[Points of Light Clone] Tweaking the Races

[steenan]

I love the racial abilities that are useful out of combat. They help make the character unique much more than combat ones, they often fuel roleplaying and (from the DM's side of table) they shape racial cultures.

For this reason, eladrins and changelings are my favorite races and I really like their racial powers. Genasi come second - they too have flavorful racial powers, but require more work to make them fit the setting.

 

[C4]

I'm adding a new line to several racial write-ups: Alternate Names and Reflavoring. For example, the living golem write-up includes: "Alternate Names and Reflavoring: Modron, Warforged."

I think most races will have a fan somewhere. My favorites are dwarves, half-orcs, humans, half-elves, elves (the woodsy kind), deva and warforged, all for flavor-reasons.

I'm curious what you like about half orcs and half elves; is it the half-breed identity crisis appeal?

One thing that has always bugged me, is that tieflings don't have optimal stat adjustments for being infernal warlocks. What with their entire background being based on an infernal pact, it just doesn't make sense to me.

Don't worry, I got ya covered!

I love the genasi, but I wish there was a more setting un-specific name for them. I don't want to call them elementals, cause those are something entirely different!

Which setting would you like genasi to be unassociated with? Planescape, FR or another?

The githzerai have always seemed to me like they don't fit. They're just monk people without anything really distinctive that cements them in the setting.

It's interesting how the races tend to change over the editions. Before WotC, githzerai couldn't be monks -- in fact they were barred from even being lawful!

But I agree that there's nothing really distinctive about them. They seem to exist to be a slightly less fanatical contrast to their githyanki cousins.

I love the racial abilities that are useful out of combat. They help make the character unique much more than combat ones, they often fuel roleplaying and (from the DM's side of table) they shape racial cultures.

Agreed! A prime example of this are the players I've had who like anthropomorphic races. I usually end up homebrewing something for them because shifters are pretty uninspiring. Nothing about them shouts "I have the keen nose of a wolf!" or "I have the camouflage and stealth of a jaguar!"

So I've gotten on a shifter kick; redesigning the wolf dudes and the cat dudes with flavorful out-of-combat perks, and adding a raven shifter...because there's always a player who wants to fly. I'm just stuck on what perk the wolf shifter should get out-of-combat-wise...I gave them a bonus to tracking checks, but those don't come up very often.

 

[Ratinyourwalls]

Don't you dare touch fey step! It's one of the few abilities that are interesting, and have a use inside AND outside of combat.

 

[C4]

Don't you dare touch fey step! It's one of the few abilities that are interesting, and have a use inside AND outside of combat.

I got inspired by the original eladrin, so I think I have something at least as interesting as fey step. How would you like the ability to turn into a ball of light? That's mobility, a light source, and a Legend of Zelda joke all in one!

 

[Herobizkit]

Yup, for me, awesome races include:

Dwarves, and their underdark Duergar cousins (who need support)
Drow, because they can still be flavorful and make surprisingly wonderful Bards. I went and looked up the old Shadow Elves Gazetteer information and found their take on Drow very interesting.
Goblins and Kobolds. I used to hate Kobolds with a passion but one of my new players has found his calling as a Kobold Sorcerer and he is perfect at the role.
Gnolls (who need support).
Half-Elves.
Half-Orcs.
Kenku.
Warforged.

 

[Pour]

I don't know if you'd consider this bad design, but why not have paired racial powers, one combat application (but not limited to i.e. fey step) and one utility? I understand there's also racial utility powers that scale with level which PCs can take at certain points, maybe you want to support that model? Or why not a utility pool, a small, thematic grouping of tier-appropriate powers that appeal to a given race which PCs can draw from under a daily utility? Gives everyone the chance to 'live up' to their race.

 

[Jester David]

One thing to remember is that when changing a race's power you're also changing and removing all their feats at the same time. Fans of the eladrin who want to build a teleported or take advantage of any eladrin feats will have far fewer options.

What about refavouring the teleport? Instead of a pure teleport the eladrin turns into a beam of light and flashes across the battlefield as a ray of radiant energy, reforming where they choose.

 

[keterys]

Or give multiple options, like drow, half-elves, and humans.

So Eladrin can have fey step or (whatever your other option is).

 

[C4]

What about refavouring the teleport? Instead of a pure teleport the eladrin turns into a beam of light and flashes across the battlefield as a ray of radiant energy, reforming where they choose.

This. Is. Brilliant. Literally!

I don't know if you'd consider this bad design, but why not have paired racial powers, one combat application (but not limited to i.e. fey step) and one utility?

Or give multiple options, like drow, half-elves, and humans.

So Eladrin can have fey step or (whatever your other option is).

Hm, how about this idea: eladrin call the Feywild home, drow call the Shadowfell home. I know, it's a departure from tradition, but drow and eladrin are already pretty much opposites. This just makes it more explicit. And drow make perfect exemplars of the Shadowfell: they're dark, they're angsty, and they even have a racial power that summons darkness!

So what if drow and eladrin shared power options: Cloud of Darkness (or Cloud of Blinding Light, in an eladrin's case) and Fey Step. Opinions?

 

[Pour]

I think I'd be more inclined to play a drow with that kind of mirror-darkly reflection. I certainly wouldn't miss the Shadar'kai, though I think there's still room for them somewhere. Any chance of seeing Dark Ones written up as anti-gnomes. Also, would people miss the Underdark/Drow connection if the Shadowfell becomes their homeland. I'm not sure what exactly is in the Shadowdark (Underdark of the Shadowfell).