Post/Author/DateTime	Post
AZNsupermarket 06-07-06, 09:43 PM	Best Wizard Races Handbook After reading through Yekoj's Wizard's Handbook (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=165134), I found that its recommendations on wizard races to be good, but not extremely useful because there have been many supplements since it was last updated. I am attempting to update that part of the wizard’s handbook, so much of what I will be typing will be coming directly from there. I will start off by discussing the most important wizard ability scores because it is important to understand what makes a race a good wizard. I. Ability Scores Wizards are not particularly stat-intensive. Intelligence needs to be at least 15 and Constitution and Dexterity should both be moderately high. Wisdom, Strength, and Charisma (except for wizards that cast lots of Enchantment spells who need Charisma) are all dump-stats. Wizards should be wiry (occasionally charismatic) geniuses. A. Intelligence Wizards need a high intelligence. They need at least a 15 if they are going to be able to cast 9th level spells on time (by increasing it at 4th, 8th, etc.) In addition, how high their intelligence is will determine whether they can effectively use spells with DC’s—for DC’s are partially determined by your intelligence. Some wizard builds attempt to increase their DC’s as much as possible (i.e. Red Wizards). If you are making one of these builds you will want an 18+ intelligence. Other wizards (especially Conjurers) avoid this by casting spells that don’t allow saving throws (i.e. Magic Missile, Solid Fog, Forecage, etc.) These wizards can get away with lower intelligences. One nice side effect of wizards’ reliance on intelligence is that most of them have plenty of skill points to toss around. B. Constitution Wizards have crummy hit points and Fortitude saves and need a good Constitution to be able to survive. C. Dexterity There are a number of excellent ranged touch attack spells (Ray of Enfeeblement, Scorching Ray, Disintegrate) that rely on Dexterity. In addition, at high levels the wizard who survives is often the one who casts first. Having a high dexterity is nice because it aids your Initiative roll, your Reflex save, and your ranged touch attack roll. Its affect on AC is less important because if your wizard has to use his AC he is already in a lot of trouble. D. Strength, Wisdom, Charisma Dump stats. However, if you have 4 good stat’s you can put one in Charisma and greatly enhance your ability to use Enchantments and Planar Binding Spells. II. Some tips for picking the best races that will become clearer as you read my guide 1. Races with bonus feats make good wizards 2. Races with a positive modifier to intelligence make good wizards 3. Under certain situations, the Dragonborn of Bahamut make good wizards 4. Races with a LA greater than zero usually don’t make good wizards 5. Races with a type other than humanoid could make good wizards because of they can use the Alter Self and Polymorph spell to take excellent and varied forms III. Races that make great wizards - I have bolded the most useful races A. Human The human’s feat (far more than its bonus skill) make it attractive as usual. That said, the Strongheart Halfling is clearly superior. Stronghearts gain the bonus feat plus a bonus to dexterity which is very useful for ranged touch attacks. Humans main advantage over Stongheart Halflings is that Strongheart Halflings have a pathetic move speed of 20. Humans don’t have any ability modifiers. B. Subspecies of Halflings The bonus to Dexterity is great and the Strength penalty is no problem at all. In addition, if you want to make a sneaky wizard (and especially an arcane trickster) the Halfling’s move silently/hide bonuses will be handy. One disadvantage of being a Halfling is their move speed of only 20. Halflings from the Players Handbook have the following ability modifiers: +2 Dexterity -2 Strength. 1. Strongheart Halflings from Forgotten Realm Campaign Setting are one of the best “best wizard races” due to the fact that they get a bonus feat at first level on top of all the usual halfling bonuses at the cost of a Halfling’s usual plus one bonus to all saves. Strongheart Halflings have the following ability modifiers: +2 Dexterity -2 Strength. 