In a race's description, the number of limbs affects spellcasting and combat abilities. A "limb" in game terms represents an arm or other appendage that can wield a weapon or cast a spell. A large number of races have 2 limbs, some however have as many as 4 or as few as none. A race with more than 2 limbs has additional arms or a prehensile tail to wield items or weapons in. A race with zero limbs lacks hands (Argus, Unicorn) or the ability to grasp or wield held items or weapons properly (Suula). Wielding and Limbs: A weapon or held item must be "wielded" with the WIELD command to be used. Wielding requires an open limb to wield the weapon or held item in. If a race has no limbs, no items can be wielded at all. (see HELP WIELD). Guilds that require specific weapons to be wielded (like Paladin or Fallen) or consist mainly of weapon or martial arts skills (Fighter, Monk, Sentinel, Assassin) rather than spells are usually very poor choices for races with zero limbs. Weapon fighting in the Retroverse is taught by and for races with 2 limbs. In other words, weapons in the third or fourth limb aren't going to hit, as the attack skill only covers the first two limbs. This goes for martial arts as well. There is a tertiary guild that does teach this, and will allow one attack per extra limb WITH weapons or martial arts: the Dervish guild (see HELP SKILL WHIRLING). Without the whirling skill, weapons in the third and fourth limbs aren't very useful and will simply fail to connect in combat. However, it is possible to wield a two-handed weapon in one's left and third hands, thus granting a slight advantage even without having the whirling skill trained. Spellcasting and Limbs: Any spell that requires a somatic component (see HELP SOMATIC COMPONENT) requires hand gestures in order to cast. This means that casting a spell with a somatic component requires two free limbs, without anything wielded in them. It is possible to cast anyways, with a one round casting penalty per limb filled. Normally this means a spellcaster wielding a pair of daggers will add two rounds to all spellcasting times, making for slower casting. A race with more than 2 limbs does NOT get a bonus to casting time for having MORE than 2 limbs open to cast with. Races with zero limbs learn to cast without gestures. They can cast without penalty. Guilds that require a wielded item in order to cast spells (Fallen Fellblade, Paladin Shield, Bard Lute) cannot be used at all by races with zero limbs, and therefore no-limbed races are very ill-suited to those particular guilds. Skills and Limbs: Limbless races suffer a penalty for using skills requiring manual dexterity such as gem cutting, equipment repair, etc. The Suula and Argus races use racial telekinesis (see HELP TELEKINESIS) to manipulate objects in the world around them. This intense use of mental focus to overcome their handicap requires these two races to expend four times, in spell points, the cost of endurance a skill requires. Unicorns simply try harder to overcome their limbless state and spend double the endurance cost required to perform a manual skill. All other races, regardless of any number of extra limbs, use skills at the normal cost of endurance. Casting and Wielding in Combat: It's entirely possible for a three limbed race to wield a one-handed weapon like a whip or a four limbed race to wield a two handed weapon such as a polearm or ranged weapon like a bow and still use the other two limbs to cast spells normally. It's also possible for a race with more than 2 limbs to fill those extra limbs with held items for additional stats in combat, and use the other 2 limbs to cast normally. This is the main advantage of multi-limbed races. Likewise, the inability to wield weapons or held items is a disadvantage of no-limbed races. Be aware that the number of limbs does affect your character whether you prefer a melee combat oriented guild or a spellcasting one. Races with Four Limbs ===================== Mortals: Treant Kreen Illex Myconoid Pudding Remortals: Ahrimazda Poltergeist Tianlong Xlakun'ah Races with Three Limbs (prehensile tails) ========================================= Mortals: Arakun Muridan Remortals: Chimaera Races with No Limbs =================== Mortals: Argus Suula Unicorn Remortals: Naga All other races have the normal two limbs. |