Large size = +1 level adjustment?

[nikolai]

Aside from reach, there's not alot of benefit to being Large. Penalty to AC, penalty to attacks, penalty to Hide checks....

• Large size. –1 penalty to Armor Class, –1 penalty on attack rolls, –4 penalty on Hide checks, +4 bonus on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits double those of Medium characters.
• Space/Reach: 10 feet/10 feet.
• A Large character can use larger weapons than a Medium character.
• (?Possible?) A large character should have a faster speed than a Medium character (40 ft.).

I do think being large is powerful. The benefits of using a large weapon are very strong, specifically it's 2 points extra-damage per hit and the sundering & disarming benefits. I think it is probably worth more than the feat and extra skill you get for being human.

 

[LightPhoenix]

No mention of powerful build?
It seems to give all the advantages of large size except reach, with no disadvantage. (more dmg from large weapons - minor? ha! avg +3.5 with 2 handed and bonuses to grapple/trips etc.)

large size comes with more expensive armor and lots of social and living problems - powerful build ignores all this.

Which is why, IMO, Powerful Build is certainly better than Large size. Screw a 2-handed sword, pick up a weapon with reach anyway. It's a clumsy mechanic when reach isn't necessarily the problem with Large size at all, as you seem to have pointed out.

large may not come with enough benifits for a +1 but logically unless the race is amazingly feeble then +2 or +4 str seems required. The combination easily pushes into a +1 ecl

+2 at the most... after all, Halflings and Gnomes only get -2 for a one-step difference.

 

[Sniktch]

Although when advancing monsters in size categories the strength boosts are usually a lot higher than +2. Watching the two half-ogres operate in two of our campaigns I have seen the advantage of Large size many times, but of course half-ogres also get a healthy bonus to strength. The two really go hand to hand in my mind, though I do envision a race of sickly scrawny giants with no higher strength than a man after reading this thread. If I design such a race, though, I'll make it at least a +1 ECL (add a couple more skill bonuses, etc)

 

[Darklone]

Half-ogres get a +6 to strength, that's actually less than monsters get who reach another size category (+8).

 

[CalrinAlshaw]

There are also other penalties for being large-sized. Purchasing weapons and armor is more expensive. Finding magical weapons and armor is much more rare. That in and of itself is a penalty I would think, along with having a -1 to attack and AC and -4 to hide checks.

I'd say give the race standard monster improvements for increasing size.

Calrin Alshaw

 

[MacMathan]

Just to add a little more to this how about the same stat mods as a half-orc (+2str, -2int/cha) and size large? Still LA 0 or now +1?

I am not sure how many people would take a medium half orc under LA 0.

 

[Nellisir]

Half-ogres get a +6 to strength, that's actually less than monsters get who reach another size category (+8).

For comparison purposes in this discussion, a medium humanoid advanced to a large humanoid, by the book, gains a +8 Str, +4 Con, -2 Dex, and gains +2 natural armor. That's worth at least +1 LA!

Some rough stats for a Large human...

Baseline Large Human; Humanoid; 1HD; 1d8; 6 hp; Str 18; Dex 8; Con 14; Int 10; Wis 10; Chr 10; AC 11 (-1 Dex, +2 natural armor), touch AC 9.

Fighter 1 Large Human (elite array ability scores) (1HD; 1d10; 9 hp; Str 23; Dex 11; Con 18; Int 10; Wis 12; Cha 8; melee attack +7 [BAB +1; +6 Str])

Cheers
Nell.

 

[Zack2216]

Yes, advancing stats as per the m.m. when a creature grows in size is worth atleast 1 ecl. However, this is not what we were looking at.

I would probably do what they did with the enlarge person spell. Large, +2 str, -2 dex.

Still a little weak. I would probably add either +2 con or +1 nat armor to that. That way, you could either interpret it as a really powerful +1, or a really weak +2. Basically, a watered down half-ogre.