Player wants to play a Star Elf, any balance concerns?

[MNblockhead]

Does any other race give an at-will first level spell equivalent? I don't think so, and I think it's overpowered. This is on top of my general objection to race spam (adding race after race, or subrace after subrace, to a setting detracts from that setting's identity, in my judgment).

"Race Spam" is more of an issue for Adventurer's League. For a single campaign with my 5-7 players, it really isn't an issue. Generally, adding another variant of "elf" is less of an issue than adding Dragonborn, who do not fit into many campaign environments.

 

[MNblockhead]

I completely agree. Settings that have a little bit of everything...every race, every class and sub-class, every monster...lose any sense of identity or even coherence.

True, most of the time. We are playing Rappan Athuk, which is in the Lost Lands, which is a kitchen-sink campaign-world like Forgotten Realms and Midgard. But the dungeon of Rappan Athuk provides the sense of identity far more than the characters, few of whom are likely going to enjoy a full four-tier career and long life...

 

[MNblockhead]

Aside from this being clearly OP, I wouldn't allow any homebrew that I hadn't already decided to incorporate into my setting.

Some of my campaigns work this way. I will decide on a setting and set the parameters for what character races and classes are allowed. But in many campaigns, this included, I discuss with the players what they want to play and we try to work things out so each player can play a character concept they are interested in, so long as it isn't overly unbalanced or that it does not detract from other players' fun.

 

[Connorsrpg]

Sorry, but this just sounds like a crappy subrace full stop. Clearly I need a lot more lore to judge. I like mechanics that go on the lore.

And given the mishmash of weapon proficiencies, this does not put me in a good frame of mind. Sounds like this person just wants to play an aasimar. Go with that and describe as a star elf.

That Otherworldy whatever it was. No. Subrace should not let you choose which ability you can use to attack. Simply allow it to do the magic thing. One thing I really did not like from 4E was choosing your one ability score and being able to use it for melee attacks. Not my bag at all. Drop all references to adding CHA. No use limiting this to short rest either. (That pretty much means always on in a fight if lasts 1 minute). Maybe can be dismissed with a final attack adding CHA mod to damage.

Ability score mod: Agree with others. Select one - seems CHA is the obvious choice.

That vs illusion thing - advantage on saves or checks vs illusions right? Isn't that an Intelligence save? That sounds OK to me. Just state, 'Advantage on INT saves vs illusions.'

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Some of my campaigns work this way. I will decide on a setting and set the parameters for what character races and classes are allowed. But in many campaigns, this included, I discuss with the players what they want to play and we try to work things out so each player can play a character concept they are interested in, so long as it isn't overly unbalanced or that it does not detract from other players' fun.

Never let your players manoeuvre you into a situation where your players know the rules better than you (as DM).


It can be pretty had to tell if something is unbalanced until you actually see what your player does with it.

 

[TwoSix]

Never let your players manoeuvre you into a situation where your players know the rules better than you (as DM).

Considering our group has rotating DMs, that seems a fairly difficult standard to uphold.

I'm the resident powergamer of our group, but since I also DM, the other players trust me to know where to draw the line with homebrew.

 

[the Jester]

"Race Spam" is more of an issue for Adventurer's League. For a single campaign with my 5-7 players, it really isn't an issue. Generally, adding another variant of "elf" is less of an issue than adding Dragonborn, who do not fit into many campaign environments.

To each his or her own, I guess. I wouldn't care about race spam in an AL game, but in my home setting, it really matters- because it's my home setting, and it needs to hang together far more than a one-off game I run in a store somewhere.

 

[Eltab]

I played a 3e Star Elf for a while (however long ago 3.5 was the latest edition), and I do not remember getting a big advantage from making my mundane weapon magical.
I also do not remember fighting anything that was immune/resistant to non-magical weapons.
The power does take away one of the 'cool moments' of D&D for that character: "My first Magic Weapon; now I am a REAL adventurer!"

 

[MNblockhead]

Never let your players manoeuvre you into a situation where your players know the rules better than you (as DM).


It can be pretty had to tell if something is unbalanced until you actually see what your player does with it.

Then I would never DM with my current group. Which would be sad, because I quite like them.

I started DMing at the end of 2014 after not having played TTRPGs since the early 90s (and not D&D since the late 80s). All of my players, however, have been playing continuously since the 80s. Most also play D&D and other games several times a week. A couple DM regularly for other campaigns. Currently my schedule allows me to prep for and run my once-per-month 8-hour session.

There is no way that I can avoid a situation where the players know the rules better than I do, unless I run a different system.

In terms of *rules* I take a "judge" approach to my role as DM. I expect that that players will know many rules better than I do--especially those pertaining to their characters. I expect that I can call on them to help with determining the rules for less common situations. Where things are unclear or don't fit the current situation, I, as DM, make a judgement.

Where I have the luxury of time, however, I do like to read discussions on various scenarios and put out questions to the ENWorld community. It helps me discuss options with my players and, most importantly, I enjoy discussing these things.

But I don't kid myself. My one mediocre brain isn't going to out-think the combined powers of 4-6 much more experienced players.

 

[MNblockhead]

To each his or her own, I guess. I wouldn't care about race spam in an AL game, but in my home setting, it really matters- because it's my home setting, and it needs to hang together far more than a one-off game I run in a store somewhere.

Sure, I get that. I'm much more restrictive in my home-brew campaign world. So much so that in other discussions in ENWorld I've been accused of being a poor DM for not letting characters play what they want to.

My current campaign is a gonzo mega-dungeon, that occasionally skirts with "fun house" dungeon design. An Elf variant is not going to be what harms suspension of disbelief in Rappan Athuk.