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| There is one in here. |
The Races
Cave Ape - Not especially Unique
Source - Pyramid 3/72: Alternate Dungeons
Advantages
Typical dumb muscle abilities, but with a small accent of cave dwelling abilities. A lot of them are mundane, but some are unique.
Disadvantages
Savage, dumb, brute. Not much to say.
Power-Ups
The power-ups list is a little interesting with some non-mundane abilities that are rare for other races, a bright point.
Mechanical Value
It feels a bit like a "Minotaur-lite," one of the most amusing elements is that even though it is similar to a Wildman, the disadvantages don't include things like Low Tech Level. Probably the most interesting thing is that a Cave Ape racial template has a negative point value, so it might be the only easy way to start the campaign with a "virtual" -60 points in disadvantages. This could be a good race for a frontline fighter, or with a little creativity, a good rogue type, seeings as he's good in dark caves and climbing obstacles.
Aesthetic
I've said it a lot of times already, but I'll say it again. It is a brute that is good at crawling through caves, and the template is good at describing that.
Hengeyokai - Shapeshifter Lite
Source - Pyramid 3/89: Alternate Dungeons II
Advantages
The big defining feature of the hengeyokai is that it transforms. It's literally in the name. So a big chunk of the points are the ability to transform into an animal. Mostly, it's exercising the transformation mechanics that mostly belong to druids in Dungeon Fantasy 5.
Disadvantages
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| Good Issue |
Power-Ups
None are explicitly laid out as far as I've seen, but the easy solution that jumps out to me, as they recommend the familiar templates in Dungeon Fantasy 5 for the animal forms is to allow the associated power-ups of those animal forms in all forms... without the Granted By Familiar limitation.
Mechanical Value
It lets you be a shapeshifter without being a druid. It has some good synergy with any magical based templates, but might have some iffy point expenditures otherwise. It comes with two severe weaknesses that are a little rare, but I imagine that a GM would find a way to leverage them if he had a hengeyokai in the campaign.... on the other hand, that means getting your filthy mitts on some valuable treasure if you can survive any would-be assailants.
Aesthetic
The template itself doesn't really feel like it does a lot itself to conveying the hengeyokai, but that said, it takes care of the absolute important part. The role playing is mostly left up to the player.
Lich - Extreme Advantages and Disadvantages
Source - Pyramid 3/72: Alternate Dungeons
Advantages
The lich has tons of immunities to common hazards, all at very high levels. On the other hand, the drawbacks are pretty harsh.
Disadvantages
Probably among the most punishing disadvantage combinations of any racial template. But it makes for a total paradigm shift for how a player would use a lich versus a mundane human or elf.
Power-Ups
The power-ups section is simple, but very high powered, lots of expensive options... if you can survive that long. It also notes that a Lich isn't really a "race," so it can be freely combined with other races if you like, for example, almighty undead halflings.
Mechanical Value
It's a very affordable template, and the advantages it offers gives a lot of tolerance and immunities to several mundane hazards. On the other hand, it also makes the character very sensitive to supernatural attacks. In the right situation, a Lich can be extremely powerful; in other situations, it's like wet paper. If it can survive long enough to get some power-ups, it might be unbreakable.
Aesthetic
The template definitely drives home that you are a powerful, undead, monster, and gives lots of interesting restrictions and options.
Scorpiman - Unique, but Very Expensive
Source - Pyramid 3/72: Alternate Dungeons
Advantages
The majority of it is focused on having chitin armor, a venomous tail, and being fast. There are a lot of exotic advantages here definitely giving the Scorpiman a unique edge.
Disadvantages
A little meh, but ok. Thoroughly mundane except for the monster social stigma.
Power-Ups
All power-ups are devoted to making the tail even more powerful. It's a bit of a one-trick pony in that regard for such a huge point outlay, but at least the options are really good.
Mechanical Value
The huge point outlay is a pretty big challenge. It basically only works with the templates from Dungeon Fantasy 15. Even the entry recommends that. So compared to a lot of starting delvers, assuming a mundane human or similar, the Scorpiman will seem a bit like a good rookie with a high potential versus a seasoned veteran. That said, a lot of what she starts with is useful for clinching that "experience" gap, and very few doors are closed in terms of potential. It takes up multiple hexes while still being SM+0 apparently, has decent starting DR, and a powerful affliction attack.
Aesthetic
Despite not having many exotic disadvantages, the Scorpiman is a somewhat unique experience. It's a monster with a huge poisonous tail that has the horizontal profile (without, technically, being horizontal)
Specter - Really Expensive!
Source - Pyramid 3/72: Alternate Dungeons
Advantages
Very powerful, very different things, you definitely feel like a ghost.
Disadvantages
Affected by common undead weaknesses, plus a few optional ones, usually representing being off-kilter from being a ghost so long.
Power-Ups
The power-ups are all on point, but the list is short and boringly practical, though they do get access to the all-powerful, potentially free-for-all "Affliction[Varies]" on their own template.
