Manbearcat
Legend
I'm actually shocked at how anyone could think that this is mathematically balanced and doesn't destabilize the "implied setting" (which there seems to be considerable incoherency as to "when" people care about coherency of implied setting).
I'm going to run through the races here right quick and try to do some back of the envelope math to display how poorly conceived some of this stuff is:
HUMANS
Assuming point buy and leveraging of point buy values for optimization:
- Every Human PC will have a 5 % or 10 % better (leveraging a base, high, odd number in primary stat to get a + 3) "to hit chance" with their primary mode of attack than all other Race's PCs. In a game where you have bounded accuracy, this is an enormous advantage.
- Every Human PC will have a 5 % edge on other Races on most (or all if the primary stat of the character is Dex) of the 7 defenses/saving throws.
- Every Human PC will have their their minimum threshold for passing a Skill Check/Ability Check improved by 5 % compared to all of the other Races.
- Every Human PC will be 5 % better than all other Races when forced to roll for a successful Skill Check/Ability Check.
- Implications of Mechanical Resolution: In every single area of the most important/most leveraged mechanical resolution areas of the game (offense, defense, task resolution), humans will be, on average and at apex, 5 % better (or more) before a die is rolled. As a single roll, this perturbation of the mechanical system is irrelevant. Stretched over the course of an adventure and then a campaign, in the aggregate, 5 % is a massive handicap. One in which DMs will have to account for when game-planning. One in which players will soon intuitively grasp...and demi-human choices for characters will recede into the background as extremely sub-optimal choices at character creation...thus dulling down the game and narrowing the scope of the fiction.
- Genre Expectations Within the Implied Setting: Human PCs are now the apex, the paragons of any ability score. No longer are they just the most versatile, now amongst their race you will count the Strongest, The most Dextrous, The most Hardy, the most Learned, the most Wise, The most Charismatic. Gone is the legendary Grace, Nimbleness and Erudition of Elves. Gone is the legendary Quickness and Guile of Halfings. Gone is the legendary Hardiness (partially...this one is pretty good) of Dwarves. Your average human settlement will be filled with average people who outdo their average demi-human counterpart in all of their established, normative genetic/evolutionary biological advantages. Not only are the advantages wiped away...but they are now relatively disadvantaged by comparison. Unprecedented within the implied setting.
If they want to go the dull route, in the stead of the grossly overpowered and implied setting curbstomp above, I would propose a + 1 to any Ability Score of their choice (simulating variety amongst species and cultural variety) and a + 1 to all Task Resolution checks and their minimum threshold (simulating the rigorous, multi-tasking nature of human communities/cultures and thus their versatile, well-roundness). Then some form of cultural focus ability with a few options would be a good idea as well.
ELVES
- Elf Weapon Training: Heritage-Driven longsword training provides a step up in damage die...which is pathetic. Assuming a normal distribution; given the trivial mean difference between these two dice and assuming a 55 % hit ratio, this damage bonus comes out to around .5ish damage per swing of the Long Sword. But wait a minute. Long Swords are not Finessable. Elves presuppose Dexterity as their leveraged (and implied setting) ability score. Therefore the 55 % needs to drop if using their heritage weapons. So its worse than .5ish damage per swing of the Long Sword. So it sounds as though we are now going to have either:
A) Battalions of elven warriors with high Strength (but 5 - 10 % less to hit and damage than your average trained human) and average Dexterity.
B) Battalions of very Dextrous elven warriors who can move about and avoid attacks reasonably enough...but can't hit the broad side of the barn and when they do, its barely worth a flinch.
Having Elf Weapon Training allow longswords to be Finessable is a good first start. I'm in awe that this made it through QC.
- Free Spirit: This is truly an abomination of an ability that looks super cool on paper but, in practice it is leveraged so in-often so as to be nothing more than color. If it was a feat it would be a "trap option." It is mechanically superfluous. I've GMed 1e - 4e for almost 25 years. I have used Charm or Sleep effects on elves a paltry 3 times. In 25 years. This is the deepest corner of all corner cases as an immunity. Immunity to an effect that is applied more than .0000007 % of the time or a bonus to a Will and Charisma Saving Throws would probably be a good idea here.
