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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Arcane Runes Press" data-source="post: 1888676" data-attributes="member: 402">No, you really shouldn't entirely ignore situational penalties when setting LAs for a new race, as ignoring them creates two problems:1) It's a design philosophy that creates special edition action figures, not character races that a DM will want in his campaign. "Well, you've got some dwarves, elves, gnomes, humans, and halflings. And then, to the north is the kingdom of Aratem, where live the mysterious people known only as Artic Camo Batmen. To the south, the Principality of Thunder, where dwell the Urban Assault Batmen. To the east, the village of Rathel, which is where Night Maneuvers Batmen live - they only come out at night, and then only to fight at the side of adventurers of at least 2nd level." The Sharakim and the other new races released in these books don't have the advantage of being an established part of D&D culture (for lack of a better word). They aren't like gnolls or lizardmen or bugbears, who have become staples of campaigns. With a brand new race, a DM needs to be convinced to include them - and if he feels he'll only see a new race used as a component of a power combo, then he's likely to not bother incorporating it.   2) It's a design philosophy that creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you ignore situational penalties when assigning LAs, then you create mechanics that guarantee people will only want to play the race when the situation is optimal. Beyond that, I don't see them as even a particularly strong +0 race, certainly not in comparison to dwarves, or even gnomes. Their +1 bonus to attack rolls is extremely specialized (only orcs and half-orcs)Their racial bonus to Hide and Move Silently checks is partly offset by their Dex penalty (giving them an effective +1 bonus instead of +2), and also offset by the fact it applies only in shadow and darkness.Their +1 natural armor is a wash against their Dex penalty, as the situational benefit of natural armor against flatfooted attacks won't appear more often than the situational penalty of touch attacks will. Yes, they're more powerful than the half-orc and half-elf, but that isn't exactly an accomplishment. As it stands, I'd put them on par with the gnome and still below the dwarf, in terms of potential effectiveness.   Patrick Y.</blockquote>

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