Shades? You've gotta be kidding me...

[Ogrork the Mighty]

Has anyone taken a look at the Shade from Races of Faerun? I mean, I know it's Forgotten Realms and all but it reads like a laundry list of special abilities. Sure, it's +4 LA but...
+2 Con
+2 Cha
+20 speed
+4 deflection to AC
+2 competence to ALL attacks & dam
+4 luck to ALL saves
+4 Listen
+8 Hide
+8 Move Silently
Diminish light ability
Fast Healing 2
Invisibility at will
Darkvision
Shadow image (mirror image)
Shadow stride (dimension door)
Shadow travel (teleport)
SR 11 + character level

Gimme a break...

 

[UltimaGabe]

Keep in mind that all of those abilities only work when standing in darkness.

 

[Hammerhead]

Dude! You're totally right! And check out this thing, the Half-Celestial! It's also a laundry list of special abilities. It's also LA+4, but...
+4 Str
+2 Dex
+4 Con
+2 Int
+4 Wis
+4 Cha
+1 Natural Armor
Wings, +30 spd
Daylight AT WILL
Smite Evil
Darkvision
IMMUNE to disease
DR 5 or 10/magic
Resistance 10 to Cold, Acid, AND Electricity
SR 10+character level
And they get a bunch of cleric spell-like abilities EVERY TWO LEVELS!!!

Gimme a break...

 

[Thanee]

Just compare what a Wizard 9th gets in addition to a Wizard 5th, for example. That's also quite a bunch. Those 4 levels should be worth something. Maybe it's a bit too much, but not that bad.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Falling Icicle]

Gimme a break...

I actually think the Shade is a little underpowered for a +4 LA race, considering that so many of their good abilities can only be used in darkness or shadows. A simple daylight spell effectively neuters them.