Consider making Trogs +2 Con -2 Wis

[TimeAdept]

Troglodytes are an interesting addition to the server as a race, but right now mechanically they are in a poor spot.

When it boils down to it, they're another intelligence penalized, physical build preferring race. They are a gnoll with no STR bonus but no CHA penalty. We already have this in spades, in Wild Elf, Gnoll, Half Orc, and Ogre. The race does gain Stench and AC, neither of which are enough to distinguish itself in builds, or set it apart from the other INT penalized races.

Skill points and Improved Expertise are almost mandatory to function on Arelith unless you're doing very specific blender builds that often require Half Orc to work because of the free Ambidexterity involved. Other builds use two handed weapons and require vast amounts of STR and damage, as well as a dedicated -guard, to make up for not having access to Expertise. OGres simply make use of Large size to use absurd weapons and also a shield to make up for the deficit. Each race at least has something going for it (Gnollsthe least.) to help make up for the fact that getting Improved Expertise often means using one of your gift slots on INT. What this actually means is compared to your human, dwarf, elf, orog, so on, comparisons, you're often down a gift already to start. You're also needing to use your only gift slot on INT. It's not uncommon for equivalent builds between gnolls and humans to be exactly the same stats, or even inferior, but the human comes up with a more flexible bonus feat (only toughness vs any feat - Power Attack is often not applicable to builds), and 2 or 3 skill points per level, which is 66 to 99 SP over the course of character life. 2 to 3 entire maxed skills.

Enter the Troglodyte, which sits in this exact niche, and does nothing different from the Gnoll or Ogre. The only build it could potentially make use of is a build that wants CHA but doesn't care about STR. Even then, Gnolls get 2 STR for free, which could help make up a CHA penalty. DEX builds all universally make use of Improved Expertise, or are very high skill point requiring builds such as ranger, monk, or rogue. A CON tanking Bard still needs Imp Expertise. A troglodyte Warlock could be useful, but the equivalent Human version comes out with the exact same stats, but +4 intelligence and the human skill point, meaning despite having the exact same build, the human gets not 33 SP but *99* SP more than the equivalent Troglodyte.

Races like this are why Humans and Half Orcs continue to be popular Outcast choices in the Underdark vs making use of the varied monster races. When your builds come out identical except for 99 more skill points, it can be very difficult for even more Johnny players to justify playing them.

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Changing Troglodyte to be +2 CON, -2 WIS will help ablate this some. You'll now have a monster race that is CON bonus, INT neutral, and CHA neutral, putting them in the middle of races like goblins, gnolls, and kobolds. Gnolls and kobolds make useful WIS casters, and kobolds make good dex builds and gnolls OK-ish STR builds (INT penalty...). Troglodytes will make decent STR and DEX melee builds, warlocks, sorcerors, and wizards. There will be a whole set of different builds you can do with them because they're not INT penalized. They're still aspart from duergar because Duergar have a large CHA penalty in return for their STR, which continues to make them better suited for CHA-dump melee builds, where Trogs will be able to make very tanky Brycers or Blackguards. They become the UD version of Gold Dwarves, who are a FANTASTIC surface race and have no real UD equivalent.

This alone makes them better thatn almost every other monster race, to be brutally honest with you. The last one may be a little odd, but I feel like it's a price we should/cold pay for the sake of mechanically differentiating races, and creating new niches. You could turn them into Lizardmen instead of Trogs if you're worried about the whole breach of lore thing.

At the end of the day, you still have INT penalized races at a huge, huge disadvantage - but Gnoll gets STR/CON to help make up for it some, and Ogre gets even more plus large weapon use. Troglodyte currently sits at a "less stat Gnoll" with a minor AC gift, and a fort save Poison ability, that, charitably, will be a toy or a gimmick, due to creature and PC saves, and poison immunities. Please consider this small change as a way to breathe life into monster races, and help them succeed vs their much more advantaged Outcast and Surface brethren. While I don't totally see Outcasts in Adundor as a problem, I do think monster races are cool and would like to help them succeed. Part of this is giving them unique mechanical niches that can't be replicated by their much more flexible 0 ECL brethren.

[Irongron]

You may have a point, and will confer with the team when I get a chance. Will nevertheless reject this for now as I'm not keen on adjusting the race so soon after its introduction.