Them Underdark races, though.

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WhereButterfliesGoToDie
Posts: 53
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 12:56 pm

Them Underdark races, though.

Post by WhereButterfliesGoToDie » Mon Sep 18, 2017 4:08 pm

I've done alot of tinkering with racial bonuses in their current state, and what class niches they potentially cater to, and found three that feel very behind when compared to their more accessable counterparts. These being the orog, the duergar and the gnoll. I'll elaborate on why, alongside suggested improvements. Warning, this'll be alot of text. Suggested changes will be found below the reasoning.

OROG
They've a big stat total, which looks very impressive on paper, but that when translated into the prequesites of classes one would expect them to excel at, is a little lacking. Their inability to take gifts essentially rules them out as competent weaponmasters, given their negatives to dexterity and lack of a constitution gift. The latter also makes them inferior barbarians to half-orcs. Their racials are very thematic, especially with the charisma enforcing their martial leadership role, but the fact that halfbreed, who are far less restricted in locale exceed them as warriors, and by no small margin, always felt a little off and limiting to me.

What an orog excels at above a half-orc: Bard, blackguard, sorcerer, warlock.
Where an orog falls drastically short of a half-orc: Fighter, weaponmaster, barbarian.

Suggested change: Grant them path options for a +2 dex and +2 con augmentation to their current racials(alternatively enable a singular gift by an adjustment to ECL 1), putting them only slightly below a half-orc in the pursuit of the WM prestige class, and roughly on par as barbarians. Thusly allowing for more flexibility, without the increased charisma really contributing to a mechanical overload, given that neither of the two classes benefit from it. Also, much like with half-orcs, grant them free power attack as a feat on creation.

The addition of orog-only greatsword, greataxe, warhammer and bastard sword craftables would furthermore feel very thematic given their production niche, and offer a longterm, beneficial crafting goal, given that they do not benefit from the orcish double-weapons with their negatives to dexterity and lack of half-orc ambidexterity.


DUERGAR
This one's pretty brief. Paralysis immunity, which is very situational in what it counters, minute bonuses to stealth and a once per day use of low CL invisibility really doesn't compare to the ability to select a +2 in a primary stat, using the additional gift avalible to their surface-dwelling counterparts. Not to mention that a duergar picking the kensai path essentially nullifies his racial bonuses, by the permanent freedom covering both the paralysis immunity and so much more.

What a duergar excels at above a shield dwarf: Being very rude.
Where a duergar falls drastically short of a shield dwarf: Mechanically? Everywhere.

Suggested change: Give duergar an additional +2 con with their ECL remaining at 1, basically counting as the constitution gift near universally taken by other races, while also providing some tradeoff for the -4 charisma, which already limits them from alot of build paths(which makes sense), but without making them worse at those they'd logically excel at.


GNOLL
Again, this one's very straightforward. Gnolls have an ECL of 1, and what benefit they yield above a half-orc is +2 constitution. Meanwhile, the half-orc can take a constitution gift, at which they're mechanically identical, and a secondary gift which the gnoll can do as its primary, but... the half-orc just so happens to have free racial power attack, ambidexterity and physical immunities, which the gnoll doesn't. In other words, half-orcs are just universally stronger gnolls on paper.

What a gnoll excels at above a half-orc: Creepy roleplay.
Where a gnoll falls drastically short of a half-orc: As with the duergar, this section is universal.

Suggested change: Honestly, just give them the same power attack, ambidexterity and physical immunities held by half-orcs, or alternatively swap ambidexterity for toughness. Putting them in a good spot and where the pick between a half-orc and gnoll has less of a mechanical implication.


CONCLUSION
That just about sums this lengthy tirade, and just to clarify - I am not advocating for the choice of race to be a mechanical one. I, much like most others, will play an orog/duergar/gnoll at the end of the day if playing an orog/duergar/gnoll is what I want to do, even if performing below an alternative mechanically. This is a roleplaying server, afterall. It'd just be nice if said mechanical disparity was a little less dire. Nor do I proclaim myself to be the be-all-know-all on the topic.

I'm just a guy putting thoughts to digital paper, for the review of those with a broader view than I.

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