Mechanical Value
In a campaign, being insubstantial is a huge advantage, that's practical invincibility versus anything but a dedicated ghost fighting enemy... which a GM is liable to throw in if she lets you have a ghost that most people can't attack. Also, eating up a huge chunk of the start budget means you are stuck with a bargain henchman for the occupational template, which means with all your survivability, you are going to be a bit of a klutz, at first, compared to any of your allies as you don't have enough points devoted to useful adventuring skills and abilities.
Aesthetic
The template comes together well, and does a job of telling a story, and informing character. It definitely evokes the feeling of an incorporeal ghost.
Tengu - Glass Cannon Melee
Source - Pyramid 3/89: Alternate Dungeons II
Advantages
The Tengu's abilities are more wide than deep, with a smattering of several useful things. The greatest of these disparate features are innate swordsmanship and flying.
Disadvantages
Some really powerful drawbacks that add a lot of personality and interesting mechanical issues for a tengu PC, makes for an interesting choice for someone who wants to fight on the edge.
Power-Ups
There is a racial talent of dubious ability, unless you really want to be a weapons generalist, and the ability to choose and develop one of two power sources, both of which have a lot of good abilities associated with them.
Mechanical Value
The tengu is really good at melee sword combat, but is also pretty fragile, making for a kinda risky "glass cannon" kinda feel. The power talents that can be purchased means you can get some interesting abilities to diversify a somewhat mundane profession like swashbuckler or knight, or become a force to be reckoned with if you synergize with their native occupational templates with an unusually high talent ceiling.
Aesthetic
The template really feels unique, and gives some serious perks and drawbacks that require approaching some tribulations from a different perspective. The template informs, by the way, for anyone interested, that this is the big nosed type of tengu, not the crow kind. The Hengeyokai is probably a good alternative if you wanna be an (obvious) bird person.
Throttler - Expensive Sneaky Brute
Source - GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 1
Advantages
A ton of ST, a good racial talent, disguise abilities, but not a lot of interesting exotic traits.
Disadvantages
The throttler is accompanied with some interesting lore and the disadvantages do a good service of .
Power-Ups
As of yet, there are none, but you could probably stitch together a hybrid of decent ones from the Ogre and the Thief in Dungeon Fantasy 11.
Mechanical Value
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| Decent Issue |
Aesthetic
A good throttler needs to be crafty and devious, but they can let loose and easily do some damage too. I think the player that tries for a throttler is going to need to take a lot of initiative to set up deceptions against their enemies. A player that doesn't like to strategize and plan before a battle, and then see if they can get all the dominoes to fall into place probably would be better choosing a more straightforward and probably cheaper template.
Vampire (1) - AKA the Cheaper Vampire
Source - Pyramid 3/50: Dungeon Fantasy II
Advantages
A lot of really good advantages, but most of them are pretty mundane. The ones that are exotic, personal opinion, aren't great, but it's something
Disadvantages
The disadvantages are a lot more interesting, there are a lot of them, and they can seriously throw a wrench in things, but in a good (bad) way.
Power-Ups
This is a bright point for the vampire, they actually have a lot of interesting abilities, some cheap, some expensive, and a lot of them are unique and helpful.
Mechanical Value
Starting out, the vampire seems to have more cons than pros, and it's a really expensive template on top of it, but the rewards for sticking to it can pay dividends. Could be a really good template for a campaign that you intend to spend months or years on... if you can live that long.
Aesthetic
The disadvantages do a service to complementing role play, and everything sells the vampire aesthetic. Even as a two armed, bipedal humanoid, it's definitely not the same'ol, same'ol.
Vampire (2) - AKA the Expensive Vampire
Source - Pyramid 3/72: Alternate Dungeons
Advantages
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| Solid Issue |
Disadvantages
Disadvantages complement the advantages, and although pretty strong, are actually somewhat unique for all the monsters in this article.
Power-Ups
The power-ups entry is a little wishy washy, but most of the really good stuff is already on the template. I guess it's just better to play Symphony of the Night one more time and crib some abilities off of Alucard.
Mechanical Value
The template is very expensive, and is purpose built for combining with a 125 henchmen template. Though the abilities are pretty good, a big chunk of the point cost is eaten by a huge amount of ST, not that it's inappropriate for vampires, just that raw ST isn't my favorite thing to spend that many points on. All of the advantages are pretty useful for a sneaky or a front line fighter too, while not doing much to specifically preclude any of the brainier archetypes either. The development potential is kinda lacking as well; vampires start off "pretty good," and eventually become "a little better than pretty good."
Aesthetic
The vampire aesthetic is represented fine, with many of the key cinematic keystones touched on in the abilities. You'll probably feel like a young, maybe recently turned vampire though if using one of the henchmen lenses in combination.
Other Thoughts and Conclusion
A lot of these templates use sophisticated mechanics that don't exactly play well with Dungeon Fantasy RPG. I think of the templates presented here, the Lich is the most easily incorporated into Dungeon Fantasy RPG, but also, maybe the one that most people would feel weird about allowing? The Tengu would probably also be pretty ok.
I think of the listed templates here, the Scorpiman and the Tengu are probably the most interesting to me, not sure if I'll have an opportunity to test them out though. Ah well.
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