Speed Bonus of 5 feet for subrace: Decent. Schtick-centric but not so impressive. The implications of an extra 5 ft of max speed is rather paltry with a ridiculously low percentage of table time impact. A Tactical Mobility bonus (See Fighter's Shift Maneuver) would be highly applicable (high percentage of table time impact) and fit the race.
Keen Senses: Yes. Implied Setting Shtick and mechanical potency with a high percentage of table time.
DWARVES
- Dwarven Resilience: While this is a great effect, it is still a corner case (not even close to the paltry table time implications of Free Spirit...but still a corner case no less). And without their always applicable Racial Constitution Bonus advantage, this is where Dwarves are supposed to have their legendary constitution/fortitude manifest within the fiction of the implied setting?
Dwarven Weapon Training: See Elven Weapon Training minus the unbelievable non-Finessable weapon for a Dex class making it through QC.
Minimum Speed in Armor and Dwarven Toughness or Armor Mastery: Now we're talking. Ok, we're getting our implied setting Shtick back here and our mechanical balance (with respect to humans) with racial features that have potency and high percentage of table time.
HALFLINGS:
Luke warm. There is some good Implied Setting Shtick here with mechanical potency that leverages a high percentage of table time. However, there are far too many corner case abilities or duds here too.
Conclusion:
- Dwarves are about where I would want them and have their implied setting shticks wonderfully expressed by the mechanics (if they had a + 2 Con bonus or Humans only had a + 1 max).
- Elves need a lot of work and I'm not sure this race was even QCed.
- Halflings need work.
- Humans are grotesquely dull and walking Character Optimization Emporiums replete with Flashing "OP" LED Lights due to the implications of their bonuses on the math of the game (from mechanical resolution to mechanical resolution) and the ridiculously high percentage of table time in which those maths will be leveraged through a session, an adventure, and a campaign.
I'm going to run through the races here right quick and try to do some back of the envelope math to display how poorly conceived some of this stuff is:
HUMANS
Assuming point buy and leveraging of point buy values for optimization:
- Every Human PC will have a 5 % or 10 % better (leveraging a base, high, odd number in primary stat to get a + 3) "to hit chance" with their primary mode of attack than all other Race's PCs. In a game where you have bounded accuracy, this is an enormous advantage.
- Every Human PC will have a 5 % edge on other Races on most (or all if the primary stat of the character is Dex) of the 7 defenses/saving throws.
- Every Human PC will have their their minimum threshold for passing a Skill Check/Ability Check improved by 5 % compared to all of the other Races.
- Every Human PC will be 5 % better than all other Races when forced to roll for a successful Skill Check/Ability Check.
- Implications of Mechanical Resolution: In every single area of the most important/most leveraged mechanical resolution areas of the game (offense, defense, task resolution), humans will be, on average and at apex, 5 % better (or more) before a die is rolled. As a single roll, this perturbation of the mechanical system is irrelevant. Stretched over the course of an adventure and then a campaign, in the aggregate, 5 % is a massive handicap. One in which DMs will have to account for when game-planning. One in which players will soon intuitively grasp...and demi-human choices for characters will recede into the background as extremely sub-optimal choices at character creation...thus dulling down the game and narrowing the scope of the fiction.
- Genre Expectations Within the Implied Setting: Human PCs are now the apex, the paragons of any ability score. No longer are they just the most versatile, now amongst their race you will count the Strongest, The most Dextrous, The most Hardy, the most Learned, the most Wise, The most Charismatic. Gone is the legendary Grace, Nimbleness and Erudition of Elves. Gone is the legendary Quickness and Guile of Halfings. Gone is the legendary Hardiness (partially...this one is pretty good) of Dwarves. Your average human settlement will be filled with average people who outdo their average demi-human counterpart in all of their established, normative genetic/evolutionary biological advantages. Not only are the advantages wiped away...but they are now relatively disadvantaged by comparison. Unprecedented within the implied setting.
