

The kind of die a character rolls for hit points is determined by his race, not his class. The table below shows the Hit Dice for the most common races:

Race	Hit Die
Dwarf	d8
Elf	d6
Gnome	d6
Half-elf	d8
Halfling	d6
Half-ogre	d10
Half-orc	d8
Human	d8

For the races of the Weird Opera world they are:

Race	Hit Die
Botanoid	d6
Gnome	d6
Morlock	d8
Neanderthal	d10
Nine-Lives Cat	d8
Paragon	d6
Pig	d10
Porcine	d8
Human	d8

One die is rolled at first level, but further dice are not rolled at every level of experience. A character’s class determines at which level he gains another Hit Die. For example, a cleric gains his second Hit Die at 2^nd level, but doesn’t get his third Hit Die until level 4. A magic-user gets a Hit Die every other level.

At levels at which a class doesn’t get a full Hit Die, he gains a flat number of hit points, usually 1 or 2. The following table shows the Hit Die progression for the four main classes:

Level	Cleric	Fighter	Magic-user	Thief
1	1	1	1	1
2	2	2	(+1 hp)	(+2 hp)
3	(+2 hp)	3	2	2
4	3	4	(+2 hp)	3
5	4	5	3	(+4 hp)
6	(+4 hp)	6	(+3 hp)	4
7	5	7	4	5
8	6	8	(+4 hp)	(+6 hp)
9	(+6 hp)	9	5	6
10	7	(+3 hp)	(+5 hp)	7
11	8	(+6 hp)	6	(+8 hp)
12	(+8 hp)	(+9 hp)	(+6 hp)	8
13	9	(+12 hp)	7	9
14	(+10 hp)	(+15 hp)	(+7 hp)	(+10 hp)
15	(+12 hp)	(+18 hp)	8	10
16	(+14 hp)	(+21 hp)	(+8 hp)	(+12 hp)
17	(+16 hp)	(+24 hp)	9	(+14 hp)
18	(+18 hp)	(+27 hp)	(+9 hp)	(+16 hp)
19	(+20 hp)	(+30 hp)	10	(+18 hp)
20	(+22 hp)	(+33 hp)	(+10 hp)	(+20 hp)

Further Notes:

* Fighters gain one Hit Die type greater than normal for his race. For example, a human fighter would uses d10 for Hit Dice. 

* Paladins and rangers use the fighter progression, but don’t get the greater die type.

* Druids and monks use the cleric progression.

* Illusionists and spelldancers use the magic-user progression.

* Assassins use the thief progression.

New Race: Nine-Lives Cat

Nine-Lives Cats

Requirements: INT 9

Ability Modifiers: DEX +1, WIS -1

Nine-lives cats are a race of intelligent shape-changing felines. They are not lycanthropes, and can transform at will. They can assume two shapes: that of a cat and that of a single unique human. Unlike lycanthropes, they do not have a bipedal cat form.

The human form is that of an attractive young woman or, less frequently, a young man. Like normal humans they are very diverse in appearance. They are virtually undetectable from a normal human, except for the pointy, fur-covered cat’s ears that are also visible in this shape. The cat’s ears are easily hidden beneath a hat or cap.

Nine-lives cats have infravision of 120 feet. In addition to their alignment language, common, elvish, and halfling they can speak to normal cats and felines, including big cats like tigers and lions.

Changing from one form to the other costs one round. Armor and equipment do not transform with the character, and his or her cat shape cannot use any weapons, armor or other equipment. A spellcaster in cat form may cast spells, but cannot handle any material components or use magic items.

The cat form is 1’-2’ tall. It has AC 6, Move 120’, and 3 attacks: 2 claws and 1 bite, each doing 1d2 damage. It has a number of d4 hp equal to the character’s level, but may not have more hit points than the human form. Wounds taken in one form carry over in the other. The nine-lives cat dies when the hp of her current form reach 0. However, the cat has nine lives, and if she has any lives left, she’s raised in 1d6 x 10 minutes as per the raise dead spell. If her nine lives are used, she’s dead for good. A dead nine-lives cat cannot be raised, except with a wish, that can give the character a new cycle of nine lives.

Nine-lives cats may select from the following classes, with the indicated level limits.

NINE-LIVES CAT CLASSES AVAILABLE
Class	Level Limit
Assassin	9
Fighter	12
Magic-User	U
Spelldancer	U
Thief	10

Nine-lives cat thieves receive the following bonuses and penalties to thief abilities:

NINE-LIVES CAT THIEF SKILL ADJUSTMENTS
Skill	Adjustment
Pick Locks	-5%
Pick Pockets	+5%
Move Silently	+7%
Hide in Shadows	+10%
Hear Noise	+1*
*Nine-lives cats receive a better dice range for hearing noises. For example, 1st level nine-lives cat thieves hear noises on a 1-3, and at 9th level it is 1-5. Hear noise may never be better than 1-5.