Template Fairness (My players please stay out!!!)

[Scion]

Partially edited quote with some comments added in parenthesis.

AC: The base creature’s natural armor improves by +4
Attacks: Retains all of the attacks of the base creature and also gains a slam attack.
Damage: (weak)
Special Attacks: Blood Drain (Ex): d3 temp con with grapple check
Charm (Su):Charm Person as cast by a 5th level Sorcerer. Can use this attack as many times per day as their charisma modifier +3. The ability has a range of 30 feet.

Special Qualities:
Damage Reduction (Su): 5/silver or blessed by Heironious
Resistance (Su): cold and electricity resistance of 5
Fast Healing (Su): 1/10 (only when at nonnegative hp)

Vision: Darkvision 60 feet
Partial Undead (Ex): (minor bonuses and 50% chance to negate crit)

Extended Life: (effectively negligable)
Detection: Will detect as Undead w/ an aura that is ½ HD

Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Strength +4, Dexterity +4, Constitution +2 and Charisma +2.

Skills: Dhamphirs get a +4 bonus to bluff, climb, hide, listen, move silently, and spot.

Feats: Gains Improved Initiative

Weaknesses-
The Thirst: (incredibly minor.. buy a chicken now and then)

Damned: (campaign dependant, sounds fairly minor though)

Sunlight: Dazzled in bright sunlight or within radius of Daylight spell

Stakes: (not sure why a stake through the heart doesnt kill him outright as it would normal people and normal vamps)

Challenge Rating: As base creature +2

All in all sounds like a decent +2 LA creature. Most of its bonuses are fairly minor, and the ones that are very good are more than made up by the +2 LA (which is a very large hit).

Comparing it to full vamps has a few problems though.. in my opinion most of the reason that the vampire has a +8 LA is because of its create spawn ability, let alone some of the other massive bonuses (fast healing 5 is pretty good, especially on top of DR 10/silver AND magic)

The bonus stats, bonus natural armor, and dr pretty much just make it still viable in combat vs characters of equivalent levels.

If anyone would like to run some characters of level X vs level X adjusted (at this point probably a min of level 10 would be good) to compare that would be nice.

 

[SolidSnake]

Partially edited quote with some comments added in parenthesis.



All in all sounds like a decent +2 LA creature. Most of its bonuses are fairly minor, and the ones that are very good are more than made up by the +2 LA (which is a very large hit).

Comparing it to full vamps has a few problems though.. in my opinion most of the reason that the vampire has a +8 LA is because of its create spawn ability, let alone some of the other massive bonuses (fast healing 5 is pretty good, especially on top of DR 10/silver AND magic)

The bonus stats, bonus natural armor, and dr pretty much just make it still viable in combat vs characters of equivalent levels.

If anyone would like to run some characters of level X vs level X adjusted (at this point probably a min of level 10 would be good) to compare that would be nice.

So you don't think the reduced Fast Healing is too powerful? I'll remove the stake vulnerability as what you say makes perfect sense. With that "weakness" gone do you still think it stacks up to the +2 LA?

 

[Scion]

Fast healing 1/10 and only when at positive hp? nope, I think that 'almost' qualifies as a nonability Over the course of an hour it gives back 60 hp. That is nice and all, but at higher levels if you are waiting for hours and hours to get healed back up then you are probably in trouble.. especialy when there are a lot of curing items out there that are pretty cheap.

Stake vulnerability seemed more like a boon than a bane in some ways.. after all, it would kill a vamp or a living creature just about instantly anyway

I think that you can take it away and have no real appreciable difference in the power level.

 

[SolidSnake]

Fast healing 1/10 and only when at positive hp? nope, I think that 'almost' qualifies as a nonability Over the course of an hour it gives back 60 hp. That is nice and all, but at higher levels if you are waiting for hours and hours to get healed back up then you are probably in trouble.. especialy when there are a lot of curing items out there that are pretty cheap.

Stake vulnerability seemed more like a boon than a bane in some ways.. after all, it would kill a vamp or a living creature just about instantly anyway

I think that you can take it away and have no real appreciable difference in the power level.

Thanks guys, this has been a VERY helpful exercise for me...but I have one last question

What if I gave the Fast Healing 1/rd, but still kept it functional only at positive hp? Would that change anything for the LA? I.e. would it still be +2 and fair?

 

[Scion]

For the most part all fast healing 1 does is make it so that people dont have to use as many healing spells and items..

How about due to their dual nature they have fast healing 2, it only functions whenever they are at positive hp, and they only get half effect from healing spells?

 

[Rigaal]

. . .they only get half effect from healing spells?

This is a great idea and follows the half-undead trait to the "T."