Drow - good for anything?

[Darklone]

They are FAR FAR easier to kill than a normal mage.

7th level human mage: Con 14. 32 hp.
5th level drow mage: Con 12. 18 hp.

The human is out of 1 shot range, really. I mean, he isnt quite, but without a huge crit, he's pretty safe. The Drow is pretty much killable by any attack.

Seeten, I agree with most stuff you said... just a minor quirk. For a level 7 char, that human mage is IMHO in 1 shot range as well (for a little buffed FPAATT thf fighter with good str)

Hmm, a simple scorching ray with PBS might kill that human if you roll just a little bit over average. I don't want to say though that helps the drow

Sheesh, wizards are sooo easy to kill.

 

[Seeten]

Well, I admitted he wasnt QUITE out of range of a 1 shot, but if you sneeze on the drow he dies.

 

[Psion]

Um.

OK, so 18-20 = not *so* bad. Hey, 17-19 = not *so* bad too, for that matter (wiz, not sorc here).

Any other comparison of (non-epic) caster levels = very bad indeed. Would you rather be a 5th level wizard, or a 3rd level wizard with SR, Darkvision, whatever. . .?

Indeed. I hate that in some circles, 20th level is the implicit balancing assumption, when in fact very little of the total play time occurs there.

 

[WarlockLord]

You know, it's kinda odd that the drow make the best paladins, as thy're supposed to all evil & stuff.

Really though, what ticks me of is the favored spellcasting class, when they aren't as good. It's hard slogging through the low levels as a +2 LA, with the result that people get frustated and have the DM kill their PC (I did this once. I was so happy with the human wizard I used afterwards). Plus, you lose a feat to take Daylight Adaptation.

Sorry about the snark. I was justing speaking as a player, who, time & time again, tries to make drow mages only to watch them suck and die.

 

[pawsplay]

You can get a lot of mileage out of a drow by picking something that
a) likes Dex
b) likes a bonus to Int or Cha
c) had at least a d6 for hit dice
d) likes SR, so can have one good save

One choice is a drow bard. Bards don't depend on throwing out a Big Spell every round; a lot of the time they're just going to be casting haste or some power up of hold person. A slight delay in bard abilities is no biggie, either. What do you get in return? A bard with good Dex AND Int AND Cha. Although not capable of casting, say, one or two high level spells, they are going to have a lot of staying power.

Another is the swashbuckler from CW, at least until 3rd level.... good Dex, Int bonus to damage.

Drow can be bladesingers... you're not going to have a high caster level for a bladesigner, anyway. But a drow swashbuckler/wizard has Int to armor class plus a good Dex, Int to damage, Int for bonus spells and DCs, good skill points, a combination of good saves and SR.

Drow duskblade. Nuff said.

Drow wilders are good for melee and blasting, and have SR/PR.

Drow hexblades are very solid. Cha for spells and curses, good Dex with light armor, mettle plus SR is a pretty good defense.

Drow warlock. Who needs caster level when you can shoot things all day? Good Dex, good DCs on invocations, good skill points.

Drow rogue. With the LA, their high Dex and Int means their skill ratings are actually only one point lower.

Drow knights are fascinatingly effective. Good challenges, d12s make up for Con, Int and Wis can serve as dump stats.

Sorcerer. You get a good Cha, which somewhat makes up for two caster levels, and you get +Int, improving your skills. Dex never hurts a caster, either.

Bad drow choices:

Single classed barbarian loses Str and Con, and gains... darkvision and SR. Lame!

Single classed fighter.... low Str and Con is weak, and a lower level means less feats.

Single classed cleric... although very fashionable for the evil NPC set, with +2 LA, you're losing caster level, hit dice, you get no Wisdom bonus, and a high Dex doesn't synergize well with medium and heavy armors. A low Str and Con make you a weak melee cleric, and crossbow proficiency makes for a weak cleric archer.

 

[wildstarsreach]

You can get a lot of mileage out of a drow by picking something that
a) likes Dex
b) likes a bonus to Int or Cha
c) had at least a d6 for hit dice
d) likes SR, so can have one good save

One choice is a drow bard. Bards don't depend on throwing out a Big Spell every round; a lot of the time they're just going to be casting haste or some power up of hold person. A slight delay in bard abilities is no biggie, either. What do you get in return? A bard with good Dex AND Int AND Cha. Although not capable of casting, say, one or two high level spells, they are going to have a lot of staying power.

Another is the swashbuckler from CW, at least until 3rd level.... good Dex, Int bonus to damage.

Drow can be bladesingers... you're not going to have a high caster level for a bladesigner, anyway. But a drow swashbuckler/wizard has Int to armor class plus a good Dex, Int to damage, Int for bonus spells and DCs, good skill points, a combination of good saves and SR.

Drow duskblade. Nuff said.

Drow wilders are good for melee and blasting, and have SR/PR.

Drow hexblades are very solid. Cha for spells and curses, good Dex with light armor, mettle plus SR is a pretty good defense.

Drow warlock. Who needs caster level when you can shoot things all day? Good Dex, good DCs on invocations, good skill points.

