Dareoon Dalandrove
First Post
How do you feel about PCs useing templates for their characters? IE litch and celestial?
Templates...how do you feel
- Thread starter Dareoon Dalandrove
- Start date
Crothian
First Post
I have yet to havea player even show an interest into a template. However, whenever we start up the next campaign I'm going to suggest using them just because I want to see how well they work.
I don't know how well template characters and non template characters would balance together. I know they did a lot of playtesting to make it close, but it still doesn't seem right to me. So, I would like to first havea aparty of all template characters so people can get a feel for them.
I don't know how well template characters and non template characters would balance together. I know they did a lot of playtesting to make it close, but it still doesn't seem right to me. So, I would like to first havea aparty of all template characters so people can get a feel for them.
Psychotic Dreamer
First Post
I played in a game with a Half-Celestial Paladin. He didn't seem to be any more powerful than the rest of the group.
Carnifex
First Post
I love templates generally - especially with the abundance of new ones in the MotP, they're a wonderful DM tool. The only encounter I've had with one on a player was a half-dragon character, and since we'd started as a 2e game that was sort of required as a change to 3e. It seemed to work pretty much okay, I think.
BiggusGeekus
That's Latin for "cool"
My problem with them is that you have to be careful about how the template will affect any future polymorphing by the character.
Outsider + polymporping + Xill + shurkien + rapid shot = shrapnel attack
Outsider + polymporping + Xill + shurkien + rapid shot = shrapnel attack
BluWolf
Explorer
We havn't had any PCs with tamplates yet. It just hasn't come up.
As far as a DM using them? i think they are awesome. Particularly used for great recurring villains.
My current campaign involves two protagonists with templates. A half-fiend half-ogre and a vampire goblin sorcerer. Very cool villains.
My last campaign featrued a curst bard named Adrinor that stalked one of the PCs as a very twisted love intrest.
As far as a mechanic goes? I think it one of the strongest features of 3E since essentially everything in the game is just a template. Race, class, skills, feats.....
All templates.
As far as a DM using them? i think they are awesome. Particularly used for great recurring villains.
My current campaign involves two protagonists with templates. A half-fiend half-ogre and a vampire goblin sorcerer. Very cool villains.
My last campaign featrued a curst bard named Adrinor that stalked one of the PCs as a very twisted love intrest.
As far as a mechanic goes? I think it one of the strongest features of 3E since essentially everything in the game is just a template. Race, class, skills, feats.....
All templates.
CRGreathouse
Community Supporter
I like templates, though they're currently reserved for NPCs and monsters IMC.
I'm not generally a great fan of using templates on PCs. I'd prefer the players to focus more on who the character is, rather than what it is. Rarely have I seen particularly far-out characters role-played well.
For a DM, they are a good way to get a lot of variation in the things wandering around the world.
For a DM, they are a good way to get a lot of variation in the things wandering around the world.
Quickbeam
Explorer
Let me begin by saying that overall, I think the template races are an excellent concept which add tons of flavor to the D&D world. They are especially wonderful (as BluWolf points out) in an NPC/villain capacity.
In our last campaign I played a half-dragon paladin becuase nobody in our group had used any of the templates yet. When this PC joined the group he was 4th level and the other party members were 6th-8th levels. Initially, he was a bit overpowered IMO despite his lower hit dice, BAB, et al. The template had added +2 to his CHA score, and being a paladin that score was already a 16 I believe. So with an 18 CHA he got to add +4 to all of his saving throws (Divine Grace), more than making up for his lower base save numbers. A +8 STR mitigates lower BAB bonuses pretty well, and natural armor helps keep you alive. Add to that his breath weapon and other racial benefits...and well, you can see why I felt the PC was a bit overpowered. By the time he hit 8th or 9th level though, the other characters seemed better equipped to deal with the monsters we were facing. I enjoyed the experience, and would play another template PC in a heartbeat, but nothing that was +3 ECL -- it's just too great a penalty to level progression in the long run.
In our new campaign one of the players has chosen to create a drow character. It seems in the early going that he's happy with the roleplaying aspects of the template race (just like I was), but a bit miffed at the slow climb in class levels. My advice to you, is give it a go for the sheer fun of playing a unique PC. Just be prepared for the benefits you receive to seem less and less valuable as XP builds, and your party companion's abilities soar.
In our last campaign I played a half-dragon paladin becuase nobody in our group had used any of the templates yet. When this PC joined the group he was 4th level and the other party members were 6th-8th levels. Initially, he was a bit overpowered IMO despite his lower hit dice, BAB, et al. The template had added +2 to his CHA score, and being a paladin that score was already a 16 I believe. So with an 18 CHA he got to add +4 to all of his saving throws (Divine Grace), more than making up for his lower base save numbers. A +8 STR mitigates lower BAB bonuses pretty well, and natural armor helps keep you alive. Add to that his breath weapon and other racial benefits...and well, you can see why I felt the PC was a bit overpowered. By the time he hit 8th or 9th level though, the other characters seemed better equipped to deal with the monsters we were facing. I enjoyed the experience, and would play another template PC in a heartbeat, but nothing that was +3 ECL -- it's just too great a penalty to level progression in the long run.
In our new campaign one of the players has chosen to create a drow character. It seems in the early going that he's happy with the roleplaying aspects of the template race (just like I was), but a bit miffed at the slow climb in class levels. My advice to you, is give it a go for the sheer fun of playing a unique PC. Just be prepared for the benefits you receive to seem less and less valuable as XP builds, and your party companion's abilities soar.
Similar Threads
- Poll