2. Ghostwise Halflings rom Forgotten Realm Campaign Setting make great Enchanters due to their natural telepathy (great for bossing enchanted monsters around). Unfortunately they lack the bonus feat that Strongheart Halflings have. Ghostwise Halflings have the following ability modifiers: +2 Dexterity -2 Strength. C. Dragonborn of Bahamut from Races of the Dragon make good wizards because they often act to balance out an elf’s natural frailness. Dragonborn of Bahamut is more of a template than an actual race. If a creature chooses to become a Dragonborn of Bahamut, it does not gain any level modifier, instead they lose all abilities associated with their old race including bonus feats; they keep ability modifiers as well as some other abilities. In return they get some ability, including +2 Constitution -2 Dexterity ability modifier. These ability modifiers stack with the old ability modifiers. D. Subspecies of Elves Generic elves have no real advantages as wizards. However, many Elven subraces gain +2 to Intelligence making them rival Strongheart Halflings as the “best wizard race”. If you want to play an elven or elven sub-raceWizard, check out the alternate level listed in the races of the wild, they may be worth it. Elves from the Players Handbook have the following ability modifiers: +2 Dexterity -2 Constitution. 1. Grey Elves from the Monster Manual make good wizards. After reading very carefully, they have the following ability modifiers: +2 Intelligence +2 Dexterity -2 Constitution -2 Strength. The bonus to Intelligence and Dexterity is very useful. The penalty to Constitution might become a liability, you may want to consider becoming a Dragonborn Grey Elf. A Dragonborn Grey Elf has the following ability modifiers: +2 Intelligence -2 Strength. 2. Fire Elves from Unearthed Arcana make good wizards. They have the following ability modifiers: +2 Intelligence +2 Dexterity -2 Constitution -2 Charisma. The bonus to Intelligence and Dexterity is very useful. The penalty to Constitution might become a liability, you may want to consider becoming a Dragonborn Fire Elf. A Dragonborn Fire Elf has the following ability modifiers: +2 Intelligence -2 Charisma. 3. Sun Elves from the Forgotten Realm Campaign Setting make good wizards, but are often outshined (pardon the pun) by Grey Elves and Fire Elves. Sun Elves have the following ability modifiers: +2 Intelligence -2 Constitution. The bonus to Intelligence is very useful, but the fact that both Fire Elves and Grey Elves both have bonuses to Dexterity and a penalties to a dump stat makes them much more powerful than sun elves. Since a Sun Elf doesn’t have a bonus to Dexterity, becoming a Dragonborn might be as big of a liability as a Constitution penalty is. A Dragonborn Sun Elf has the following ability modifiers: +2 Intelligence -2 Dexterity. E. Subspecies of Gnomes The generic Gnome’s bonus to Constitution is nice but not spectacular, but the Strength penalty is no problem at all. Some subspecies of Gnomes particularly shine as wizards. One disadvantage of being a Gnome is their move speed of only 20. All Gnomes also make good illusionist wizards because they have a +1 to the Difficulty Class for all saving throws against illusion spells they cast. Gnomes from the Player’s Handbook have the following ability modifiers: +2 Constitution -2 Strength. 1. Whisper Gnomes from Races of Stone make good wizards because of their bonuses to Dexterity and Constitution with only penalties to dump stats. In addition, if you want to make a sneaky wizard (and especially an arcane trickster) the Whisper Gnomes’s move silently bonuses and silence special ability will be handy. They have Darkvision and Lowlight vision. They do not make as good illusionist as other gnomes, because they do not have a +1 to illusions, but they have a 30 base land speed which can’t be beat by any other small race. Whisper Gnomes have the following ability modifiers: +2 Dexterity +2 Constitution -2 Strength -2 Charisma 2. Tinker Gnomes from Dragonlance Series would probably make good wizards because of their bonuses to Intelligence and Dexterity with only penalties to dump stats. I have never personally played a Dragonlance game, so I can’t personally comment on this particular race. Tinker Gnomes have the following ability modifiers: +2 Intelligence +2 Dexterity -2 Strength -2 Wisdom 3. “Lesser” Deep Gnome (Lesser Svirfneblin) from Races of Faerun used to make good wizards. Unlike a regular Deep Gnome, they have no level adjustment. Their bonus to Dexterity (rather than usual Constitution bonus for Gnomes) is great and the Strength penalty is no problem at all. Darkvision is always nice to have. They also have a lot of the same bonuses as a regular Gnomes from the PHB have, the most important probably being +1 DC to any Illusion spell cast. “Lesser” Deep Gnome have the following ability modifiers: +2 Dexterity -2 Strength and no level adjustment. F. Vanara Vanara no longer make good wizards. Their bonus to Intelligence and Penalty to Strength made Vanara from Oriental Adventures, a very good wizard class. Unfortunaly in a little known 3.5 update released solely in an old Dragon Magazine, Vanara no longer have any ability bonuses or penalties. Vanara used to have the following ability modifiers: +2 Intelligence +2 Wisdom -2 Strength. currently they have no ability modifiers. G. Tiefling Tieflings gain +2 to Dexterity and Intelligence and have a couple of hidden benefits which make them attractive as mages despite their