New background; Surface Drow

[Horwath]

Surface drow;
You were born into surface dwelling drow clan or you escaped or have been exiled at very young age from your underdark community.

You have learned to live among surface dwellers, recognize potential friends or foes and to disguise yourself as one of them where your race is un welcomed.

Skills: insight, persuasion.
Languages; pick any one.
Tools: disguise kit.

Feature: daylight adaptation.
Your early and prolonged exposure to the sun has trained your eyes to see perfectly in the bright sunshine.
You no longer suffer any penalties while in direct sunshine.

 

[ccs]

So you don't think there should be any downside to playing drow?

 

[Horwath]

So you don't think there should be any downside to playing drow?

Ofc. this part cost you your background trait. And you get some not so first class skills.

I thought about a feat to combat the vulnerability but that is too bland.
It could be; +1 to dex or cha, and remove sunlight penalty.

But I feel that the background is more appropriate.


also as a drow you are still more or less killed on sight if they are able to kill you.

 

[Mirtek]

That's definately stringer than any other background out there

 

[Horwath]

That's definately stringer than any other background out there

Maybe, but it is limited.

Also, features that negated penalties were always mathematically stronger than ones that gave bonuses.

Because the feature does not make you better than anybody else. I simply bumps you up to be equal in that category.

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

Sorry, not for me.

 

[Mirtek]

Maybe, but it is limited.

Also, features that negated penalties were always mathematically stronger than ones that gave bonuses.

Because the feature does not make you better than anybody else. I simply bumps you up to be equal in that category.

The thing is that the other background features don't really give bonuses. Theirs are just an other piece of fluff that hardly comes into play ever.

Yours however is a real mechanical benefit given out for free (as you only have to pass in some meaningless fluff that other backgrounds offer)

 

[Blue]

Background traits pretty exclusively give a non-combat advantage and help broaden the character. I don't think this fits as a background trait.

The feat makes more sense in terms of what type of thing could remove that penalty. Though from both a thematic and a balance perspective I'd pair it with something like using Drow Magic twice a day (for both faerie fire and darkness).

 

[Horwath]

Background traits pretty exclusively give a non-combat advantage and help broaden the character. I don't think this fits as a background trait.

The feat makes more sense in terms of what type of thing could remove that penalty. Though from both a thematic and a balance perspective I'd pair it with something like using Drow Magic twice a day (for both faerie fire and darkness).

I know that i would fit better as a feat.

But 1st feat is at 4th level and that is not background feature.

Maybe if we had 1st level feat by default it would open room to background/regional/racial feats.


In case of feat I would consider a feat that,

*removes sunlight penalty
*gives drow magic spells once per short rest.

 

[MrHotter]

A more expropriate way to say the the drow is not an underground drow is to let the player give up his spells and reduce his night vision to 60 feet. He could always just use the wood elf features and keep the drow appearance.

Letting someone get rid of their racial disadvantages with a background would just make it so every player would start coming up with ways for their background to give them a power boost. Maybe the halfling character would want a 'raised by dwarves' background that has a feature of making him a medium sized creature.