Quick comment on Planescape 3E races

L

LightPhoenix

First Post

• Jul 29, 2003

• #1

I was looking through the preview chapters, and a couple of things leapt out at me.

First, I really liked the fluffy write-ups for the races - very nice. The part on the 5 P's was good too. In fact, I liked most all of the fluff.

Second - what's with the Charisma penalties? Out of 17 races, a whopping 10 had a -2 to Charisma! It was so notable I had to go and count it. I guess no one likes those planars, do they?

 

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Kobold Avenger

Legend

• Jul 29, 2003

• #2

The big problem is they wanted all of the PC races to follow the same stats used in official 3e products which did a bad job at converting many of these races from Planescape in the first place...

 

I'm A Banana

Potassium-Rich

• Jul 29, 2003

• #3

First reason: The mechanics. Like they said, a lot of planar races just happen to have Cha penalties.

Second Reason: The setting. Cha penalties do good at replicating that 'planar arrogance' that they're so familiar with, and also do the 'exotic' thing. Not all exotic is good exotic, and most is bad. Planars are opinionated and cocky, and only a few are going to win beauty pagaents (sodding aasimar...)

Third Reason: History. Do you know how many things had 'reaction penalties' in 2e? I swear, that was the balancing factor for almost everything. So what translates like that into 3e? The low Chas.

And I'll stay at three reasons as being fairly appropriate.

 

BiggusGeekus

That's Latin for "cool"

• Jul 29, 2003

• #4

Planescape? 3e? Where? Tell me, tell me, tell me! Please! Please!!! PLEASE!!!!!

 

Desdichado

Hero

• Jul 29, 2003

• #5

BiggusGeekus said:

Planescape? 3e? Where? Tell me, tell me, tell me! Please! Please!!! PLEASE!!!!!

Click to expand...

Ditto.

 

Southern Oracle

Explorer

• Jul 29, 2003

• #6

And I'll stay at three reasons as being fairly appropriate.

Click to expand...

LOL

Planescape? 3e? Where? Tell me, tell me, tell me! Please! Please!!! PLEASE!!!!!

Click to expand...

Since you asked nicely, you can look here on planewalker.com to find what's been released so far.

 

Desdichado

Hero

• Jul 29, 2003

• #7

For some reason my firewall at work thinks that site is a pr0n site, so it's blocked!

 

Kobold Avenger

Legend

• Jul 29, 2003

• #8

First of all there are a lot of things that are quite arrogant and they don't get any charisma penalties at all in 3e, this would be things like elves, mind flayers and even Yuan-Ti.

Second of all the reaction penalties for everything in 2e never really got translated into 3e. Sure a Dragon article mentions something like a circumstance penalty to social skills for known evil races, and Ravenloft has the outcast ratings. But none of these really do translate into charisma penalties.

Past history, and why I think the modifiers are wrong.
Tieflings in 2e had: +1 int, +1 CHA, -1 str, -1 wis.
Githzerai in 2e had: +1 INT, +1 dex, -1 str, -1 wis.

In 3e they wrongly turned bonuses those races had into penalties, something really I hate. It's far better to reduce a bonus (like from +4 to +2) than to do that.

Charisma is an ability score that has consistently been used as a dump stat by munchkin players. For a more roleplaying intensive campaign such as Planescape, that's quite unacceptable.

 

O

Orias

First Post

• Jul 29, 2003

• #9

The fact is that many of those races are in fact, both generally "unattractive", or favoring of a more "gruff" look on general occasion, or extremely race-related, being rather alien or arrogant to members of other races, beyond just an elf to a dwarf or human, but to majority of other planar races.

 

L

LightPhoenix

First Post

• Jul 29, 2003

• #10

I don't buy the "unattractive" argument for penalties to CHA - attractiveness is relative, even amongst species. I would actually argue the same about the CHA bonus for Aasimar too.

As for the aloof/haughty/what-have-you argument - hey, I wouldn't have a problem with it, if it wasn't over half of the races presented. I would have liked to see a little more variety myself.

And I must say that's really interesting about the 2E stats... would you happen to have any others handy?