painful +1 level modifier (which slows your spellcasting progression). The hidden benefits are that they can use Alter Self and Polymorph to take the excellent and varied forms of Outsiders. In addition, they can take the feat-chain Fiendish Bloodline – Outsider Wings (Races of Faerun) granting them the ability to fly at their land speed and the feat Infernal Bargainer (Races of Faerun) which improves their ability to use the Planar Binding spells (although this does not synergize well with their –2 Charisma). Because of their painful LA, I would not recomend them unless your DM is playing with Level Adjustment Buy off, but I'm not getting into that. H. Lesser Planetouched The “Lesser” Planetouched variant from the last page of Races of Faerun are arguably one of the most inherently broken races in all of dungeons and dragons. Even a relative beginner can see that these classes are inherently unbalanced. A lesser planetouched gives up its outsider type for humanoid and becomes LA +0. This makes it possible for a races with completely unbalance and potentially game breaking modifiers. I do not recommend using them under any circumstance in a real normally balanced campaign. 1.“Lesser” Tiefling (Races of Faerun/Monster Manual) would make arguably the best wizard in the game, if they weren’t so obviously broken that any experienced DM would throw out that variant immediately. They have +2 Dexterity +2 Intelligence -2 Charisma and no level adjustment 2.“Lesser” Air Genasi (Races of Faerun/Forgotten Realms) also make very strong wizards. Although outshined by Tieflings, they are still one of the most powerful races as wizards in the game. They are also pretty obviously overpowered, but not as much as the Tieflings are. They have +2 Dexterity +2 Intelligence -2 Charisma -2 Wisdom and no level adjustment 3.“Lesser” Fire Genasi (Races of Faerun/Forgotten Realms) also make very strong wizards. Although outshined by Tieflings, they are still one of the most powerful races as wizards in the game. They are also pretty obviously overpowered, but not as much as the Tieflings are. They have +2 Intelligence -2 Charisma and no level adjustment I. Blue Goblins Blue Goblins unfortunately do not make good wizards. In the Expanded Psionic Handbook, because of conflicting info it wasn’t clear if the Blue Goblins (Psionic Goblins with a bonus to Intelligence) were LA +1 or LA + 0. The errata showed that they were LA + 1, and therefore are not good choices as wizards. Blue Globlins have +2 Intelligence -2 Strength -2 Charisma and a level adjustment of plus one. J. Ethergaunts Ethernauts from Fiend Folio have the possibly of being a powerful wizard race. They start off with three less caster levels than their starting ECL and that usually isn’t a good thing. It isn’t clear what their ability modifiers are. Red Ethernauts have a starting ECL of 12, White Ethernauts have a starting ECL of 16, and Black Ethernauts have a starting ECL of 20. K. Kobolds Kobolds from the monster manual can actually make decent wizards because of the dragonwrought feat from Races of the Dragon that changes their type from humanoid to dragon. Kobolds can better benefit from Alter Self and Polymorph to take the excellent and varied forms of a Dragon. Kobolds make better sorcerers than wizards do to the new support offered for Kobold Sorcerers in the Races of the Dragon. Kobolds have -4 Strength +2 Dexterity -2 Constitution. L. Other Players Handbook Races The Player’s Handbook offers other playable races that don’t particularly shine as wizards. 1. Dwarves have a nice constitution bonus and darkvision, but nothing spectacular. Dwarves have -2 Charisma +2 Constitution. 2. Half-Orc’s -2 to Intelligence makes them one of the least attractive races for wizards. Half-Orcs have +2 Strength 2 Charisma -2 Intelligence. 3. Half-elves have no particular synergies toward Wizards. Half-Elves don’t have any ability modifiers. Special Thanks to Yekoj for his original Wizard's Handbook and to all those who helped contribute to this book EDIT: if you have questions, comments, or you think that there is anything I might have missed pleased post it! :)
stembolt 06-08-06, 12:37 AM	Haven’t you forgotten something about Gnomes? SRD: +1 to the Difficulty Class for all saving throws against illusion spells cast by gnomes. This adjustment stacks with those from similar effects.
AZNsupermarket 06-08-06, 07:12 AM	Haven’t you forgotten something about Gnomes? SRD: Can't believe I forgot that, when I update the guide later today I'll make sure to throw that in. Thanks!
le_Sab 06-08-06, 07:36 AM	Lesser Deep Gnome (Lesser Svirfneblin) (PGtF p.191) +2 to Dex, -2 Str, darkvision, stonecunning, +2 on saves vs. spells/effects, +1 dodge bonus to AC, racial weapon familiarity (hooked hammer), some spell-like abilities, +2 on Hide checks (+4 underground), some gnome traits ( and +1 DC to any Illusion spell cast!) .
