Negative LA race?

[Celebrim]

Actually, I think the Gnobler is pretty nasty for the first couple levels of play.

At -2 LA, were looking at 3rd level Gnoblers.

First of all, with the RAW, 'Tiny' is a fairly huge advantage. While the fact that you are limited to tiny weapons hurts, what that really means is only about -2 to damage. The fact that you don't have reach hurts, but any build is going to be focused on ranged attacks anyway. In compensation for these drawbacks you have +2 to hit, +2 to AC, and +8 to hide. Additionally, I have +4 to Dex and +2 to Con.

Twenty-eight point buy gives me something like: Str 4, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 4, Wis 4, Chr 14.

I start play as a 3rd level sorcerer: BAB +1, Fort +3, Ref +4, Will -1, 15 hit points (probably best in the party). With no armor, my AC is a fairly average but creditable 14. My 14 charisma gets me 1st and 2nd level bonus spells.

I would build a sorcerer that focuses on rays (ranged touch, no save) and attacks which lack saves. I could have a huge +4 to my ranged touch attack rolls, but I'm forced probably to take shaky, but I'm still starting with a decent +2 to hit with ranged attacks. Frail is the other possibily, since I'd still end up with 12 hit points. Still, magic missile for the win - my starting level gives me two for a 4-10 pt damage attack with no need for an attack roll. I start with 6 0 level spells and 6 1st level. For brief peroids, I can do damage comparable to the party two-handed melee fighter. I start with two feats. I think it would be as effective as a '1st level' sorcerer is likely to be.

At my 2nd level, I'm gaining 4 second level spells and an attribute point, in addition to the usual extra 1st level spells, +1 to Will Saves, +1 BAB, and 3-6 hit points a sorcerer could expect to pick up. The fact that I'm a 2nd level spell caster with 17 spells is I think more than going to compensate for my weak crossbow attack. At 20 or so hit points, I probably no longer have the most hit points of anyone in the party, but I'm still the envy of the human sorcerer who probably spent their bonus feat on 'Toughness' just to be survivable. I'm clearly as powerful as any races 2nd level sorcerer, and I'm certainly still going to be that when I pick up my 3rd level spells (fireball!) at 4th level (my 6th).

At some higher level, my lack of versitility (all my skill points must go to Concentration) and terrible attributes will probably catch up with me and I'll just be 'average'. But in the mean time I'm a pretty effective arcane spellcaster during a portion of the game in which arcane spell casters are usually very challenging to make effective.

 

[lmpjr007]

Use "Human" in the PHB as a base; what would you have to take away in order for the resulting creature to have a Level Adjustment of -1?

You might want to pick up the Race Creation Cookbook if you are looking to make balanced races.

 

[A Powerful Necromanc]

Once again, you're still proving it to be playable; but not in any sense overpowered. For every advantage it's got, I could make a dwarven wizard or even sorcerer with even more advantages. Or, human wizard/sorcerer.

Oooh, human wizard with four choosable feats and two traits at level 1, and scribe scroll as well.

Traits:
Adopted (choose: Gnome. +1 illusion DC)
Gifted adept (choose: burning hands)

Flaws:
Loner (No familiar)
Non-combatant (-2 to melee hits)

Feats:
Spell focus (illusion)
Greater spell focus (illusion)
Spell focus (evocation)
Greater spell focus (evocation)
Scribe scroll (From class)

Spellbook
All cantrips

And the only three level 1 spells worth a damn:
True strike
Burning Hands
Colour spray.

Never true strike at level 1. It's only any good for you when you need to make absolute sure your disintegrate hits.

Max intelligence, good con, good dex. Fudge the rest.

Strategy: Against the masses of low HD humanoids you'll fight, colour spray. Then coup de grace. Works virtually every time. Against the (few) zombies; blast them with burning hands. Or let the fighter deal with them.

For added oomph, have the rogue administer the coup-de-grace.

Build = better in every aspect at level 1.

Why? Well, burning hands manifests as if a level 2 caster for 2d4 damage every time. With a DC of 16, reflex. Zombies will fail virtually every reflex save, as a human or troglodyte zombie have a reflex modifier of -1. (Need to roll a 17 or up).

Colour spray effectively incapacitates (renders unconscious), with a DC of 17. At least against the low level humanoids you'd fight using it. Especially because WOTC made goblinoids/scaley folk stoooopid, you'll succeed virtually every time. (18 or higher to succeed). For extra humanoid/zombie ripping power; obtain burning hands/colour spray scrolls. Lots and lots of them.

For a more spontanious version of the build, be a sorcerer (no scribe scroll for YOU) and put the 18 into charisma. Or consider grey elf wizard, without taking greater spell focus (evocation) to put the DC up to 18 on colour spray, without the DC on your burning hands really falling any.

Broken? Verily.

 

[Celebrim]

Once again, you're still proving it to be playable; but not in any sense overpowered.

I agree that its not overpowered, but only in the sense that low level spell casters are pretty weak. Is it more powerful that what you'd normally expect of a low level spell caster? Probably.

For every advantage it's got, I could make a dwarven wizard or even sorcerer with even more advantages. Or, human wizard/sorcerer.

No, you can't. My gnobler has a caster level of 3 in all of his spells, at 1st level. My gnobler is casting 17 spells, 4 of them 2nd level, at 2nd level. You can make a build with other different cool advantages, but you can't top that.

Build = better in every aspect at level 1.

Not even close. Because you've built a glass cannon that will be lucky to survive to 2nd level, much less higher. Better in some aspects, like the DC of its spells or the number of skill points you have, absolutely. But don't tell me you think that there is no difference between having 6 h.p. and 15. On many occasions, you are going to be down sucking up cure light wounds before you even get a chance to drop color spray.

At 28 pt buy, and max intelligence, you are looking at something like: Str 8, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 18, Wis 8, Chr 8. You've got like 6 hit points, an AC of 11, overall worse saves, and you've got to drop down to being pratically on top of the opponents to get off those spray spells. I've rarely seen a 1st level Wizard or Sorcerer without toughness survive long. Heck, I've seen players take the 1st level in fighter, and then start taking levels in Wizard - sacrificing their long term caster level - just to get enough hit points to survive a crit, crossbow, sword swing, etc.

Plus, all your groovy spell casting ability is what, 3 first level spells per day? You'll probably be able to drop that save or die color spray in less than half the encounters you face. Gnobby could drop a color spray too, and while DC 13 isn't DC 17, we haven't yet spoken of feats. At the very least, I could take spell casting prodigy and up the DC to 14, even with just one selectable feat.

I've done really nothing with Gnobby's feats. I'm quite certain we could arrange to do something to up the already described goodness if we did. You took two badly designed flaws that don't cost you anything significant. Can I do that? Can I raid any feat ever published too? Because you know, I've seen a feat that let's me base my sorcerery off of my CON score instead of CHR, and with that feat Gnobby suddenly goes from slightly abusable to freakin' insane.

Sure you just made a heavily specialized Wizard and abused some flaws. But don't tell me you just made something strictly superior to the very straight forward sorcerer build haven't -2 LA gives you.