Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tzarevitch" data-source="post: 1700592" data-attributes="member: 1792">They tend to be slightly either more powerful or more versatile than the ability that they replace in my opinion but I suspect they are intended to be. They are intended to make the particular race more powerful in an area that they traditionally supposed to be more powerful. If you are not playing a character who follows that race's standard tradition you stick with the normal stuff because the substitution tends to make your character worse than normal because you are giving up a valuable ability for something that is not helpful. For example if you are playing an atypical dwarf fighter: a swashbuckling, high dex dwarf who fights in light armor and uses a rapier than the dwarven fighter substitution levels set you back. There is no reason to take them because they are intended to represent the dwarven fighter tradition of the axe-wielding, giant-slaying main battle tank. In fact, taking them makes you much worse than normal because you have lost 3 feats in the process. If you are playing a dwarf cleric in say the Ghostwalk setting or in Ravenloft, you probably won't be taking the substitution levels because you need that turn undead ability and will probably never see a giant (the dwarven cleric trades Turn Undead for Smite Giant). Also, if you ever want to take a Divine Feat you can't afford to swap out Turn Undead. If you don't wield a Warhammer then the Warhammer specialist stuff is utterly useless. For the dwarven sorcerer, the abilities are powerful but you are swapping out the ability to take a familiar (a mobile pair of eyes and hands that grants Alertness) for the ability to channel the power of the earth (and still gain Alertness but with a DR 1/adamantine or something). The rest of the sorcerer swaps require you to trade off precious spells known for nice abilities, but these abilities commit you to fighting on the ground against foes on the ground. Say goodbye to any improved mobility in combat using the Fly spell or any of its derivitives and several abilities don't work if your opponent is airborne either. The abilities are great for dwarven sorcerers fighting in the underdark, but mized blessing when adventuring on the surface. Honestly I love the substitution concept because it allows player customization without the straitjacket of PrCs. It also allows some customization at low levels which PrCs can't do. Honestly I like the substitution concept much more than I like the racial paragon approach to customization that Unearthed Arcana uses. Tzarevitch</blockquote>

Verification