[Scarred Lands]The Unseeing as PC?

[Graf]

Thanks for the advice,
I'll think that I'll make it a +4 ECL, mostly since I require that he holds true to the pacifistic ideals of the Unseeing, not to mention that Slitheren are hard to take anywhere civilised .

The design philosophy of 3e is that combat benifts can't be balanced with "roleplaying penalties".

It's been better stated by others but basically.
1. something that makes your character the center of the story isn't even really a penalty.
2. balance in D&D is really about interparty balance. If you're more powerful than the rest of the party they're disadvantaged. If the DM wants to challenge you then monsters get more powerful (they're disadvantaged). If you get thrown out of a town then they have to go with you or else they're splitting the party (disadvantage). If a mob comes after you they have to protect you (disadvantaged).

So one character gets to be more powerful than everyone else but they have to pay the penality.

I've played daredevil-type characters before in games. Lots of extra work for the DM, player has to be good and not meta-game it's a big challenge.

 

[Sanackranib]

unseeing

don't forget that they would only have the skill points of their actual character level not EL level. this effectively prohibits taking anything over an EL +3 IMO. you just cant keep up with those of your same class without the EL adjustment. at least not in any party I have run or played in

 

[Nightfall]

Remember that when a monster description talks about abilities increasing with the monter's HD, they aren't talking about all the Hit Dice.

They are talking about the monster's hit dice for being an aberration, or monstrous humanoid. Thus, if you advance the critter using simply its Type hit dice, increase the class abilities appropriately.

If you give it normal class levels, those abilities do not increase; this is why the Red Witch slitheren has Wizard as a preferred class. That'd be useless if they were able to just take fighter levels and still huck fireballs with the rest of them.

This is true Joe. However you do have to admit, if says "Casts as a 3rd level sorcerer" and you add more sorcerer levels, those stack for purposes of casting spells, new spell levels, etc. However they don't get the BAB for being a monstrous humaniod just a sorcerer.

In any case Joe, thanks for clarifying.

 

[Graf]

If you give it normal class levels, those abilities do not increase; this is why the Red Witch slitheren has Wizard as a preferred class. That'd be useless if they were able to just take fighter levels and still huck fireballs with the rest of them.

Missed this the first time around....
I'd just been advancing red witches as humanoids and giving them wizard spellcasting caster levels (so no bonus feats, familiar, terrible skill points, but better bab and hit points).

I guess this means that a 2HD red witch/wiz 5 casts as a 7th level arcane caster, but only has the familiar, skills, etc of a 5th level wizard.
Or did I mis-read this?