Urd character feasability ?

[darthkilmor]

I've got a player in an upcoming game that wants to play a winged kobold, and Urd seem the most logical fit.

The question I have is, is this monster well suited to be a player race, and is the converted form over/under powered or well balanced ? The racial HD are the only thing that have me a bit skeptical. Would it be appropriate to drop the racial HD and simply add to the LA ?

 

[Quartz]

The racial adjustments (+6 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, -4 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom) seem very skewed. You've got a net +2 there, flight, and small size. A simple +1 LA seems too small a price to pay. The value of the +6 adjustment far outweighs the penalty of the -4 Int, particularly if you're using point buy. The character can cheaply buy themselves a 12 Int, adjusted to 8, for a modifier of -1. The race is a Barbarian's wet dream. Do you really want a character with a starting Dex of 22?

 

[brehobit]

The racial adjustments (+6 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, -4 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom) seem very skewed. You've got a net +2 there, flight, and small size. A simple +1 LA seems too small a price to pay. The value of the +6 adjustment far outweighs the penalty of the -4 Int, particularly if you're using point buy. The character can cheaply buy themselves a 12 Int, adjusted to 8, for a modifier of -1. The race is a Barbarian's wet dream. Do you really want a character with a starting Dex of 22?

I mostly agree. Add a -2 STR modifier and I think ECL +1 would work as long as you are okay with the flight (which I'm finding can be huge). Notice that without a feat he can't hover. That makes a big difference!

Mark

 

[DarkJester]

I think it would be fine with the racial hit dice, and perhaps still okay without them. The only class I'd have second doubts about without the hitdice would be rogues.

 

[Aust Diamondew]

I've got a player in an upcoming game that wants to play a winged kobold.

So why not just use the kobold stats add fly 30ft (good) and give it a +1 LA.

 

[JA_Reave]

So why not just use the kobold stats add fly 30ft (good) and give it a +1 LA.

That's what I say.

JAR

 

[darthkilmor]

So why not just use the kobold stats add fly 30ft (good) and give it a +1 LA.

Well I'm not sure there are any races that can fly that just have LA + 1, the Urd has the two racial HD plus LA + 1 so that seemed reasonable, even with the stat adjustments.

So I guess my more pointed question would be, Is it fair to trade racial HD for LA(in a general sense)? IE, the urd has 2 racial HD and LA + 1, drop the racial HD and add +2 to the LA for a total of +3. Is the resulting race balanced for its LA or not ?

 

[Arkhandus]

No. Giving up 2 racial HD for an extra +2 LA is a weakening of the race, not a fair trade. Most creature types, excluding obvious ones like Dragons and Outsiders, have racial hit dice worth only about half a class level or less in potency. 2 racial HD roughly equals a +1 LA in most cases. Not always even, but a decent guideline.

Don't know if I'd call the Urd unbalanced 2 HD and +1 LA, or not. Probably would say they're balanced. Spells and magic items already provide flight to PCs when they need it, so permanent flying ability isn't all that awesome-powerful. They have to be careful how much weight they carry and such, too, if they want to use their flight.

 

[darthkilmor]

No. Giving up 2 racial HD for an extra +2 LA is a weakening of the race, not a fair trade. Most creature types, excluding obvious ones like Dragons and Outsiders, have racial hit dice worth only about half a class level or less in potency. 2 racial HD roughly equals a +1 LA in most cases. Not always even, but a decent guideline.

Don't know if I'd call the Urd unbalanced 2 HD and +1 LA, or not. Probably would say they're balanced. Spells and magic items already provide flight to PCs when they need it, so permanent flying ability isn't all that awesome-powerful. They have to be careful how much weight they carry and such, too, if they want to use their flight.

Well its a starting campaign, so would be 1st lvl characters, which I think flying is probably more helpful than later on when magic can be used instead. So would no HD and a +2 LA be about right then for this race then ?

 

[sukael]

Well its a starting campaign, so would be 1st lvl characters, which I think flying is probably more helpful than later on when magic can be used instead. So would no HD and a +2 LA be about right then for this race then ?

If it's a 1st-level campaign, then he shouldn't be able to play anything with an LA in the first place..