Drow rogue. With the LA, their high Dex and Int means their skill ratings are actually only one point lower.

Drow knights are fascinatingly effective. Good challenges, d12s make up for Con, Int and Wis can serve as dump stats.

Sorcerer. You get a good Cha, which somewhat makes up for two caster levels, and you get +Int, improving your skills. Dex never hurts a caster, either.

Bad drow choices:

Single classed barbarian loses Str and Con, and gains... darkvision and SR. Lame!

Single classed fighter.... low Str and Con is weak, and a lower level means less feats.

Single classed cleric... although very fashionable for the evil NPC set, with +2 LA, you're losing caster level, hit dice, you get no Wisdom bonus, and a high Dex doesn't synergize well with medium and heavy armors. A low Str and Con make you a weak melee cleric, and crossbow proficiency makes for a weak cleric archer.

This is an excellent analysis. I agree with Pawnsplay.

 

[Darklone]

You know, it's kinda odd that the drow make the best paladins, as thy're supposed to all evil & stuff.

Blackguards? Sneak attack plus all the nifty paladin stuff? I like it.

 

[WarlockLord]

Hey, check out what I found...

...all these racial drow feats!

Disease Shield

Type: Racial
Source: Dragon #327

You can radiate an aura of sickening necromantic energy. Cha 17, any three racial feats.

Prerequisite: Drow
Benefit: As a standard action, you can activate an aura of foul magic that surrounds you in a five-foot-radius. All creatures that come into contact with this aura must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + your Charisma bonus + your total number of racial feats) or become sickened for a number of rounds equal to your total number of racial feats. You can have a disease shield active for a number of rounds per day equal to your total number of racial feats, but these rounds need not be consecutive. You may lower your aura as a free action at any point after the disease shield has been active for 1 round.
Special: This is a supernatural effect.

Life Tap

Type: Racial
Source: Dragon #327

You can absorb life energy from living creatures you slay, healing damage with each kill.

Prerequisite: Wis 13, any one racial feat, Drow
Benefit: When you kill a living creature with a melee weapon you may immediately heal a number of hit points equal to 1 hp for every 2 RD possessed by the fallen creature (minimum 1). You may use this ability a number of times per day equal to the number of racial feats you possess. You may decide to use this ability upon dealing the death blow as a free action.
Special: This is a supernatural effect.

Undead Command

Type: Racial
Source: Dragon #327

You can command undead creatures to follow your verbal orders.

Prerequisite: Cha 19, any two racial feats, Drow
Benefit: As a standard action, you can vocally order a single undead creature within 30 feet to undertake a specific action, as per the spell command. The undead creature can attempt to resist your order with a successful Will save (DC 10 + your Charisma modifier + your total number of racial feats), but otherwise it must follow your command to the best of its ability. You can issue a total number of commands per day equal to your total number of racial feats.
Special: This is a supernatural and language-dependent effect.

Disease Bolt

Type: Racial
Source: Dragon #327

You can channel tiny motes of negative energy and hurl them at enemies.

Prerequisite: Cha 13, any two racial feats, Drow.
Benefit: As a standard action, you can hurl a bolt of negative energy as a ranged touch attack. On a successful hit, you deal 1d6 points of damage per racial feat you possess. You can hurl a disease bolt a number of times per day equal to the total number of racial feats you possess. Damage dealt by a disease bolt heals undead creatures rather than damaging them.
Special: This is a supernatural effect.

Damage Mastery

Type: Racial
Source: Dragon #327

You are efficient at dealing damage with a particular type of weapon.

Prerequisite: Drow
Benefit: Select one damage type from the following: bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing. You gain a competence bonus on weapon damage rolls made with weapons that deal this type of damage. The bonus gained to damage equals 1 plus 1 for every three other racial feats you possess. Thus, a character with Damage Mastery (bludgeoning) and three other racial feats would gain a +2 competence on all damage dealt with a bludgeoning weapon.
Special: You may gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take this feat it applies to a new type of weapon.

Increased Carrying Capacity

Type: Racial
Source: Dragon #327

You can carry far more than someone of your strength should be able to.

Prerequisite: Drow
Benefit: For the purposes of determining your carrying capacity (see page 162 of the Players Handbook) your effective Strength increases by a number equal to your total number of racial feats. The virtual Strength bestowed by this feat offers no benefit to combat rolls, skill checks, or other activities such as lifting a gate, grappling, or moving a grappled creature; the bonus should not be interpreted as a bonus to any other situation except when determining carrying capacity

 

[Aus_Snow]

This is an excellent analysis.

It might've been, had it included one of the most significant drawbacks a Drow has, compared with a human, elf, dwarf, whatever:

Two fewer hit dice, with all that those (class levels) bring.

For example. . . how, in actual play, is it that "a good Cha [even somewhat] makes up for two caster levels" . . .?


So either way, you have weak and vulnerable combatants, weak and vulnerable casters, or weak and vulnerable er.. anything else.

 

[Felix]

Two fewer hit dice, with all that those (class levels) bring.

You say this in bold as if you haven't mentioned it before.

You have.

We were paying attention.