Balance Powerful Build 0LA

[Sigurd]

A number of posts I've seen have tried to squeeze powerful build into a 0 LA race. This appears to me to balance out. What do people think:

Skaggur Orc
Bred with care from the largest Orcs and Ogres this servitor race has grown large under the heel of its Masters. Not alll Skaggurs remain in service however. Some are abandoned, escape or are born to free orc tribes. The maturity of a Skaggur is celebrated in any orc clan.

Medium Size
30ft movement
+2 Str, -2 Dex, -2 Int, -2 Wis
+2 racial bonus to Spot and listen
Powerful Build
Light Sensitivity (as the Orc)
-2 Will Saves (this is a biggy because it gives you a real weakness to charm and mind control.)
Must take toughness as your first level feat. (essentially lose a feat.)​

Sigurd

 

[Technik4]

Its a good try. Here is what I would do:

Skaggur Orc
Bred with care from the largest Orcs and Ogres this servitor race has grown large under the heel of its Masters. Not alll Skaggurs remain in service however. Some are abandoned, escape or are born to free orc tribes. Nevertheless, they find it difficult to think for themselves.

Medium Size Humanoid (Orc)
30ft movement
+2 Str, -2 Dex, -2 Int, -2 Cha
Powerful Build
Darkvision
Light Sensitivity (Ex): Skaggur Orcs are dazzled in bright sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell.
Servile Heritage (Ex): -2 to saving throws against mind-affecting or compulsion effects. Skaggur Orcs cannot take the feat Iron Will.
Favored Class: Barbarian
LA: +0

 

[Darklone]

What about movement rate 20ft instead of that "cannot take Iron Will"?

 

[borble]

or +2 con and
-4 on all daplomacy and climb,...........

 

[monboesen]

Be aware that a -4 penalty on diplomacy is not a real disadvantage for a character, that will obviously not make any use of the skill anyway.

 

[Sigurd]

Technik4 - I like it.

I don't want to reduce the Charisma of these bad boys. I don't think charisma reductions work for a dynamic critter with a forceful (if angry) personality. You get into the half orc fudge for intimidate etc... Better to leave charisma alone it's usually a dump stat for warrior beasts anyway.

As to the 20' movement rate - I just don't see it. Physical prowess and hobbled movement wouldn't make sense.

The weak will is painful but its about as bad as powerful build is good

S

 

[Darklone]

As to the 20' movement rate - I just don't see it. Physical prowess and hobbled movement wouldn't make sense.

The weak will is painful but its about as bad as powerful build is good

S

Quasimodo? Short legs, long arms? Gorillas? They are horribly fast climbers, but their normal movement isn't that great.

 

[starwed]

Eh, I don't like this. If you optimize it for combat, it's still going to be way better than any other race for building a combat machine. The fact that you fail 80% of your will saves instead of 70% of them won't really make the human fighter feel any better about his relative weakness in combat.

I think being Large but losing reach is actually less potent than powerful build, and easier to balance.

 

[Machiavelli]

Hm, perhaps the best approach to a balanced Powerful Build LA+0 would be a racial hitdie, coupled with a bonus feat?

I just so happen to see Powerful Build as a very beneficial racial ability. The ideas I can think of to balance it back to LA+0 don't mesh well with a physically imposing figure. Without invoking some very interesting fluff, a race with Powerful Build should probably also have a Str and/or Con bonus, and perhaps even increased speed.


Here's an idea:

Fimblywhatsit
The reclusive fimblywhatsits live in the densest woods, where little can be learned of them by outsiders. Some say they were once not so different from elves, but over the centuries they used strange magic to distort their bodies into gaunt and unnatural forms. They dart through the forest's many shadows and patches of thick cover, preferring to be constantly on the move.

Medium Size Humanoid
30ft movement
-2 Dex, -2 Con, -2 Cha
Powerful Build
Low-Light Vision
+2 racial bonus on Spot and Listen checks
Quadrupedal: As a free action, when carrying nothing in its hands and using its hands for nothing else, a fimblywhatsit may move on all four limbs to gain +20 base movement.
Shifty: A fimblywhatsit's gaunt, quickly and constantly moving frame offers a +2 deflection bonus to AC while conscious and not bound or constricted in any way. This bonus is lost when the fimblywhatsit loses its Dex bonus (if any) to armor class.
Favored Class: Scout
LA: +0

 

[GreatLemur]

I'd been thinking a little while ago that Powerful Build can't really be all that overpowering. I mean, it give a few extremely situational modifiers (the kind that dwarves get a huge, unreasonable pile of), and the ability to use a larger weapon size. And that's like, what, an average of +1 damage per attack?

Wrong. It's a +1 for a small character who gets to use medium weapons, sure. But for a medium character who gets to use large weapons, in can be worth a lot more, due to the weirdly uneven weapon-damage-by-size chart. A medium creature with powerful build using a large greataxe gets a 3d6 (!!!) for damage instead of a 1d12. 1d12 to 3d6 is an average adjustment of +4 damage!

The half-giant is actually pretty damned overpowered at +1 LA, I'm thinking. Powerful Build, +2 to Str and Con, non-humanoid creature type, and a free psychokinetic stomp once per day? Damn.

Fimblywhatsit
The reclusive fimblywhatsits live in the densest woods, where little can be learned of them by outsiders. Some say they were once not so difference from elves, but the over centuries used strange magic to distort their bodies into gaunt and unnatural forms. They dart through the forest's many shadows and patches of thick cover, preferring to be constantly on the move.

Medium Size Humanoid
30ft movement
-2 Dex, -2 Con, -2 Cha
Powerful Build
Low-Light Vision
+2 racial bonus on Spot and Listen checks
Quadrupedal: As a free action, when carrying nothing in its hands and using its hands for nothing else, a fimblywhatsit may move on all four limbs to gain +20 base movement.
Shifty: A fimblywhatsit's gaunt, quickly and constantly moving frame offers a +2 deflection bonus to AC while conscious and not bound or constricted in any way. This bonus is lost when the fimblywhatsit loses its Dex bonus (if any) to armor class.
Favored Class: Scout
LA: +0

That's a pretty damned interesting little writeup. I especially like the Quadrupedal ability. But now I'm afraid I'm going to have the word "fimblywhatsit" stuck in my head for the rest of the day... Anyway, wouldn't a gaunt, long-limbed race have reach without large size, rather than large size without reach? Maybe I'm picturing the critters wrong, though.