The Pixie is up!

[Incenjucar]

I'll take that as an admission that you can NOT come up with a living creature with these restrictions.

I cannot find any pixies. They are endangered.

As soon you get me a pixie, I will show you exactly how it works.

 

[Klaus]

You can expect more support for the Pixie via DDI. My hints may or may not be subtle, I leave that up to you fine folks. Now, where are my pants?

I blame Bwalsch, the pants thief!

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

There are living creatures and machines in the REAL WORLD with altitude limits. It's not unrealistic in the slightest.

I cannot find any pixies. They are endangered.

As soon you get me a pixie, I will show you exactly how it works.

First you try to use real world to justify pixies, and then you cry foul when you can't back up your claims. Good show, my man, good show!

No matter how far you bend physics backward, it won't justify pixies. And that's the point; they're magical.

So recognize the absurdity; accept the absurdity; love the absurdity! Or just ban the buggers.

 

[Incenjucar]

The thing is that pixies, if one must explain how they work, work like hovercrafts and not anything biological. But all those other features do exist in living creatures as well. The whole argument is absurd, and just people trying to complain their way into unlimited flight.

 

[tuxgeo]

Pixie vampire named Mosquiote? It has to be done.

Pixie Druid named "Fawn Quixote": always wild-shapes into an infantile deer; and moves by "stotting," as much as any other way.

Has "Storm Spike" as its lone, non-Beast Form At-Will attack, because it's going to grow up to become a "spike" deer (if it lives so long).

 

[pauljathome]

The thing is that pixies, if one must explain how they work, work like hovercrafts.

I admit that I'm not all that knowledgeable about hovercraft, so perhaps you'd point out the example of one that can go 60 feet up into the air, can cross 50 ft wide chasms regardless of their depth while having the limitation that it has to descend down to 5 ft every few seconds.

But all those other features do exist in living creatures as well. .

If you're still maintaining that there are biological creatures that are limited in any way approximating pixies please give us an example. A single one will suffice. You give me one single example and I'll acknowledge that I'm wrong.

The whole argument is absurd, and just people trying to complain their way into unlimited flight.

For the record, I'm the one who is claiming that limited flight is quite powerful, at least when it is NOT balanced against some limitations. I most certainly do not want unlimited flight unless, of course, it is balanced with some quite significant limitations.

And, for the record, I believe that something approximating that kind of balanced approach is actually possible. Earthdawn came reasonably close (windlings were not the most unbalanced part of the game ), Pathfinder probably comes close, D&D 3.0 pixies probably came close, etc.

 

[keterys]

The game uses altitude limits as a simplified mechanic for handling flight of some creatures. If you don't like that - in pixies or anything else that uses it - feel free to use something else.

It doesn't work that badly in play. Basically, the pixie knows it can try and "sprint" fly to a goal, then kinda huffs and puffs when it gets there and moves on, or it flies up and grabs onto something to hang onto for a bit.

Much like the complaints about Fey Step, it will offend some people. It will imply some things about the game setting. And most folks will just roll some dice and move on.

 

[Grabuto138]

In fairness, Incenjucar did not say "There are real world animals with the same exact limitations as pixies." He said, "There are living creatures and machines in the REAL WORLD with altitude limits."

AbdulAlHezred further explained the scientific basis for this. He was also kind enough to point out that there is no real world approximation for a pixie. Clearly your demand for a real world approximate is unreasonable.

You were provided with a completely reasonable explanation for the limitiation. And, of course, magic.

 

[Sigdel]

In my experience, flying characters are isolated targets. My wife, who played a 3.5 cleric that could fly at will, found this out. When in combat she took to the air and then took a beating. Out of combat it was not all that big of a advantage.

 

[Matt James]

You know what balances out the Pixie for me? It's a pixie. Cool race, but I still like my Human Wizard for long-haul campaigns. Always have--regardless of edition.