Help me pimp my Swarm of Bats Paladin!

[Xath]

No I'm not actually trying to make a Bat Swarm Paladin. But my group has recently begun to realize the joys of templates, level adjustments, and monstrous hit-dice. Though their actual character plans are reasonable, some of the initial character ideas tossed around bordered on the ridiculous. It got me wondering how DMs deal with ..... "truly unique" character requests.

What's your take on LA's and monstrous races in your group? What's the most outrageous request/character you've ever seen? How would you deal with a player request to play a race with a "--" next to the Level Adjustment?

 

[Nonlethal Force]

Best advice I can give you: Decide before the campaign begins what is fair game and stick to your guns.

I used to run a few PbPs here at ENWorld. I'd always post a listing of books allowed. {I typically just allow a whole book if I allow it at all just to save confusion in a PbP} Innevitably, I'd always have a few posters chime in with their character idea from a book that I didn't allow in my clearly accessible listing. My answer was always firm: I'm sorry, that is not on the approved sources list. Please resubmit an idea if you would like to be considered.

On the flipside, if an idea is in an approved source and not specifically disallowed, then let it fly for the length of the campaign. If it is broken, you know to not allow it next time.

Additionally, I have a listing on LA +1 or LA +2 races that I intentionally nerfed to LA +0 races so that players who want to play different races but didn't want the LA wouldn't need to worry about it. Given that it is a list of my own generation, those races are ones I allow in game.

Regarding the player who wants to play an LA: -- race, unless it was a one-shot I'd simply say that it wasn't allowed. The sourcebooks allowed indicate that this race is not meant for PC play. If it was a one-shot, however, I might allow it. I can go along with almost anything for one night so long as everyone is having fun.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Compare it to a normal PC of a level equal to their HD, and add LA until it's eyeballed.

Let them know that this is "heavy house rules" territory, so a lot of the experimental things will be ret-conned later, if your judgment is affected.

And make them think of a damn good backstory.

This'll give their swarm of bats a motive, and a rough power rating, and everything else is number-crunching.

 

[hong]

Talk to Rystil Arden. IIRC he ran a game once which featured a female awakened Mord's Mansion.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Most of the guys I play with prefer "vanilla" PCs. I'm the one who goes and asks for oddball PCs. Back in 2Ed, I played Tu-Maa Ghostwalker, an Albino Minotaur Ftr/Mage, combining elements of the original M:tG Hurloon Minotaur card, Plains Native American mysticism (White Buffalo legends) and warmaking tactics (using Bows and axes, being a good runner).

For races with LA adjustments in my own D20 campaigns, I use a variation of the racial levels in Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed/Evolved- similar to but superior to the treatment in Savage Species.

I decide upon the base stats & powers for the race- equivalent to LA +0- then spread the rest of the abilities over a number of levels equal to the race's full LA. IOW, a race with a +2LA would have 2 racial levels. A PC need not ever take a single racial level, opting to stick to the race's baseline. Like any typical class level, the PC gets HD, BAB adjustments, Saving throw bonuses, etc. Like a PrCl, racial levels don't count towards Favored Class penalties.

So far, the question hasn't come up for templates, but I'd handle them the same way.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Talk to Rystil Arden. IIRC he ran a game once which featured a female awakened Mord's Mansion.

How....how did they know it was a female?

Spoiler

Or do Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansions come pre-built with genitalia and I just conveniently isolate that part of my memory because it's horrific to ponder?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Perhaps they saw its uvula...

 

[I'm A Banana]

I didn't know Magnificent Mansions came with genitalia. Mordenkainen must have been a very lonely man.

She's a brick house.
She's mighty mighty...

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Talk to Rystil Arden. IIRC he ran a game once which featured a female awakened Mord's Mansion.

Let me guess: The puns about entering by the back door continue to this day.

 

[pawsplay]

I've never understood the burning desire to play a lantern archon. You have no hands.

A friend of mine was heard to say recently, "Well, if I were going to play D&D right now, I'd probably go with, um, a half-dragon aasimar warlock."