New Race balance poll.

[Kitirat]

I'd like to get people's general opinion on a new race's crunch as compared to other known PHB races. I am leaving out any fluff, even the name, because I want a focus on the equality of the mechanics, and not anything else. Most importantly after voting if you did not choose balanced, it would be awesome for feedback on how to make it balanced (drop this ability, add this, etc).

Racial Traits
Average Height: 5’10’-6’3’
Average Weight: 150-250 lbs.

Ability Scores: +2 Strength, +2 Constitution
Size: Medium
Speed: 6 squares
Vision: Low-Light

Languages: Common, Gnoll
Skill Bonuses: +2 Endurance, +2 Insight

Group Empathy: If you shift an ally or they shift you, the target may be moved an additional square.
Color Blind: XXX are racially color-blind.
Feral Surge: You gain both a standard and move action when you use an action point.
Opportunistic Bite: You can use Opportunistic Bite as an at-will power.
Fleetpaw: You do not grant combat advantage from running.

RACIAL POWER
OPPORTUNISTIC BITE
You are naturally cunning and use your instincts and maw to take advantage when an enemy falters.
At-Will…Free Action…Personal
Attack: Dexterity v.s. Reflex
Effect: Whenever an adjacent enemy rolls a natural 1 with a melee attack, you may make an attack against them with your bite dealing 1d8+Str Mod in damage.

As a quick aside, the natural 1 mechanic has been used in my game for 15 years and comes naturally to me. I know other DM's might find it too clunky for them. That said I ask you judge it not on ease of play but viability in the setting. Assuming 5 combat rounds as an average encounter with 5 monsters on average, that is roughly 25 strikes possible (assuming all of them are right next to the character) with a 1 in 20 chance of a free attack, so in general, you could imagine this to be one too two bites per encounter as an average.


P.S. The race also has a +2 minutes to tactics rolls in my setting (players are not allowed to discuss actions in my setting and require a tactics roll to get a few minutes to dicuss their actions for the round. It adds a lot of excitement to the game and chaos to the war. The idea for this race is they are exceptionally good at group tactics. Also the color blind is a negative and normally races do not have them, but it is more of a flavor thing than a true disadvantage 99.9% of the time.

 

[Snarls-at-Fleas]

Check the Languages line if you want to keep your race secret

 

[Kitirat]

Check the Languages line if you want to keep your race secret

It is not a gnoll but it does have a bite.

See ya,
Ken

 

[1of3]

The Gnolls from the monster manual have Pack Tactics (+5 dam when ally is in contact with target) as a "racial" ability. Just in case you want to keep that consistent.

Group Empathy: If you shift an ally or they shift you, the target may be moved an additional square.

First of all, you can SLIDE other people. SHIFT is what you do yourself.

Feral Surge: You gain both a standard and move action when you use an action point.
Fleetpaw: You do not grant combat advantage from running.

I think, 4E is pretty strict about not granting extra actions. So Feral Surge is not a good idea.

Fleetpaw isn't that bad but it kills tactical consideration. Usually one has to think whether running is a good idea or not. But not your predators here. Just make it MOVE 7.

RACIAL POWER
OPPORTUNISTIC BITE
You are naturally cunning and use your instincts and maw to take advantage when an enemy falters.
At-Will…Free Action…Personal
Attack: Dexterity vs. Reflex
Effect: Whenever an adjacent enemy rolls a natural 1 with a melee attack, you may make an attack against them with your bite dealing 1d8+Str Mod in damage.

I like the idea but the variance on that one is quite high. I'd rather make it: "Encounter Immediate Interrupt, when an adjactant enemy misses an attack"

 

[HP Dreadnought]

I'd suggest that if you want to create a balanced race, you should wait until the PHB is out and we can see the big picture on races. Until that happens, there really isn't a good way to balance it.

 

[Moon-Lancer]

are their any races that get improvements to just physical stats? As far as I have seen its one mental and one physical. The questions is, are humans going to be limited to this or not?

 

[Imban]

I think, 4E is pretty strict about not granting extra actions. So Feral Surge is not a good idea.

Well, eh. It does allow for a long round (five active actions!) in a worst-case scenario, but having three valid active minor actions to perform doesn't seem likely from what we've seen so far, and moving twice is... moving twice. Eh.

