Cam Banks said:
What's missing in terms of abilities and niche coverage? What are the ideal races for these four individuals? I'm thinking of working them up as 1st level pregens for a short term campaign and wonder if folks who've used them already have some input.
Cheers,
Cam
Hey Cam
Well, I'll try a swipe at races here... assuming only PHB races here are my opionions:
Knight: The point of the Knight class is to be a tank; ie take *and* receive damage. Since Cha is also a big factor, you are kinda limited here. While Half-orc and Dwarf stick out for both of their +2 Str and +2 Con (respectively) the -2 Cha they both receive are a kick in the shorts on another level. The Gold Dwarf (ala FRCS), which has +2 Con, -2 Dex is one way of getting around this, and the Desert Half-Orc (+2 Con, -2 Int) is another. With other races, humans are an obvious choice, since the Knight lags far behind the fighter in regards to feats. Half-elves could potentually help out a more diplomatically-minded Knight, with little draw-backs in race choice other than the general under-poweredness inhereant (sp?) in the half-elve. Elves and halflings are about the opposite of what you want for a race with the knight class, with both receive penalties in all the wrong places (other than a halflings' decent AC). The one outside contender might be the gnome. With -2 Str, but +2 Con, a gnome would be a slightly-underpowered (with weapon damage decreases as well) but interesting choice for a "Gnight"; however the background for that would be too silly, so a Gold Dwarf, Desert Half-Orc, Human or Half-elf would all be far more obvious choices.
Duskblade: The obvious choice here is Elf, despite this class relying on heavier armours (thus restricting Dex and needing Con), for flavour reasons if nothing else. Half-elves also make a themeatically appropriate choice. However, I'd honestly say humans take the cake with this one. The bonus feats and skill points really help out, and make this combo almost over-the-top, combined with full BAB, spells, 2 goods saves and plenty of goodies. With that high Int and Str, you'll have plenty of skills, spells and swordplay to keep you busy. Half-orcs, with an Int Penalty, are really going to hurt here - the Int penalty will take away far more than the Str bonus can bring up. Gnomes are largely useless as well, with all of their bonuses focusing on illusions and whatnot. Dwarves, however, come up as a solid choice here - surprizingly, they are even mechanically superior to elves in the Duskblade department. Heavy armour doesn't effect speed, +2 Con and a -2 to Cha (who needs that anyway?), immediate prficiency in the Waraxe, +2 vs. spells and poisons, you can really tank it out as a Dwarven Duskblade. Halflings are again almost left out in the cold, with their smaller weapons and -2 Str really working against them.
Beguiler: AH, finally a class with some real potential for many races. Halflings, I've always kept, amek for some of the best spellcasters, emchanically speaking, as well as some of the best sneaks (although elves are also heavy contenders in that area). In any case, with a Halflings Beguiler, you can have you cake and eat it too! Spells! Sneaking! Subtefuge! Your AC will love you with +1 from size and +1 from your dex (which will also help those sneaky and subtefuge skills we were talking about) and you can use that short bow or hand crossbow with a lot of skill. Weapon Finesse might even be a good idea in the cards. Elves also benefit in amny of the same ways that halflings do, althoguh their larger size and -2 Con (rather than the negliable Str) will hinder more than help. Half-elves help out the diplomacy bit, and would be a decent choice on a themeatic level as well. Half-orcs are just plain ill-suited to the job, and humans really are only contributing a bonus feat to this well-skills, high-Int class. But, who could forget the race which contends with Halflings? GNOMES! While halflings really fill in the sneaky part, gnomes help out in the spells department threefold. With good AC, good HP, and bonuses to illusion spells, gnomes are a trip-threat waiting to happen with the Beguiler. A very soild choice.
Dragon Shaman: Well, it's a bit of an off-beat class, to be sure. With it's (very) limited Cha-based healing coming in at level 6, avoid any race with a Cha penalty like the devil - that said, if you do swallow the Cha penalty, dwarves come out very strong, with +2 Con and that unaffected movement really helping out; likewise half-orcs make decent choices as well, with their superior Str helping out their melee domience - plus a good background story. Humans make for a decent choice here, actually, with the bonus feat potentially really helping filling in any gaps. Elves, with a Con penalty (which weakens not only their melee presence but their blasting breathe ability) really are not up to par witht his race. Half-elves would not see through with any meaningful contributions to a party if it;s class choice were DS. Halflings are likewise ill-suited to the role mechanically. Gnomes, despite a Str Penalty and smaller weapons, come out as a possible choice, with a descent Con to boost melee presence, an okay AC to boot. However, they are hardly optimal. Deep dwarves or Desert half-orcs would make decent choices, as with the Knight.
Here are my picks:
- Knight: Human, with second place going to Half-elves.
- Dusblade: Dwarf, surprizingly enough, with second place going to Humans. Honourable Mention to Elves and their half-brethren.
- Beguiler: Depends. If you want a spellcaster, go with the Gnome, for sure. More sneaking and slightly more combat? Go halfling. Honourable Mention to Elves (and, to a lesser extent, Half-elves).
- Dragon Shaman: Human, with Honourable Mentions going out to the Half-orc, Dwarf and Gnome (in that order).
Likely, I'd probably make the party as follows: Half-elven Knight , Human Duskblade, Gnome Beguiler and Half-orc Dragon Shaman, which would be a pretty balanced party, IMO (sans healing, of course)
Anyway, hope that was of help
cheers,
--N
