Can half-elves be fixed?

[takyris]

I'm sure it's already over, debate-wise, but I'd like to chime in and say that I don't think half-elves got the shaft. If you were going to give them anything else, you ought to either take away the +2 save bonus versus enchantments or up their ECL.

Or perhaps my game is just Enchantment heavy.

Aaaaaaaand shutting up.

-Tacky

 

[Azure Trance]

Odd bonuses make it too easy to min/max - you can hide the penalties by applying them to odd numbers. Say you got a +1 to Dex and a -1 to Con, and you had rolled a 15 for each of them. Your Dex would be 16 (raising your bonus by 1) and your Con would be 14 (no change to your bonus).

Interesting ... never would have guessed it was a game balancing mechanism

 

[BiggusGeekus]

I'm sure it's already over, debate-wise, but I'd like to chime in and say that I don't think half-elves got the shaft.

I'm inclined to agree.

However, if I were to "fix" half-elves, I'd turn their search ability into auto-search (in the thread quoted I was corrected on this point). The ability to auto-search wouldn't change any existing d20 products and it would be a very nice ability for the half-elf to have.

 

[Destil]

I give them a bonus skill point ever level and 4 at 1st, just like humans. Humans still have the extra feat, which is roughly compairable to their bonuses to spot & listen, Low light vision, sleep imunity and the bonus vs. enchantment. Compairing, the bonuses are like a weak Iron Will and a weak Alertness (roughly worth half a feat each) and the sleep imunity and low light are nice flavor perks, that don't really add too much power.

And humans are still more popular in my game, because they have more flexibility (bonus feat for whatever you want vs. some interesting bonuses that you can't choose). Fighters would typicaly rather have power attack, cleave and weapon focus first level, Clerics often want a spell casting and a combat feat et cetera.

 

[Kamard]

In all my playing of 3e, no one has ever played a half-elf.

If someone wanted to, I'd give them the four hour trance like an elf has, just to even them out a little.

They'd still suck, IMHO.

 

[darkbard]

IMC i give half-elves the choice of either [1] a bonus feat, as per human or [2] bonus skill-points, as per human. somebody proposed this idea on one of those original "did half-elves get the shaft?" threads and it seems to work just fine for me.

 

[Nifft]

I vote for the extra skill point (and 4 at 1st level). That's a good match for the type of character I see a Half-Elf playing, which include Bards, Rogues and Rangers.

-- Nifft

 

[Apok]

Simple solution that makes Half-Elves desirable and unique; let them choose any one or two skills that automatically become class skills for them. It's not as good as a bonus feat, but it's also different from just giving them bonus skill points (which is boring).

Edit; typo

 

[Tewligan]

Nooo, don't "fix" the half-elf! Its current state of suckiness keeps adventuring parties from being packed to the gills with these supposedly rare hybrids like they used to be in the 1e and 2e days. It's PC race ecology at work. If anything, the rules should be changed to allow the DM to punch a player who chooses to play a half-elf squarely in the face.

(Hm, I contributed nothing useful to the discussion - that'll happen, I guess.)

 

[Jim DelRosso]

New Feat:

Elven Blood [Initial]

Prerequisites: Must be human; must take feat at 1st level.

Benefits:

• +1 racial bonus to Listen, Search, and Spot checks.
• For all special abilities and effects, a half-elf is considered an elf.
• Immunity to sleep spells and similar magical effects, and a +2 racial bonus to saving throws vs. Enchantment spells or effects.
• Low-light vision.

There you go. This gives the half-elves half of what the elves get (which amounts to the previous half-elf bennies), but allows them half of the human bonuses -- they still get an extra skill point each level, but have to give up the human bonus feat to do it.