AZNsupermarket 06-08-06, 05:13 PM	Lesser Deep Gnome (Lesser Svirfneblin) (PGtF p.191) +2 to Dex, -2 Str, darkvision, stonecunning, +2 on saves vs. spells/effects, +1 dodge bonus to AC, racial weapon familiarity (hooked hammer), some spell-like abilities, +2 on Hide checks (+4 underground), some gnome traits ( and +1 DC to any Illusion spell cast!) . Thanks, I tried to get every good wizard race in existance, but there are always more. I am grateful for the help EDIT: no big deal - just want to point out that they are from Races of Faerun, not Player's Guide to Faerun
Thomas_Covenant 06-08-06, 11:21 PM	General: Under picking Races: Small size helps immensely. The +1 AC and +1 on attacks (crossbow or ranged touch alone) really helps, while wizards can't win a grapple anyway. Any Con bonus is critical. After Int, looking for a Con bonus is critical for a wizard, recently I've been leaning towards Gnomes being the best PHB race for these two reasons. Honestly the -2 Con for elves is so painful, I'm currently undecided if a serious optimizer should pick them at all, it is just that significant with 1d4 HD. I realize this is races, not feats, but you mentioned tiefling as a viable option. (I personally disagree) The Otherworldly feat is a very solid +0 LA outsider option, can do wonders for a wizard. Ethergaunts stats are found like all other monsters, subtract 10/11 and there you go. Making Black Ethergaunts a very high-powered addition to a 20th level party. Nitpicks: Red Wizards no longer up Spell DCs, sadly (spell power nerf)
Nezkrul 06-09-06, 12:54 AM	when they polymorph they keep their warforged immunities and such. and in the epic, the cheeseforged reigns supreme
Surreal 06-09-06, 01:46 AM	And don't forget to save it all and repost after the board upgrade.
AZNsupermarket 06-09-06, 04:30 PM	General: Under picking Races: Small size helps immensely. The +1 AC and +1 on attacks (crossbow or ranged touch alone) really helps, while wizards can't win a grapple anyway. Good point, I'll list it. Remember that with smaller size also comes a slower move speed (except kobolds and whisper gnomes), which may be detrimental. Any Con bonus is critical. After Int, looking for a Con bonus is critical for a wizard, recently I've been leaning towards Gnomes being the best PHB race for these two reasons. Can't believe I forgot to list that one. I'll also include a recomended dex bonus if possible for the same reason. Honestly the -2 Con for elves is so painful, I'm currently undecided if a serious optimizer should pick them at all, it is just that significant with 1d4 HD. That's why you beef them up by making them a dragonborn. :) I realize this is races, not feats, but you mentioned tiefling as a viable option. (I personally disagree) I agree with you on this one. Tieflings were in the original Wizard Handbook so I kept it in , I don't think losing a level of spellcasting is ever really worth it. I left it in as a tribute to the original. The only way you could ever really make a case for them is if you are playing with the Unearthed Arcana variant in which you can buy back LA. The Otherworldly feat is a very solid +0 LA outsider option, can do wonders for a wizard. Never heard of it, but please tell me about it. Ethergaunts stats are found like all other monsters, subtract 10/11 and there you go. Making Black Ethergaunts a very high-powered addition to a 20th level party. Thanks for the help. Part of me also says that losing three spellcasting levels isn't worth it regardless of the benefits you may get. Nitpicks: Red Wizards no longer up Spell DCs, sadly (spell power nerf) Didn't even notice that because it was directly cut and pasted from the original guide.
Thomas_Covenant 06-09-06, 04:48 PM	Otherworldly is a Regional feat in Player's Guide to Faerun. In short, gives you the Native Outsider type, darkvision, and a bonus to diplomacy. VERY restricted race choices, but elves are among those few. The saving grace of Black Ethergaunts is while they're a 17th level caster in a 20th level party, they DO start with 9th level spells. Plus, they get so many bonus slots and a stupid-high save DC ( +20 racial Int score?!) that they don't suffer at all, assuming a start at level 20+. Again, don't forget to save a current version before the board switch. You may want to think about adding Racial Substitution Levels into the guide. Crystalkeep has them posted I believe.
