Why do you use LA in your campaign?

[GreatLemur]

I don't think a vampire PC or a drow should be punished with LA just because of the fact that they're more superior than other races.

This idea is as hilariously bad as your English.

 

[Satori]

I agree with Joe B.



The current LA system is a bit wonky...but ignoring it all together creates a SERIOUS imbalance between PCs, and can put the "Core" races out of the spotlight.

Why play a human fighter when you can play a Half-Ogre?

Why play a Half Orc barbarian when you can be a Half Dragon?

Why play a halfling rogue when you can play a Skulk?

Getting rid of LA is silly and will create an imbalance of power similar to RIFTS, where you had the option to play a human with 5 HP or an alien with 50000 HP.

Unique races should NOT be an optimized choice for giggly, wiggly, ADHD players who NEED to play a Half-Drow/Half-Demon/Vampiric Werewolf that dual wields Katana.

They should be reserved for mature players that don't mind a cut in power for the opportunity to play something unique. Keeping LA ensures this result.

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

I agree with Joe B.



The current LA system is a bit wonky...but ignoring it all together creates a SERIOUS imbalance between PCs, and can put the "Core" races out of the spotlight.

Why play a human fighter when you can play a Half-Ogre?

Why play a Half Orc barbarian when you can be a Half Dragon?

Why play a halfling rogue when you can play a Skulk?

Getting rid of LA is silly and will create an imbalance of power similar to RIFTS, where you had the option to play a human with 5 HP or an alien with 50000 HP.

Unique races should NOT be an optimized choice for giggly, wiggly, ADHD players who NEED to play a Half-Drow/Half-Demon/Vampiric Werewolf that dual wields Katana.

They should be reserved for mature players that don't mind a cut in power for the opportunity to play something unique. Keeping LA ensures this result.

While I do use LA (or at least a modified form of it), why "should" it be as you describe? I'd go so far as to say the inverse is probably true: the "giggly, wiggly, ADHD players" are likely to enjoy the game less as a result, and I'm not sure to what extent the "mature players" are likely to enjoy it more. After all, you seem to be using "mature player" as synonymous with "real roleplayer," so why should they care if the other players get to be more powerful?

There's a very good reason to use LA, or at least to improve on the concept so it works properly (i.e., provides roughly the same level of mechanical balance as the core races), but that reason is rooted in appealing to Spike (one of the Magic the Gathering player psychographics who maps most closely to Robin D. Laws' "tactician" player type) - to have a game appealing to Spikes, you need to require skill to "win," and removing LA removes that consideration.

That good reason is not, however, to rub in the face of Timmy (another Magic psychographic, the one you're insulting in your earlier description) how badwrong his fun is.

 

[Umbran]

This idea is as hilariously bad as your English.

Dude, if nothing else, we get folks through here for whom English is not a first language. Making fun of them for that is uncool. Next time, if you aren't going to give substantive reasoning or support for your rejection of an idea, at least don't be mean about it.

That, of course, goes for everyone. Show some respect for your fellow posters. Be civil.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

My DM dislike the idea of LA and so do I. Some races are just better than other. I don't think a vampire PC or a drow should be punished with LA just because of the fact that they're more superior than other races.

Would you allow someone to start at 15th level in a campaign designed for 1st level? How about if they chose to have all 30's for ability scores. How about beginning the game with ten times their recommended wealth? After all, some people are just more experienced, powerful and richer than others.

LA doesnt matter if you care dont care about balance.

In practice, most things are seriously over LA'd. Monster hit dice flat pretty much stink in even the best case scenario. Hell, Savage Species was designed with the intent that it not be used (making it the worst published WOTC book to date). As such, evenm if you like the concept of LA, you should keep an eye towards actual playability of the monstrous PC. Most of them are terribly underpowered. Additionalyl, the way the spellcasting system is set up makes many monstrous race casters basically useless.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Some races are just better than other. I don't think a vampire PC or a drow should be punished with LA just because of the fact that they're more superior than other races.

It's true that some races are just better. Ogre mages are better than goblins in every respect. The question is should an ogre mage PC therefore be better than a goblin PC. In my opinion, no he shouldn't. Balance is supreme. The two major player choices are race and class. These should both be balanced. A player shouldn't be able to become much more powerful, Rifts style, purely by the simplest of initial choices. It should be much harder than that.

Of course if you want a game where ogre mage PCs are just better than goblin PCs (and I'm sure there will be a lot of those) then you can house rule LA away very easily.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

They should be reserved for mature players that don't mind a cut in power for the opportunity to play something unique. Keeping LA ensures this result.

Each PC is their own unique snowflake. I'm pretty sure theres more lizardfolk druids than dwarf wizards. So why should the lizardfolk druid suck?

Better yet, red hair is less common than brown. Lets make having red hair cost a feat! No benefit other than you get red hair. Maybe you can also get green eyes for another feat. Afterall, "mature" players wont mind wasting a feat to have his character look the way he wants.

Mechanics should be balanced by themselves. I'm not saying monstrous races should be better than PHB races, but they should be clos eenough for government work on either side of the power scale. Not intentionally crapped on. After all, the DM should be the arbiter of what PC races are allowed, not an artificial penalty to discourage play.

 

[ThirdWizard]

People kvetch a lot about losing caster levels. well, if you die before you reach levels and have to be raised, you end up a caster level behind anyway. Sure, a hit on caster level sucks... if you think you're never going to die and those abilities won't keep you alive at some point.

Remember, lower level PCs gain levels faster than higher level ones.

 

[GreatLemur]

Dude, if nothing else, we get folks through here for whom English is not a first language. Making fun of them for that is uncool. Next time, if you aren't going to give substantive reasoning or support for your rejection of an idea, at least don't be mean about it.

That, of course, goes for everyone. Show some respect for your fellow posters. Be civil.

Yeah, I admit that was shortsighted of me, and afterwards, I kind of expected to get called on it.

notjer, if English is indeed not your first language, I apologize.

 

[notjer]

Yeah, I admit that was shortsighted of me, and afterwards, I kind of expected to get called on it.

notjer, if English is indeed not your first language, I apologize.

English is not my first language, I am from Denmark. I have no problem at all when it comes to read English, however. When I'm writing the problems starts. I prefer mathematic, chemi, physic, religion and philosofy from languages. Anyways thanks for the apologize.