Talaysen said:
Kytess, in the passage you snipped, I *specifically* state that ECLs have already been factored in. Under my system, level adjustments remove points - that way you can tell at a glance if said adjustments actually balance things out.
Without their ECLs, the advanced races would break down as follows:
SVIRFNEBLIN - 33 points
DUERGAR - 28 points
DROW - 27 points
AASIMAR - 16 points
TIEFLING - 16 points
And yes, humans are less inherently powerful than half-elves. Consider: humans get a bonus feat (once, at first level), some extra skill points, any favored class, and they have access to any and all bonus languages save those tongues that are deliberately kept secret (such as the Druidic language). Half-elves don't get the feat or the skill points, but they do get elven immunity to sleep spells and effects, resistance to Enchantment spells and effects (+2 to saves), low-light vision, bonuses to Listen, Search and Spot, and - oh yeah - they can use magic items typically available only to elves.
And as I said before, they have NO penalties to balance this out. When I crunched the numbers, half-elves were in fact on the high end of the ideal range - more powerful than humans or elves.
I misinterpreted your statement that the ECLs were factored in. Still, half-elves aren't as powerful as humans.
"they can use magic items typically available only to elves." - What items? Elf blood means 3 things:
* Half-elves can use certain _custom_ magic items
* Rangers with favored enemy (elves) get bonuses to skill checks and damage vs. half-elves
* Elf-bane weapons damage half-elves
"And as I said before, they have NO penalties to balance this out." - What disadvantages do humans have?
Humans have an extra feat, which is useful for jump-starting a character, and (level + 3) bonus skill points, which is useful for higher-level characters. A good example of a class which benefits from this is paladin: many class skills to take, few skill points (2 base skill points, and Int isn't high on a paladin's stat list), and no bonus feats (despite having a great need for them).
The half-elven skill bonuses are almost laughable; wasting the human bonus feat on Alertness gives better results. For those not maxing out these skills, using jsut a few of the human bonus skill points works even better (so the feat can be used for something better).
Really, the only major ability of half-elves is their low-light vision. Even this, though, is minor in comparison to the human bonuses.
Elf blood is a minor negative for half-elves, but really too petty to be considered. Their favored class is the same as humans'; their language selection is also identical.
Sleep immunity will help half-elves survive for their first two levels (the only time I expect they'll see it), but it's nothing compared to the benefit of the first few levels with an extra feat - on levels 1-5, humans are noticeibly stronger as a result.
**************************
The better comparison might be to elves, though.
Half-elves have an advantage in language selection and favored class; elves have an advantage in skill bonuses. These might be balanced against each other, but the elven weapon proficiencies put elves far ahead.
Elves have +2 Dex/-2 Con, usually considered an incredible benefit. Personally, I don't think that this is as good as it's made out to be, but it's certainly better than +0 Dex/-0 Con (unless you roll ability scores in order, in which case it could be very good or very bad). On top of this, they can auto-detect secret doors - a useful, if limited, ability.
*************************
Even if you don't agree with me, you can tell from this poll how few people think half-elves are powerful - at last count they were in _last_ place, behind the "-2 net ability" half-orcs.