Fleetpaw isn't that bad but it kills tactical consideration. Usually one has to think whether running is a good idea or not. But not your predators here. Just make it MOVE 7.

Agreed. The only counterbalance to running is that you're flat-footed. Removing that counterbalance is kinda silly. Faster speed is probably what you want.

are their any races that get improvements to just physical stats? As far as I have seen its one mental and one physical. The questions is, are humans going to be limited to this or not?

Tieflings get bonuses to two mental stats.

Though I don't entirely like the whole "+2/+2" thing - it drops the legitimate "design space" for racial stat arrays down to just 15 (well, more if you add oddball things like "any physical", "any mental", "any", "Strength or Constitution", or whatnot), while 3e's "+2/-2 or +0" had 31 available, and something like "+4 total, no more than +4 or less than -2 in a stat" has waaaaaay more.

 

[Kitirat]

The Gnolls from the monster manual have Pack Tactics (+5 dam when ally is in contact with target) as a "racial" ability. Just in case you want to keep that consistent.



First of all, you can SLIDE other people. SHIFT is what you do yourself.




I think, 4E is pretty strict about not granting extra actions. So Feral Surge is not a good idea.

Fleetpaw isn't that bad but it kills tactical consideration. Usually one has to think whether running is a good idea or not. But not your predators here. Just make it MOVE 7.

I like the idea but the variance on that one is quite high. I'd rather make it: "Encounter Immediate Interrupt, when an adjactant enemy misses an attack"

THese are not gnolls and flavor wise feel very different in fluff. Thanks for the info on the gnolls though.

Thanks for the shift/slide mix-up as well, good catch.

As for the extra actions, I think 1 move action every other encounter is likely not going to go too far outside the realm of viability for 4th ed.

For Fleet Paw, your right, it does take out consideration but I dislike the idea of simply giving them a move 7 just from a sameness perspective as the elves. Still, it was my original concept and likely what is best to do.

I disagree about the encounter part of your rewording (though the rest is great), a reactionary effect once a combat is too weak as compared to other race abilities. Look at the dragonborn whom can hit a 9 hex range with a good bit of damage as a minor action or the dwarves ability to surge for minor (this is huge in play), or finally, the eldarin teleport. All are generally going to be more substantial. Thus "reactionary" effects IMO should have a higher chance of multiple "times" going off then at will abilities useable when needed most.

Great comments, thanks,
Ken

 

[Kitirat]

I'd suggest that if you want to create a balanced race, you should wait until the PHB is out and we can see the big picture on races. Until that happens, there really isn't a good way to balance it.

What fun is there in that?

I have more free time now then in the summer and we know enough about the races that a real comparison is not unreasonable. It is not like I'm going to go off and publish it tomorrow.

Perhaps a "from what you have seen is it balanced" can be good enough. Have any further opinion?

 

[occam]

Though I don't entirely like the whole "+2/+2" thing - it drops the legitimate "design space" for racial stat arrays down to just 15 (well, more if you add oddball things like "any physical", "any mental", "any", "Strength or Constitution", or whatnot), while 3e's "+2/-2 or +0" had 31 available, and something like "+4 total, no more than +4 or less than -2 in a stat" has waaaaaay more.

It might be even more limited than that. Though we have only three examples to work form (that I know of), I suspect that the ability scores getting bonuses might each come from different pairs, the pairs being:

• Str/Con
• Dex/Int
• Wis/Cha

That would be to allow bonuses to two defenses, instead of "wasting" both bonuses on one (as the +2 Strength/+2 Constitution would, both being applied to Fortitude). If that's correct, then the possible set of ability score bonuses drops to 12:

• +2 Str, +2 Dex
• +2 Str, +2 Int
• +2 Str, +2 Wis
• +2 Str, +2 Cha (dragonborn)
• +2 Con, +2 Dex
• +2 Con, +2 Int
• +2 Con, +2 Wis (dwarves?)
• +2 Con, +2 Cha
• +2 Dex, +2 Wis (elves)
• +2 Dex, +2 Cha (halflings?)
• +2 Int, +2 Wis (eladrin?)
• +2 Int, +2 Cha (tieflings)