Post/Author/DateTime	Post
EvilVegan 01-20-08, 01:16 PM	Race Design Guidelines/Tips People often come here for help and I'm wanting to work on something for people who like designing races. So this will hopefully grow into a collection of tips and guidelines (preferably with much help from the community) General Suggestions: FLAVOR FIRST! The more flavor you include, the better other people can help you achieve what you're looking for. If you post all mechanics, we can balance it for you, but it won't be fun and it won't be as organic as it should be to be a truly good race. Not everything that is a flavor feature of a race needs to be represented mechanically. Racial ability Mechanics should be restricted to things that have direct impact on things there are already rules for. As such if it doesn't directly affect ability checks, skill checks, combat, social, or environmental encounters, it might be best to just to limit it to a fluff ability and not stat out the abilities. This isn't a very big category. Don't go crazy. +5 LA races with 8 HD typically aren't good as PC races, nor are +0 LA races with several abilities or unbalanced stats. LA Means Level Adjustment. You add level adjustment to your racial hit dice and your level to determine what character level you are. ECL means Effective Character Level. It is the same as the above point: Level Adjustment (LA) + Racial Hit Dice + Class levels = ECL. Racial Hit Die can be useful to alleviate high LA. Racial Hit Die aren't as valuable as class hit die, but are typically better than LA. Some racial Hit Dice are better than others, depending on 'Type', see section below on Types for a more in depth comparison. ECL/LA Estimation is an art not a science. Creatures with 1 racial hit die replace this hit die with their first class level, so if you are using racial hit die as a balancing tool start at 2 HD. If you find yourself trying to alleviate a high LA with racial hit dice and you are granting abilities that might be available via class or prestige class levels, please consider removing those abilities as a more viable alternative to racial hit die. If the player wants to play a member of that race with those abilities they would likely be better suited to playing a member of the class that gets the ability. If you're trying to make a race out of an animal, look at the Anthromorphic Creature template from Savage Species and the Awaken spell for starting ideas. Awaken doesn't have a set + LA, it varies depending on the creature created. It is almost better to start from scratch (in my opinion). Specific Suggestions: Smaller Creatures: Be cautious not to make a "mighty mouse" race (unless you want to). Mechanically Small creatures lift more by weight, even with strength penalties. If you see a tiny creature with a -4 Strength keep in mind that an average creature of that race (6 str) can carry six suits of properly sized full-plate armor, compared to an average human (10 str) being able to carry only one suit. Small races get bonuses to hit for size, but penalties to damage die size. So making a smaller race too weak may make the mechanically inviable. -6 Str or higher is a bit of a double hit as far as combat damage is concerned. Smaller races automatically make better rogues because sneak attack doesn't scale with size. A Smaller race with a hide bonus is redundant. Each category smaller than 'Small' is worth an LA. Larger Creatures: Powerful build is +1 LA. It doesn't warrant a full LA by itself, but it is typically seen as unbalancing to have powerful build on a +0 LA creature. Since it isn't fully worth +1 LA combining Powerful Build with Unbalanced stats (+2 positive imbalance) is typically a good start, with other minor abilities such as a minor save bonus (poison or mind-affecting, etc), a skill bonus (+2 to 2 or 3 skills). Each size category larger than 'Medium' is worth an LA. Movement Modes: Flight is almost always +2 LA. You can reduce LA a lot this a lot by adding restrictions (check out the Raptorans in Races of the Wild). Try not to get too complex with the restrictions because they'll either be so complex they slow the game down (not fun), or too convoluted to remember every restriction (not technically restricted). Burrowing is a very useful ability, don't underestimate it. Not worth a full LA, but better than climb or swim in my opinion. Special Abilities Uhh. . . I'll get to this later. Types Keep this list in mind when using "Racial Hit die" as a balance/substitution for LA. In parenthesis after each type I list what I personally think each type is worth. (These happen to match up with Soldarin's ECL calculator, link below). For example, 'Aberration' racial hit dice aren't great, but they aren't horrible, so for 2 Aberration racial hit dice you could reduce total LA by 1. So if you have an aberration with +4 LA. Giving it 4 racial hit dice and +2 LA (or 8 racial hit dice and no LA) would likely compensate. On the other hand, dragon hit dice rock, and it could take approximately 5 hit dice to alleviate 1 LA. Aberration (2:1)- d8 hit die, 3/4 BAB, Good Will, 2 skill points, darkvision. Animal (2:1)- d8 hit die, 3/4 BAB, Good Fort & Ref, 2 skill points, Int 1 or 2 , Low light vision, always neutral. Not suitable for a PC race. Construct (5:3)- d10 hit die, 3/4 BAB, 2 skill points, No good saves, no constitution score, can't heal. No Crits/Sneak attack. Immunity to a lot of stuff. Dragon (5:1)- d12 hit die, full BAB, all good saves, 6 skill points. Darkvision and low-light vision. Immunities. Elemental (2:1)- d8 hit die, 3/4 BAB, Save dependent on subtype, immunities. No Crits/Sneak attack. Can't be raised from the dead. Fey (2:1)- d6 hit die, 1/2 hit die, good ref/will, 6 skill points. Giant (2:1)- d8 hit die, 3/4 BAB, Good Fort, 2 skill points. Humanoid (2:1)- d8 hit die, 3/4 BAB, Good Ref (varies), 2 skill points. Magical Beast (5:2)- d10 hit die, Full BAB, Good Fort/Ref, 2 skill points Monstrous Humanoid (5:2)- d8 hit die, Full BAB, good Ref/Will, 2 skill points, darkvision Ooze (5:3)- d10 hit die, 3/4 BAB, no good saves, 2 skill points. Typically unintelligent. No Crits/Sneak attack. Immunities. Outsider (5:1)- d8 hit die, full BAB, all good saves, 8 skill points, darkvision, proficient in all simple/martial weapons. Don't sleep or eat. Can't be raised from the dead. This type automatically qualifies you for many PRCs without a single racial hit die. Plant (5:3)- d8 hit die, 3/4 BAB, good fort, 2 skill points, low light, immunities. No Crits/Sneak attack. Undead (2:1)- d12 hit die, 1/2 BAB, good will, 4 skill points. No Constitution. No Crits/Sneak attack. Immunities. Vermin (5:3)- d8 hit die, 3/4 BAB, good Fort, 2 skills, usually unintelligent. Good Links to Good Things: Soldarin's ECL Calculator (http://personal.nbnet.nb.ca/shadows/Handbook/ECLcalc.html) ECL VS CR: (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?p=12120162#post12120162) Please add suggestions.
