Race Balance

[Inconsequenti-AL]

I'd go with:

Half Orcs and Half Elves - +1 skill point per level. Benefits of a human heritage. Makes more interesting characters without being too OTT... the humans still got their feat - which seems to be a huge draw for some players?

Additionally for the half orcs: +2 racial bonus to intimidate checks. I feel half orcs should be scarier than humans - now they are. Possibly change that to a bonus to physical/violent intimidation if you're being picky.

For dwarves, while at the game table - I'm thinking of forcing the player to wear a large comedy beard from the joke store. Else their character loses the +2 con bonus and grows pointy ears.

With the others, I'd say they feel pretty good as is.

 

[Mark CMG]

One wonders if some skills should be tied to race instead of class. However, that presents whole new problems with bookkeeping that I'd rather not see.

 

[delericho]

One wonders if some skills should be tied to race instead of class. However, that presents whole new problems with bookkeeping that I'd rather not see.

Possibly. I'm inclined to think that once a skill becomes a class skill (for any class a character has) it should remain a class skill thereafter. Then, there's no problem with races giving 'class' skills, and the game could easily introduce the equivalent of the d20 Modern Occupations, which could give yet more class skills. I'm inclined to think that the low number of skill points granted by the classes with few class skills is balancing factor enough in that area.

Oh, and I'd also make sure Craft and Profession were class skills for every class, plus at least one Knowledge, and perhaps Listen and Spot. (Note: Craft already is a class skill for every PHB class.)

(Although, actually, I think I prefer the removal of class and cross-class skills entirely, in favour of the skill groups from Iron Heroes.)

 

[Darklone]

Halforcs are actually pretty strong fighters... if you use the NORMAL 25 Point Buy build.

Since most people use way more, the +2 to strength is in their case too weak.

Dwarves are too strong, I agree. Make them small but give them bullrush and trip resistance like medium creatures. That fixes them.

 

[Kaodi]

If you were going to try and strengthen elves as wizards, why not give them Spellcasting Prodigy (Wizard)? And give half-elves Spellcasting Prodigy (Any). You could also give half-orcs Toughness.

 

[MerricB]

88 years of middle age is not enough?

Err - completely irrelevant to most games?

 

[Aaron L]

If you were going to try and strengthen elves as wizards, why not give them Spellcasting Prodigy (Wizard)? And give half-elves Spellcasting Prodigy (Any).

I kind of like that idea. I might steal it.



I swap out dwarves Weapon Familiarity for free proficiency with battle axes and warhammers.

 

[Dykstrav]

Would it be more interesting to have races function more like in Savage Species?

For example, have you start out as a human fighter or wizard and get that sweet bonus feat. Humans are known for being cool with skills. So if they want to, they could take a Humanoid hit die instead of getting a class level and get more skill points and maybe some more bonus feats or something? There'd be no commoners, but instead treat characters w/o class levels as a 1-HD humanoid?

Then you could make the dwarf racial levels give them "race skills" like Craft, high Fortitude saves, et cetera. Give elves "race skills" like Knowledge (arcana), good Will saves, proficiency with their longsword and longbow, et cetera.

To me, the big draw of a system like this would be that you could take a short detour from your class to get some cool things that your race is good at, no one would really expect you to be a 20-HD dwarf. Spreading the benefits across 5 levels (or even just 2 or 3) would give you a choice of being a good fighter or a decent fighter but a more well-rounded dwarf.

I'd know this would take alot of work to playtest and implement, but it seems like it'd be reasonable.

 

[Mighty Veil]

Great thread. I've been thinking about this for awhile too.

Man (human): as is. The bonus feat is great, and they get bonus skills too.

Dwarf: good as is. They seem to be one of the races given more to make players more interested in playing them instead of viewing them as a race for players who are dwarfophiles (usually they see the dwarf as a cleric or rogue and complain they should be designed in those directions).

Halfling: in D&D they're not so much hobbits as they are gypsies or something else lame. If designed as a hobbit, I would say some changes are in order (Kolja Liquette has a couple ideas I thought were good with giving them a wisdom bonus and not a dexterity one). Overall the D&D halfling is another race given allot too.

Half-orcs: once they introduced drow and tiefling and other + EL races as PC races, why would someone consider one as they are now. They're weak. I also like the way they were presented in 1e more. I give them +2 intimidate, to make up for the Cha penalty (I don't use STR for intimidate). I've been giving them in my games one exotic weapon feat, that'll give them a stronger weapon, so they become stronger warriors. It also gives them more choice then if given weapon familiarity (orc). Half-orc rogues don't seem the type to use a two-handed weapon.

Gnome: I just don't like D&D gnomes. When I allow them, I base them off other gnome and dwarf archtypes from stories and myths. Skinnier with gnarled features and they enjoy crafting and magic. Not a tinker gnome, but the tunnel vision tinkers have with technology, my gnomes enjoy with magic, crafting items, potions, spells.
+2 INT/-2 WIS, small sized,Low light vision, +1 DC to spells cast (too much?), racial attack bonuses: +1 vs. magical beasts, racial dodge bonus: +2 vs. magical beasts (known to hunt them), racial feat bonuses: EWP hooked hammer, racial skill bonuses: +2 Craft alchemy, Craft mundane, listen. Automatic language: Common, Gnome, Burrowing animals. Bonus languages: any common. I like imagining gnome wizards sending out gnome fighters to hunt down magical beasts, from some gnome outpost/enclave in the middle of nowhere.

Elves: need more. They were designed deceptively and designed with the thought that elfophiles don't need much "crunch" to want to play one. The CON penalty is rough! Merrick is right in saying they need more to make them better wizards (or sorceror, if you view elves use of magic being natural). +2 to spellcraft, +2 with ability score modifier when checking for bonus spell. I give a 10' radius with detecting secret and concealed doors. And my elves do need sleep, but are 'light sleepers' (4 hrs).

Half-elves: poor, poor half-elves. 3e ones suck hard. I'm 30, so the 2e loner ones no longer appeal to me. Back in the day. Teen Gen-Xer. Yeah! They were cool. I don't like 3e's traveling salesman version either. I'm starting to use them as a race that can relate to both elf and man, and in fact. They're used by elves to help understand men. Men view them as some sort of high-men. In a previous campaign, I gave them as follows: +2 CHA, low-light, light sleeper, elven blooded, +1 vs. Enchantments, +1 Diplomacy, Gather Information, Listen, Search, Spot.

I liked that direction but wasn't sure if the CHA bonus was too much. Without it, no one would touch one. Previously, I gave them men's racial skill bonus. But it's not enough. Better to just be an elf or man. They need something really crunch to make them stand out. I also don't used favored classes after learning it was purely a flavor rule.

I even tried previously giving all demi-humans the option to choose one skill that it gets a bonus with and double it.

Thoughts?

 

[Mighty Veil]

To make the dwarf better I much prefer the earlier suggested -2 DEX rather than -2 CON.

I use those mods too.