Orcs w/o Light Sensitivity: Worth a +1 LA?

[Angel Tarragon]

If i took out Half-Orcs in D&D and allowed orcs instead, but w/o the Light Sensitivity, would that be worth a +1 LA? If so, should I add one racial Hit Die and leave out the LA (this would still make it ECL+1)?

 

[frankthedm]

Well, drop the whack to the mental stats as well and maybe it would be worth it.

 

[Quartz]

+1 LA sounds about right: +4 Str makes them them the pre-eminent choice for combat-types and is vastly more valuable than the drop to mental stats for such types. Remember that you can always modify the +1 LA later.

 

[shilsen]

I don't think so, both from theory and practice. Compare orcs without light sensitivity to dwarves. I'd consider the latter to be at least equal if not superior to the orcs. I've also got an orc (for whom I dropped light sensitivity and the negative to Wis) in my game and he is in no way stronger than the other races among the PCs (human, shifter, warforged).

 

[Klaus]

If i took out Half-Orcs in D&D and allowed orcs instead, but w/o the Light Sensitivity, would that be worth a +1 LA? If so, should I add one racial Hit Die and leave out the LA (this would still make it ECL+1)?

Since it only take a feat (Daylight Adaptation, Savage Species) or a piece of equipment (shader goggles, Races of Eberron, downside is -1 Spot) to overcome light sensitivity, +1 LA seems too costly a price for that.

 

[Darklone]

Compare them to half-ogres: No, they are pretty ok. I would never drop the penalty to Wis though, I like them to have bad Will saving throws.

 

[shilsen]

Compare them to half-ogres: No, they are pretty ok. I would never drop the penalty to Wis though, I like them to have bad Will saving throws.

I have to admit that I might not have dropped the Wis penalty if it wasn't an Eberron game. In Eberron, the cultural background for orcs being the first druids and their overall flavor just doesn't sit well with penalties to Wis. Plus I'm all about making it easier for players to play the character they want to, and this one was for a druid berserker. And my PCs need all the help they can get

 

[Darklone]

And my PCs need all the help they can get

Music in a DMs ears...

 

[MarkB]

A -1 penalty to attacks, Spot checks and Search checks, applicable only in bright sunlight or within the radius of a Daylight spell, which can be negated by a trivially inexpensive item of equipment, is so marginal a disadvantage as to be hardly worth the effort of writing up in the first place. It most certainly is not worth taking into consideration when setting a race's LA.

 

[Darklone]

A -1 penalty to attacks, Spot checks and Search checks, applicable only in bright sunlight or within the radius of a Daylight spell, which can be negated by a trivially inexpensive item of equipment, is so marginal a disadvantage as to be hardly worth the effort of writing up in the first place. It most certainly is not worth taking into consideration when setting a race's LA.

A feat is pretty expensive and this item is not allowed in every group. -1 to attacks can make a difference, especially at low levels where orcs with their huge strength are dangerous.