Tytalus 06-09-06, 04:59 PM	J. Ethergaunts Ethernauts from Fiend Folio have the possibly of being a powerful wizard race. They start off with three less caster levels than their starting ECL and that usually isn’t a good thing. It isn’t clear what their ability modifiers are. Huh? It's right in the FF - how can there be any doubt about their ability modifieres? Black EG: Str +2, Dex +8, Con +4, Int +20 (!), Wis +4, Cha +4 Red EG: Str +4, Dex +4, Con +2, Int +12, Wis +4, Cha +2 White: Str +2, Dex +6, Con +4, Int +16, Wis +4, Cha +2 The high Int mod of Ethergaunts is part of the reason they are considered an excellent race for wizards (think spell DCs).
AZNsupermarket 06-09-06, 05:14 PM	when they polymorph they keep their warforged immunities and such. and in the epic, the cheeseforged reigns supreme hmm... I was thinking about starting a new section that talks about non-humanoid LA +0 races used to abuse polymorph/alter-self, but I am not too familiar with polymorph/alter-self rules
AZNsupermarket 06-09-06, 05:22 PM	Huh? It's right in the FF - how can there be any doubt about their ability modifieres? Black EG: Str +2, Dex +8, Con +4, Int +20 (!), Wis +4, Cha +4 Red EG: Str +4, Dex +4, Con +2, Int +12, Wis +4, Cha +2 White: Str +2, Dex +6, Con +4, Int +16, Wis +4, Cha +2 The high Int mod of Ethergaunts is part of the reason they are considered an excellent race for wizards (think spell DCs). well seeing the ability mods clear up a few things. But don't level adjustments make you missout on things like skill ranks and feats?
Malakai_Demonos 06-09-06, 05:23 PM	I personally thing a dwarven wizard is a really good option. That +2 con for only a -2 cha, I'll take that any day; a +2 to saves vs. spells and spell-like abilities; ability to take one level of a martial class and one level of rune-smith and then cast spells in full plate. Right now I am playing dwarven wizard, I rolled up a 17 Con, then +2 for being a dwarf, then +6 for a shirt of Con. I have a con of 25 and I currently have the second most HP in our 6 man party, 164hp at 16th level.
AZNsupermarket 06-09-06, 05:26 PM	Otherworldly is a Regional feat in Player's Guide to Faerun. In short, gives you the Native Outsider type, darkvision, and a bonus to diplomacy. VERY restricted race choices, but elves are among those few. I'll check it out The saving grace of Black Ethergaunts is while they're a 17th level caster in a 20th level party, they DO start with 9th level spells. Plus, they get so many bonus slots and a stupid-high save DC ( +20 racial Int score?!) that they don't suffer at all, assuming a start at level 20+. wow! explain to me some of the draw backs. Again, don't forget to save a current version before the board switch. I have it saved in microsoft word :D You may want to think about adding Racial Substitution Levels into the guide. Crystalkeep has them posted I believe. I was just going to do that... maybe after the board updates.
_J_ 06-09-06, 06:24 PM	well seeing the ability mods clear up a few things. But don't level adjustments make you missout on things like skill ranks and feats? Even if the Black Ethergaunt will have smaller max rank than a level 20 Wizard, that amazing +20 racial bonus to intelligence makes it so that even a level 20 Rogue will have hard time having that many skill points. Feats is the only thing Ethergaunts lose compared to normal Wizards. They have much better HP (thanks to Con bonus and d8 HD), better BAB (3/4 BAB), better AC (+8 dex and +15 natural armor), and kick ass racial abilities (selective immunity to all 6th level or lower arcane spells, continuous etherealness, no need to do spot or listen checks to notice everything within 40 ft, free action gaze attack). If you can play one, play one. Even that +10 to save DCs compared to normal Wizards is immensely powerful, but the rest just make it even far better than OMG good.
HxHunter 06-10-06, 08:57 PM	Could you consider the Star Elves as wizards , say as a honorific mention. A charisma bonus make them more directed toward sorcerer or bard (its favored class), but they might make good enchanters and come with the outsider type with an LA of 0. The charisma bonus might help to make a good Virtuoso/Spellsinger build.
Thomas_Covenant 06-11-06, 11:37 AM	Extraplanar (Su): Star elves are not outsiders, but they are not native to Faerun.Page 10. Unless there's something more current, Star elves are Humanoids with the extraplanar subtype, not outsiders.
