Races from 3rd-Party Publishers: How Have They Worked Out for You?

[AFGNCAAP]

Hello!

I have a question for anyone out there familiar with the Mythic Races sourcebook (from FFG, IIRC), esp. if you've used any of the races detailed in the book.

How well do these races work in D&D, esp. with the big 3.5 changeover (if you've used any of them in the update)? Are they balanced out?

How do the races without a level adjustment (sendasti, artathi, tremen, etc.) work out?

What about the races that are another base type other than humanoid (the plant tremen, undead eleti, construct stonegrunts, etc.)--are they balanced as is, or is there a lot of retrofitting to get them up to standard?

On a related note, what other 3rd-party publishers have put out info on new races? How well do they work for D&D (esp. 3.5)?

I'd appreciate any info/comments/opinions/insights/etc. that you can provide.

 

[Wombat]

The only third party races I have used have been ... well, the races from AU (litorian, sibeccai, faen, mojh, verrik, giant) in an upcoming campaign.

On the other hand, I have created my own variants on elves and dwarves and crafted half-dwarves, just 'cuz

Some of third party races have looked interesting, but none have grabbed me enough to retool my campaigns to bring them in. I liked some of the races in Nyambe, for example, but haven't figured out how to fit them in yet...

 

[Voadam]

There are a ton of 3rd party races.

Silverthorne Games has I think 3 race pdf books.

Many campaign settings have new races or race variants. Nyambe and Twin Crowns, both have variant elves for instance and TC has cat-men.

Everquest has powerful races (big bonuses, some size large) but they do not use ECL, they impose an xp penalty. I like their dwarves, size small but +4 strength.

Haven't used any, I've only played human and our party has stuck to PH races (3 humans, 1 elf, 1 dwarf).

The 3.5 change should not affect non-PH races that much, if at all.

I'd expect more race products now as ECL and LA are official parts of the 3.5 srd.

 

[Piratecat]

I haven't used any either, despite owning at least one race book. At some point I decided that variety for variety's sake is not always a good idea; I was trying to look externally for a character concept instead of concentrating on the PC's personality, and that's never as much fun for me.

 

[Nightfall]

So far I've stuck with the familiar ones. Though I might finally get a gnoll PC. And possibly another race from CC2. Concerning the Ratman at least, the one I used, a Daywalker Ratman, was pretty crunchy in his kills. But even so, not badly.