[DF] Mermaid racial template?

[Dalin]

Are there any DF-style racial templates for merfolk floating around? I've got a watery adventure planned and was thinking of letting my daughter play a mermaid. I was thinking of using the Sea Elf from DF3 (p. 7) as the foundation. Maybe adjusting land movement to be a slower and water movement to be faster? Maybe add some sort of minor dependency on water? (Could be instead of or in addition to the fire phobia.)

Anything canonical out there that I'm missing? Or anything created by community members?

Thanks!

[Varyon]

I'm not specifically aware of anything, but first you'll need to decide what interpretation of a mermaid you want to go with. Personally, I'd be inclined to have them with a high Appearance (the gills would either be invisible or - if you want to throw in some realism - be on their torso; that, or they don't ruin their appearance, as is assumed for the sea elves) and have Musical Ability of some level (mermaids are often associated with sirens, and tend to have music-based magic of some flavor). In some stories, mermaids have the option of switching their fishy-bits for human-bits, but I assume you'd rather they stay mermaids - No Legs (Slithers... or maybe Bounces for some humor) [0] would be appropriate. It's common to require they - or at least their gills - stay moist in order to be able to properly breathe, but that's arguably more a Quirk than, say, Dependency (everyone has to carry water around to stay hydrated anyway, they just sometimes need to use a little extra to wet their gills). A Vulnerability/Weakness to desiccation might be appropriate, however.

[Refplace]

I think GURPS Fantasy has a mermaid.
I created these for my setting I wanted ones who could easily move around on land as well as water.

[bert]

No, but Banestorm has a 52pt template. Merfolk, page 195. It would need adaptation for DF.

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Originally Posted by Varyon

I'm not specifically aware of anything, but first you'll need to decide what interpretation of a mermaid you want to go with. Personally, I'd be inclined to have them with a high Appearance (the gills would either be invisible or - if you want to throw in some realism - be on their torso; that, or they don't ruin their appearance, as is assumed for the sea elves) and have Musical Ability of some level (mermaids are often associated with sirens, and tend to have music-based magic of some flavor).

This is DF - Why make the kid play a Mer-Bard if her heart yearns to be a Mer-Barbarian? :D

~~~~~~~

BASIC MER-PEOPLE [30]:

Choice Professions: None.

Marginal Professions: None.

Advantages: Amphibious [10]; Doesn't Breathe (Gills -50%) [10]; Enhanced Move (x0.5) (Water) [10]; Nictitating Membrane x1 [1]; Night Vision x4 [4]; Pressure Support x1 [5];

Disadvantages: Dependency (Moisture, Daily) [-10]; No Legs (Slithers) [0];

Features: Night-Adapted Vision x5 [0];

Notes: Can't share lower body armor with humanoids and most other body types. Takes full penalties for attempting to swim while wearing armor. Generous GMs may wish to allow individuals to purchase Arrowproof Nudity [1], or at least Enhanced Dodge (Can't Wear Armor -40%, In Water Only -20%) [6/Level].

[bert]

A merbarian would work - with a trident of course - as well as the merdruid summoning up krakens and creating all kinds of mayhem with coastal cities. But how do we get them to do the dungeon delve?

In the same vein, we would need octopi (not to be confused with octopee).

Underwater dungeon? Octopus necromancer lich anyone? (Octopi as skeletal undead....hmmmm)

[WingedKagouti]

Originally Posted by bert

A merbarian would work - with a trident of course - as well as the merdruid summoning up krakens and creating all kinds of mayhem with coastal cities. But how do we get them to do the dungeon delve?

Sunken ruins from ancient civilizations.

Mysterious cave systems.

A giant reef.

The OP did mention that they planned the adventure to be water based.

[Dalin]

Originally Posted by WingedKagouti

The OP did mention that they planned the adventure to be water based.

She may just be used for a single adventure, but I'd like to design her such that she could be used for future, non-aquatic adventures (in case my daughter falls in love). I like the options I've seen here for merfolk who can handle land just fine.

I wonder about adding some DR to the tail. That would mitigate the need for armor, at least a bit. (Though a merknight will need something funky.) I mostly play DFRPG and rarely design builds with full GURPS, so let me check that I know how to do this right. DR 1 for the legs would cost 4 points (-20%). Does that change if I include the feet (flipper) too?

I'm ambivalent about the dependency, though it would be nice to have a sensible disadvantage or two to help reduce the price of the template. But, ultimately, the price isn't that important.

Edit: And thank you, everyone, for diving into this with me. I love these forums!

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc

This is DF - Why make the kid play a Mer-Bard if her heart yearns to be a Mer-Barbarian? :D

Many races have choice vs marginal professions. That said, the fishy part of a merperson tends to have more mass than human legs do, and is often fairly muscular (particularly for merfolk that can move around on land), so making merfolk strong would make sense, and musical talent isn't really a necessity. Their habit of near-nudity make them an excellent candidate for being barbarians as well, of course.

Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc

Dependency (Moisture, Daily) [-10]

I think this is the only part of your template I take exception to. Humans already have a Dependency-like mechanic revolving around water (we have to drink), and you'd expect a race that's obviously adapted/designed to function on land to have a mechanism to keep their gills moist (sweating, a thin layer of mucus, etc) so at best you could call for something like Increased Consumption 1 (Water Only -50%) [-5], which would require you to consume twice as much water each day as a human. I personally wouldn't require any additional water intake (humans have to drink more when it's hot and dry anyway).

Originally Posted by bert

But how do we get them to do the dungeon delve?

Same way you get any delver to do so - money. The merfolk being considered here can function on land, so it doesn't have to be an aquatic dungeon (although merfolk will certainly excel when you reach a flooded part of a more typical dungeon).

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Originally Posted by Varyon

I think this is the only part of your template I take exception to. Humans already have a Dependency-like mechanic revolving around water (we have to drink), and you'd expect a race that's obviously adapted/designed to function on land to have a mechanism to keep their gills moist (sweating, a thin layer of mucus, etc) so at best you could call for something like Increased Consumption 1 (Water Only -50%) [-5], which would require you to consume twice as much water each day as a human. I personally wouldn't require any additional water intake (humans have to drink more when it's hot and dry anyway).

*shrug* That works, too. Point is I'd go for an easy minimalist version.

SAMPLE UNDERSEA OR MOSTLY-UNDERSEA DF PARTY:

MER-PERSON SWASHBUCKLER: Fast and fearless. Weapon Mastery with Trident and Net combo.

MER-PERSON BARBARIAN: Raised by sharks. Master of tracking, wrestling, and the ornate giant turtleshell shield-fighting style of his or her extinct tribe.

MER-PERSON BARD: Music + Mind Control. Being a Princess optional.

MER-PERSON DRUID: See the above-mentioned krakens and whatnot.

SEA ELF WIZARD: Water Magic specialist.

WATER-INFUSED HUMAN SCHOLAR OR INNKEEPER: A jack-of-all trades type.