Multiple Limbs/Tentacles/Prehensile tails - MAPS and Bonuses

[tetsuoh]

Okays Guys - there have been topics on this before but please hear me out on this.

I would like a better set of House Rules for races with multiple limbs/tentacles/prehensile tails etc etc.

I like the multiple action penalty is reduced idea of the codru-ji in the d20 conversion.

Basically all their MAPS are reduced by 1pip.

On that same thought, not all races have that degree of ambidexterity, the besalisks are one such example by their d20 introduction in the ultimate alien anthology book.

But all the multiple limbed races I have seen DO have a bonus to climbing and usually brawling, though by those d20 rules that brawling bonus is ment to apply only towards grappling. In d6 conversions that is not stated that way - only a bonus to brawling period, which increases combat effectiveness.

The problems I'm having are numerous:

The fact that some races are stated as being able to use their tails as hands, sometimes for and sometimes not for fighting. But we get no rulings on if they should get any bonuses because of this.

There are races made of tentacles or with tentacles (Examples: Iyra and Permian) but their bonuses are all over the place. At least with the extra limbs races we see the climb/brawl bonus being a continuation.

Another problem I see is the action/attack monopoly that d6/d20 have.

In effect in d6 you can takes actions to your hearts content in a round, so long as you have the dice. BUT there are no real rulings, official anyway, on attacking with both hands or two weapons.

This is fine really, normally we don't run into a problem until we see these multiple limbed races or people wanting to wield two weapons, and its not that common in my games, but it is still an issue. If I'm wrong please point me in the right direction to these rules, please.

Now in d20 we see actions being limited in a round by the game mechanics, that are then increased due to training and advancement, but we do see rules on how to handle races with multiple appendages, they ALWAYS get extra actions because of those appendages, they usually suffer the penalties of using multiple limbs but those penalties are static and do not get worse per action they take. those same penalties can be harsh without a feat to reduce them but they are static and not cumulative.

And then we see even more training to allow those penalties to be lessened.

This is why I like the Codru-Ji racial bonus feat conversion of the d20 feat Multidexterity, which lessens the penalties of using multiple weapons.
They still have penalties, but they are lessened.

However. We have to be careful because going that route of allowing MAPS penalties to be reduced without strict guidelines could lead to the assumptions of being able to get to the laughable notion of free actions.

Or is it laughable? what if instead, these races got free actions but they were at reduced die pools? Like d20, we could have our cake and eat it to.

An extra free action but at a negative, A MAP that is not cumulative with the MAP.

This could be applied to single set limbed races as well.

The notorious -1D off hand action, that is not a MAP. Does it work for this situation?

I don't know, I'm on the fence. Why? Because then we are stating that these multiple limbed races can take 4 actions at the cost of one so long as they take a static penalty on the last 3.

Normal Roll, -1D, 1D, -1D.

Hmm 5 actions? how would that look?
Maybe -1D,-1D,-2D,-2D,-2D ???
7 actions? -3D,-3D,-3D,-3D,-4D,-4D,-4D ?????????

Seems too much in my book. But by RAW these races get shafted otherwise. All they gain is a bonus to Climbing and Brawling (Supossedly for Grapple only). And even though we see them wielding numerous weapons and having a culture built on having the ability to fight with them, we force them into the same tired MAP.

2 arms? -1D to all actions to use em both. 4? -3D. 6? -5D. 8? Why are bothering to play a royal Besalisk female - her arms are useless - you do realize this?!

Oh - not useless - she can climb as good as a wookiee. As a race... from an ocean world...*golf clap*

Guys where do we go? Do we say screw it and keep what we got and screw over players with interesting ideas because we got nowhere for em to go when they try to use there supposedly inherent racial ability that has no real d6 rulings?

I got nothing other than what you see above this, and no idea what would be reasonable. Do you?