One more hint about gnolls on PHB3?

[Remathilis]

I'm still curious: What makes the githyanki cool as a PC race? Sell me on 'em!

So, I'm starting a game at 1st level. Someone wants to play a githyanki. Clearly they will have no silver sword, there will be no pact with red dragons that the player can take advantage of, and the Astral is not likely to show up for another ten levels.

Why a githyanki? What makes 'em cool? What is this player wanting to do with a githyanki in particular? Is it their dashing good looks? Is it mechanical advantages like the Int/Con stat bumps and the telekinetic leap?

I'm not really into the guys (mostly I like races that have or can be presented as having several different cultures, and the githyanki seem kind of monoculture to me; same reason I don't really use drow). But I'm willing to be shown how awesome they are. Show me the greatness!

You hit the nail on the head: they are the planar drow. Evil, mysterious, and misunderstood. You can chuck their appeal in there with drow, shadar-kai, and any other "dark & misunderstood" race.

On the other hand, they have AWESOME fashion sense!

 

[Barastrondo]

Githyanki are the only even partially written up Con/Int race. Given that there are several classes that have builds requiring that combination, I think it's natural to want them to be elevated to full PC race status.

Me, I just want a fully written up Con/Int race. It can be githyanki or something else. Every other combo has at least one fully written-up PC race (Con/Dex has two DDI races, every other combo has at least one combo in PHB1/PHB2/FRPG/EPG).

From a purely design angle, I would probably prefer to have races with alternate stat combinations, like shifters and dopplegangers. You need an Int/Con combo? Honestly, I'd say "alternate dwarves," the kinds who are more intellectual and scientific than zealous. Just about every race (that isn't humans) probably has at least one neat alternate approach that would feel just as appropriate: a "wood elf/gray elf" split that doesn't involve eladrin, devas with a bit of physicality (the replacement race for aasimar probably should be good at being paladins), tieflings that make good infernal warlocks, half-orcs that are more Con than Dex, gnolls with Wisdom to represent a more primal subculture, and so on. Oh yeah, and maybe give humans just a little tiny extra thing to make up for them losing a bit of their versatility niche protection. Maybe.

That way you actually discourage the monoculture aspect, and maybe have some more diversity. I respect that it's not the approach 4e takes, and honestly I'm pretty happy with "lots of races" because otherwise I wouldn't have gotten tieflings in my core. But I'd like to see what things looked like with more variety within non-human races.

 

[Appleseeth]

You bring up an interesting thought Barastrondo. I'm not saying its going to happen, but think about this: Wizards has said that the PH3 is all about expanding player choice and giving more options to all players. what if one of these choices is a second set of ability modifiers for all the published races? Keeping one in place and moving the second seems fair enough. But then the problem comes, as you mentioned: what do humans get? Maybe another feat on par with Action Surge, but that lame half-elves can't steal.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Githyanki are the only even partially written up Con/Int race. Given that there are several classes that have builds requiring that combination, I think it's natural to want them to be elevated to full PC race status.

Stat combinations are the lamest reason for wanting a race to be a full PC race. Numbers don't make the race or any good reason why they should be one.

 

[garyh]

Stat combinations are the lamest reason for wanting a race to be a full PC race. Numbers don't make the race or any good reason why they should be one.

That's why I said I don't specifically care about githyanki, but just want a real PC race for Con/Int. If WotC has some new mystery race for the fourth PHB3 race that's Con/Int and has a great story behind them, that'd make me happier than githyanki getting a full write-up.

I don't think wanting the stat combo grid to be filled in is so bad. Con/Int has several builds that it's perfectly suited for, and there's no PC option that fits that mold. Meanwhile, there are tons of Str/Con, Int/Cha, Dex/Wis, and Dex/Cha races.

 

[falcarrion]

Depending how well Avatar does at the movies. We may have 10 foot tall blue guys.

 

[Rechan]

Second for the Con/Int race. I've been wanting one for a while.

And I'm not much a fan of either gith.

Actually, hm. Changeling actually have an interseting dynamic, in that they have a +2 Cha, +2 Dex OR Int. Shifters also have the two different kinds (+Str/Wis, or +Dex/Wis).

A race that split it in such a way, to permit the Con/Int dynamic, would be nice.