General_Ridley 06-11-06, 01:39 PM	While the Changeling race may not look terribly useful as a wizard to start with, they do have some things going for them. Minor Change shape acts like alter self, helping those who enjoy that kind of casting. A few feats in Races of Eberron make the Transmuter particularly attractive for Changelings. The Recaster is easily one of the most interesting PrC's there is, as it gives you limited use of a major Archmage ability (Mastery of Shaping), limited free Quickens, limited free Stills and Silents, what is essentially Eschew materials, Sudden Metamagic (with any two metamagic feats you have for class levels/day each feat), and two spells from any list. It costs a caster level, but when you take this and then start going into Archmage, you'll see how worth it it is.
Khazra Reborn 06-11-06, 04:33 PM	What are nice races if you can use LA buy off? The only thing i can think of is the deep template from dragon 306. The base race gets +2int, -2 str & some other stuff but has a +1 LA. If i had a few LA to spend i'd probaly go for dragonborn deep fire elf mineral warrior for: +4 con,+2int -2 wis, -4 cha & DR7/adamantine. Pretty strong defensively.
Nezkrul 06-11-06, 06:32 PM	How many racial HD do black ethergaunts start with? You have to add those HD to its LA to figure out what level it would be as a character without any class levels. THEN you can start playing it as a character and adding class levels. What book are they in too?
Nightingale 06-11-06, 09:23 PM	What book is Recaster in?
AZNsupermarket 06-11-06, 09:44 PM	How many racial HD do black ethergaunts start with? You have to add those HD to its LA to figure out what level it would be as a character without any class levels. THEN you can start playing it as a character and adding class levels. What book are they in too? 20 ecl fiend folio
AZNsupermarket 06-11-06, 09:45 PM	What book is Recaster in? i believe races of eberron, I would have to check
AZNsupermarket 06-11-06, 09:46 PM	What are nice races if you can use LA buy off? The only thing i can think of is the deep template from dragon 306. The base race gets +2int, -2 str & some other stuff but has a +1 LA. If i had a few LA to spend i'd probaly go for dragonborn deep fire elf mineral warrior for: +4 con,+2int -2 wis, -4 cha & DR7/adamantine. Pretty strong defensively. I'm more or less trying to avoid LA buy-out, makes things unnecesarilly complicated
AZNsupermarket 06-11-06, 09:48 PM	While the Changeling race may not look terribly useful as a wizard to start with, they do have some things going for them. Minor Change shape acts like alter self, helping those who enjoy that kind of casting. A few feats in Races of Eberron make the Transmuter particularly attractive for Changelings. The Recaster is easily one of the most interesting PrC's there is, as it gives you limited use of a major Archmage ability (Mastery of Shaping), limited free Quickens, limited free Stills and Silents, what is essentially Eschew materials, Sudden Metamagic (with any two metamagic feats you have for class levels/day each feat), and two spells from any list. It costs a caster level, but when you take this and then start going into Archmage, you'll see how worth it it is. in another update I'll probably be adding eberron races
AZNsupermarket 06-11-06, 09:50 PM	Could you consider the Star Elves as wizards , say as a honorific mention. A charisma bonus make them more directed toward sorcerer or bard (its favored class), but they might make good enchanters and come with the outsider type with an LA of 0. The charisma bonus might help to make a good Virtuoso/Spellsinger build. I think star elves are interesting, but not list-worthy. Cha isn't that important of a stat for a wizard and the penalty to con is killer. If Thomas_Covenant is right, they aren't even outsiders. So, I would say that there are a lot better options.
AZNsupermarket 06-11-06, 09:53 PM	Even if the Black Ethergaunt will have smaller max rank than a level 20 Wizard, that amazing +20 racial bonus to intelligence makes it so that even a level 20 Rogue will have hard time having that many skill points. Feats is the only thing Ethergaunts lose compared to normal Wizards. They have much better HP (thanks to Con bonus and d8 HD), better BAB (3/4 BAB), better AC (+8 dex and +15 natural armor), and kick ass racial abilities (selective immunity to all 6th level or lower arcane spells, continuous etherealness, no need to do spot or listen checks to notice everything within 40 ft, free action gaze attack). If you can play one, play one. Even that +10 to save DCs compared to normal Wizards is immensely powerful, but the rest just make it even far better than OMG good. wow, the more you talk about them the more I realize how much I was missing the first time around. :D
AZNsupermarket 06-15-06, 05:52 PM	I'm gonna say it now, I have finals coming up next week, so my official update won't come until after the 23rd
General_Ridley 06-15-06, 05:57 PM	i believe races of eberron, I would have to check RoE is indeed correct.