Gypsies

[Julian Grimm]

I have been working on some things ofr my campaign and I have hit a bit of a hard spot concerning gypsies which do play a role in my world and many of the planned adventures.

So, I have decided to ask among my fellow crusaders for some advice and info on how to include them.

First, would they be a race or class?

I can see how either would fit and that classes like the rogue, bard and some type of mage would fit gypsies but I have had the thought a class that incorporates some of the things they can do would be more fitting.

For example a class that would use some performace an rogue skills as well as minor magic use for certian types. Rather similar to the older style bards but not completly like them.

If a race what abilities should they have since they would be somewhat different form stick humans but I don't want a rehash of Ravenlofts take on them.

Second, how would you break them up, along some tribal or clan lines or different?

And finally, how would this be a viable option but not one that the players would want to all take?

Thanks for your help.
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[Treebore]

I take it you have never bought a Ravenloft book with the Vistani in it? They are a gypsy people with unusual powers and abilities. Since I love Ravenloft I would use them as my gypsy people, plus they would give me a way to pull the players into Ravenloft when I felt particularly evil. There are hints that they are a plane hopping people anyways.

[serleran]

Gypsy is neither a race, or a class... it is a lifestyle or culture. Now, if you want them to be "something else," then it would be best to make them a race. Obviously they would be humanoid, but not being "truly human" would have two Primes as normal for non-humans, but, like gnomes, would have very minor innate magical powers, and possibly the pick pockets ability, depending precisely, on how you view them to be. How to balance them is to not give them everything, and make them rely on classes, like any other playable "race."

[Omote]

If gypsies tend to be from a specific racial stock in you campaign world, that is fine but that racial stock could also include fighteres, barbarian, etc... right?

If this is the case, a gypsy is strictly a social/cultural term.

I would make them neither. However, since this is your campaign world, a gypsy sounds like it could be more a "class" then a race. In your world, do all gyspies have the same types of abilities? This sounds like a class to me rather then a race.

........................................Omote

FPQ
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[Treebore]

Many of our real life gypsy are very touchy about marrying into the "right bloodlines". I can't think of any of them that don't have some kind of "requirement", that some individuals tend to ignore, but is supposed to be followed. I am by no means an expert on gypsy', so I am sure that there are gypsy' who marry whomever they want to

[Maliki]

I would treat them as a class (available to humans only). Anyone born into the gypsy clan would be treated as a gypsy class, unless they chose to leave the clan and pursue another class, where they would be normal human.
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[anglefish]

If you have an all human campaign, you could make different cultures into different races ... literally. Give Gypsies special abilities, at the cost of a Prime. In fact, if you changed up the Weapon Training to focus on daggers and knives instead of bows, you could fake it using Elf racial stats.

When in doubt steal from others. There are a lot of d20 supplements that offer "racial stats" for different cultures in their games. The WotC version of this is their core 3.0 FR books, I think.

[gideon_thorne]

Julian Grimm wrote:
First, would they be a race or class?

Option C. None of the above. The gypsy culture can be simply made vis role playing certain cultural restrictions. If they are to have class abilties, simply give prominent members of the culture certain character classes.

Your looking at a whole catalogue of background role play skills. Fortune telling, sleight of hand, story telling, musical abilty and a certain cultural openness in regards to personal property. Ie the culture has no personal property, its communally shared.

Certainly they are as clannish as many an insular group. But being the wandering group they are, its almost a neccessity.

Marriages are often brokered between clans to make sure of diversity of bloodline and all that. Young women defer to the older men who defer to the matriarchs in the clan.

Other details can be found by checking out books on gypsy culture.
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Peter Bradley

[Treebore]

If I were to use this idea, and use the Vistani, giving up a Prime would be a good balance in my opinion. The Vistani are capable of some kewl gypsy powers!

[Thulcondar]

IIRC, the Rhenee from the World of Greyhawk were treated as a unique race. But it's been a while. You might want to see how they're treated in the modern WoG setting; might give you some non-Ravenloftish ideas...

Thulcondar
http://www.goldenfuture.net/Thulcondar

[Julian Grimm]

Thaks for the replys all and I am inclined to go with Serleran and Gideons take on them. I don't want the Vistani as they are too Ravenloft for my ideas (nothing wrong with RL but just not my taste) the Rhenee are a possibility that I will look at later on.
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[Jason Vey]

Actually, in real life the Gypsies are very much a race, and the term "Gypsy" is viewed by them as a racial slur (though there has over the past 15 or 20 years been a movement to "reclaim" the term so that it is less offensive). The origin of the word is as a bastardization of "Egyptian," and was coined in the Middle Ages out of a mistaken notion of where they were from.

The proper term for the race as a whole is "Roma," with "Rom" being singular, and "Romany" or "Romani" being the descriptive.

They are the only race represented in the United Nations (as the International Romany Union) without an actual landed country.

Here is the most respected website with information about real-life Gypsies.
http://www.geocities.com/~patrin/

A brief history of the Roma:
http://www.geocities.com/~patrin/history.htm

[Julian Grimm]

Interesting site there. I'll have to read more of each when I get done painting my living room.
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[Arazmus]

The SArista from Talislanta are also a cool choice.
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