Elymasti, an arctic bird/reptile people

[Machiavelli]

Ok, I'm definitely not understanding the "outside of combat" power offered by this poor flying ability. The first shot-in-the-dark guess I have is in getting over cliffs, walls, and other high things, but I've analyzed that and found it to be potentially even more challenging to an elyx character than any others:

An Elymastix can barely climb at all, since using his dextrous feet requires being propped up, and his wing claws have -2 Str and not much Dex to grab a rope (just holding the rope while climbing would take a risky Dex check every round).

Consequently, flying is the only reliable way to get over an obstruction. "Running" is the only way to gain any altitude in flight, and even then it's only 30' for every round of 120' forward flight each round. Assuming an entirely straight run-up of 1200', the highest cliff that could be ascended before rolling for fatigue (this is at Con=14-4=10) would be 300' tall. Now, if this isn't a cliff on the side of a mountain near a quarter-mile-wide open plain, then some turning will be involved. Circling around inside a 50'-wide circular cavern "chimney" means a full revolution at the extreme edges will take 150' of flying and 360 degrees of turning. An elymastix climbing this chimney can make 4/5ths of a revolution in a round of "running", rising 30' like usual but dropping 20' due to the 360 degrees of turning. That means in 10 rounds (the maximum before rolling for fatigue) he can climb 100'. In a cavern with 50' chimneys 100' of altitude is dwarfed by things like 1000' cliff faces, which are surprisingly common. In narrower spaces it gets exponentially worse, to the point where it is literally impossible to fly up a 10' wide elevator shaft. With a medium or heavy load even the 50' shaft is cutting it close, and remember that straight climbing with a rope is almost impossible for an elymastix.

Edit: WHOA, whoa whoa! Wait a second. I just thought of something. Running can only be done in a straight line, even in flight. Feats can be taken to add up to 180 degrees of turning (Wheel Around, I think it is), but that's it! Altitude is a precious commodity that is hard to come by for an elymastix, apparently. That puts it even BELOW the raptoran in regards to flight, since at least a raptoran gets an actual BONUS to climbing up to a launching point, instead of a climbing penalty. For the record, the raptoran doesn't have a +1 LA, either.

 

[Sound of Azure]

On Elymastix

I love your background information. I don't know why, but I always try to do full entries for races that I create also.

-4 Constitution is very harsh! That being said... I think it's balanced as a race. One thing, though. Why is the Elymastix's maneuverability rating for its fly speed? It sounds like Average.... but you don't indicate this in your entry.

If it is average, compared this to its difficulties in manipulating items...that seems fair. I think it would be quite a challenge to play this race, and an interesting one, at that!

Well done

 

[Machiavelli]

Thanks, Azure. So far I definitely agree with you, but I'm still curious about what powerful abilities outside of combat are granted by the moderate elyx flight capabilities. To answer your question:

An elymastix has Average flying maneuverability and can fly straight and level...

That's in the revision I added a few posts ago. I may re-post the race with those changes included, just for clarity.

Oh, and DannyAlcatraz, I haven't meant to ignore you all this time. It's an arctic race to set up seclusion and a certain cultural personality. Their land isn't coveted by anybody, and they aren't directly tied to it by much agriculture, so they take a dim view of territoriality. That carries over to the trait I wanted elyx characters to share: friendliness toward strangers. The bird/reptile thing came from the very inspiration for this whole race, which was a picture I found on DeviantArt by an artist by the name of Ashleigh Ellis.

 

[Wik]

You know, I remember in our old Dark Sun games, we had an aarokacra, and really - flight isn't that overpowered at all. Sure, it allows for some excellent scouting possibilities, and it can get you out of trouble in a hurry... but so what? Having to pay a +1 LA price (and suffering a -4 constitution!) would prevent me from playing one of these things.

For the record, I think the raptoran sucks.

I'd keep the +1 LA, and make these guys have slightly better flight abilities.After all, flight is the big reason someone would play these guys - you may as well make it an ability worth having.

P.S. - regarding the wis bonus for winged creatures - when you're flying, you need better eyesight and perception,and need to be able to mentally track your surroundings in 3D. I think this is best exemplified by the wisdom ability... which is why most flying creatures (especially animals) have higher wisdom scores.

 

[Land Outcast]

I support Wik's "pumping their flight" and they would remain a LA +1, maybe even give them good maneuverability.

Machiavelli: Artic race which suffers strongly from cold?

 

[Machiavelli]

Only without sunlight or an equivalent. That makes druids, sorcerers, and alchemists very popular on rainy days!

Having to pay a +1 LA price (and suffering a -4 constitution!) would prevent me from playing one of these things.

Me, too! That's why I didn't want a level adjustment. I'd drop the -4 Con, except that it just fits so nicely with a lightly built bird creature. Honestly, I'd like this race to at least be *somewhat* attractive. Something on par with base races, with some unique flare (a la Stoncutting or elves never sleeping). I like the changes to the flight capabilities, because they match nicely with what I want this race to be like in their native environment (lots of open space to get up to altitude, and a healthy elymastix could maintain flying in clear weather, all day long if necessary) without encouraging their use as combat assault helicopters.

Thankfully I don't have to convince everyone else before I use this in a campaign, just my DM (assuming that's not me). Thanks for your useful advice and helpful criticism, guys