LANTERN ARCHON -- ideas on EL

[brehobit]

What is a lantern archon going to do with teleport at will? Keep in mind he cannot carry anything, so its just him.

Actually, he is allowed to bring 50lbs with him. I assume touching it is enough (and why wouldn't it be?)

Other than that, I think I agree with Stalker0. This race is very wacky and hard to give any LA to. With VoP allowed the character becomes playable even at high levels. But at what LA I'm not sure. Too many wacknesses. (Which I think could be a lot of fun.)

I think a +0 LA latern archon would be too powerful if VoP were allowed. It would make for a great sorc. At 1st level he'd rock even without VoP. At 10th level, without VoP it would be a much harder call, but with VoP still huge.

Thanks all for the fun and insightful discussion.

Mark

 

[Infiniti2000]

Too many wacknesses. (Which I think could be a lot of fun.)

I don't agree, not unless all of the PCs have wackiness. In general, such creatures actually detract from the game by stealing the spotlight all of the time. That's one reason they're not given a LA, because they're inappropriate as a PC. But, try it out and let us know how it works and the reactions of the other players.

 

[Stalker0]

A lot of people are looking at the negatives, but lets take a look at what you can do with a lantern archon's abilities.

Let's say you gave him a LA + 2. So for a level 3 game you could have a latern archon fighter 1 lets say. This guy could teleport into a room and fly to the top of the ceiling, blasting people down below. If the room is big enough, the only way to hit the archon may be arrows. I don't there's any arrow at that level that can penetrate DR 10, so the archon is completely safe, and can take on a CR 3-5 encounter by himself. If he actually happens to take some damage (off his temp hitpoints), he can just teleport away, freshen himself up with some more aid, and go back for more.

At low levels, 10 DR + temp hitpoints makes the archon pretty much invulnerable to anything he's going to face at low levels. So he can literally teleport around the dungeon to his liking. If anything actually scratches him, he teleports back to the cleric who heals him up...he throws on a little more aid, and goes at it again. Literally this latern archon could theoretically take on a Level 3 dungeon by himself. So there's a good reason many people are suggesting a LA 3-5.

 

[pawsplay]

How does this even remotely comparable to a level 10 human cleric?

Or a lantern archon wizard, cant even open his own spellbook?

Well, it's not. It's completely different.

Playing a lantern archon is sucidal at +3 LA. I dont think you are correctly comprehending just how much of a negative LA adjustment -10 str -4 int with no ability to wear anything is. By the RAW +4 str with -2 wis -2 cha is arguments for a +1 LA. By the RAW -10 str is at least -4 LA alone(possibly -5), -4 int is another -1 or 2, and inability to wear anything is at least -4.

What RAW are you citing here? I'm not aware of any rule (or guideline, in the case of race creation) that says lower than normal ability scores are even worth a -1 LA.

It may or may not be suicidal. but between the time you start playing them and the time you die, you're going to be teleporting all the place, speaking all languages, zapping death knights to death with untyped damage, and flying up and around pit traps. Then, someday, you'll be smacked by a hezrou and die instantly.