If they want to go the dull route, in the stead of the grossly overpowered and implied setting curbstomp above, I would propose a + 1 to any Ability Score of their choice (simulating variety amongst species and cultural variety) and a + 1 to all Task Resolution checks and their minimum threshold (simulating the rigorous, multi-tasking nature of human communities/cultures and thus their versatile, well-roundness). Then some form of cultural focus ability with a few options would be a good idea as well.
ELVES
- Elf Weapon Training: Heritage-Driven longsword training provides a step up in damage die...which is pathetic. Assuming a normal distribution; given the trivial mean difference between these two dice and assuming a 55 % hit ratio, this damage bonus comes out to around .5ish damage per swing of the Long Sword. But wait a minute. Long Swords are not Finessable. Elves presuppose Dexterity as their leveraged (and implied setting) ability score. Therefore the 55 % needs to drop if using their heritage weapons. So its worse than .5ish damage per swing of the Long Sword. So it sounds as though we are now going to have either:
A) Battalions of elven warriors with high Strength (but 5 - 10 % less to hit and damage than your average trained human) and average Dexterity.
B) Battalions of very Dextrous elven warriors who can move about and avoid attacks reasonably enough...but can't hit the broad side of the barn and when they do, its barely worth a flinch.
Having Elf Weapon Training allow longswords to be Finessable is a good first start. I'm in awe that this made it through QC.
- Free Spirit: This is truly an abomination of an ability that looks super cool on paper but, in practice it is leveraged so in-often so as to be nothing more than color. If it was a feat it would be a "trap option." It is mechanically superfluous. I've GMed 1e - 4e for almost 25 years. I have used Charm or Sleep effects on elves a paltry 3 times. In 25 years. This is the deepest corner of all corner cases as an immunity. Immunity to an effect that is applied more than .0000007 % of the time or a bonus to a Will and Charisma Saving Throws would probably be a good idea here.
Speed Bonus of 5 feet for subrace: Decent. Schtick-centric but not so impressive. The implications of an extra 5 ft of max speed is rather paltry with a ridiculously low percentage of table time impact. A Tactical Mobility bonus (See Fighter's Shift Maneuver) would be highly applicable (high percentage of table time impact) and fit the race.
Keen Senses: Yes. Implied Setting Shtick and mechanical potency with a high percentage of table time.
DWARVES
- Dwarven Resilience: While this is a great effect, it is still a corner case (not even close to the paltry table time implications of Free Spirit...but still a corner case no less). And without their always applicable Racial Constitution Bonus advantage, this is where Dwarves are supposed to have their legendary constitution/fortitude manifest within the fiction of the implied setting?
Dwarven Weapon Training: See Elven Weapon Training minus the unbelievable non-Finessable weapon for a Dex class making it through QC.
Minimum Speed in Armor and Dwarven Toughness or Armor Mastery: Now we're talking. Ok, we're getting our implied setting Shtick back here and our mechanical balance (with respect to humans) with racial features that have potency and high percentage of table time.
HALFLINGS:
Luke warm. There is some good Implied Setting Shtick here with mechanical potency that leverages a high percentage of table time. However, there are far too many corner case abilities or duds here too.
Conclusion:
- Dwarves are about where I would want them and have their implied setting shticks wonderfully expressed by the mechanics (if they had a + 2 Con bonus or Humans only had a + 1 max).
- Elves need a lot of work and I'm not sure this race was even QCed.
- Halflings need work.
- Humans are grotesquely dull and walking Character Optimization Emporiums replete with Flashing "OP" LED Lights due to the implications of their bonuses on the math of the game (from mechanical resolution to mechanical resolution) and the ridiculously high percentage of table time in which those maths will be leveraged through a session, an adventure, and a campaign.