EvilVegan 01-20-08, 01:20 PM	Race Template: Race Name "Quote" -Name, title ... Physical Description: .... Personality: .... Lands: .... Alignment: .... Relations: .... Religion: .... Language: .... Names: .... Adventurers: .... Racial Traits [B]Ability Modifers: Size: Type: Speed: Vision: Save Modifiers: Armor Class Bonus: Skill Modifiers: Racial Feats: Naturally Psionic: [Race] gains X bonus power points at 1st level. This benefit does not grant them the ability to manifest powers unless they gain that ability through another source, such as levels in a psionic class. Special Ability: Anything that isn't covered above would be a special ability. Spell/Psi-like abilities, powerful build, Scent, and anything else Miscellaneous would be "Special Abilities". Often you would replace the world Special Ability with the name of that ability, like Powerful Build. Special Ability: Special Ability: Languages: Favored Class: Level Adjustment: Table: Starting Age Adulthood Simple Average Complex XXXX years +xdxx +xdxx +xdxx Table: Aging Effects Middle Aged Old Venerable Maximum age XXXX years xxxx years xxxx years +xdxx years Table: Random Height and WeightBase Height Height Modifier Base Weight Weight Modifier XXX'XX" xdxx xxxx lb. X(xdx) lb. Race Name "Quote" -Name, title ... Physical Description: .... Personality: .... Lands: .... Alignment: .... Relations: .... Religion: .... Language: .... Names: .... Adventurers: .... Racial Traits [B]Ability Modifers: Size: Type: Speed: Vision: Save Modifiers: Armor Class Bonus: Skill Modifiers: Naturally Psionic: [Race] gains X bonus power points at 1st level. This benefit does not grant them the ability to manifest powers unless they gain that ability through another source, such as levels in a psionic class. Special Ability: Anything that isn't covered above would be a special ability. Spell/Psi-like abilities, powerful build, Scent, and anything else Miscellaneous would be "Special Abilities". Often you would replace the world Special Ability with the name of that ability, like Powerful Build. Special Ability: Special Ability: Languages: Favored Class: Level Adjustment: Table: Starting Age Adulthood Simple Average Complex XXXX years +xdxx +xdxx +xdxx Table: Aging Effects Middle Aged Old Venerable Maximum age XXXX years xxxx years xxxx years +xdxx years Table: Random Height and WeightBase Height Height Modifier Base Weight Weight Modifier XXX'XX" xdxx xxxx lb. X(xdx) lb. Coming Soon! Coming Soon! Another useful thing to have is "How stuff is worded", like powerful build: Powerful Build: The physical stature of XXXX lets them function in many ways as if they were one size category larger. Whenever a/an XXXX is subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as during grapple checks, bull rush attempts, and trip attempts), the XXXX is treated as one size larger if doing so is advantageous to him. A/An XXXX is also considered to be one size larger when determining whether a creature’s special attacks based on size (such as improved grab or swallow whole) can affect him. A/An XXXX can use weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty. However, his space and reach remain those of a creature of his actual size. The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject’s size category. Spell/Psi-Like Abilities: X/Day-spell,spell,spell. Caster level is equal to 1/2 Hit Dice (Minimum 1st). The save DC is !STAT!-Based. Stonecunning: This ability grants a/an XXXX a +2 racial bonus on Search checks to notice unusual stonework, such as sliding walls, stonework, traps, new construction (even when built to match the old), unsafe stone surfaces, shaky stone ceilings, and the like. Something that isn’t stone but that is disguised as stone also counts as unusual stonework. A/An XXXX who merely comes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a Search check as if he were actively searching, and a/an XXXX can use the Search skill to find stonework traps as a rogue can. A/An XXXX can also intuit depth, sensing his approximate depth underground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up. XXXX have a sixth sense about stonework, an innate ability that they get plenty of opportunity to practice and hone in their underground homes.
Orchomenos 01-21-08, 08:21 AM	Racial Hit Die aren't as valuable as class hit die, but are typically better than LA. It depends what kind of racial HD. Yeah, Humanoid HD are weak, but other kinds are great. Dragons, Magical Beasts, Monstrous Humanoids and Outsiders all have full BAB. Dragons and Outsiders especially shine with all good saves, tons of skill points (6 and 8 respectively), and high HD (d12 and d8 respectively). Fey are physically weak with a d6, a wizard's BAB and only two good saves, but they have many skill points. While it's not set in stone, they typically have DR/Cold Iron, some magical abilities and even spell resistance. While they typically have a low constitution and strength score, their other abilities are usually high. There other things to remember about the various creature types traits. For example, Constructs, Plants and Undead have tons of physical immunities. But Undeads are usually seen as evil, with some exceptions though.
EvilVegan 01-21-08, 02:24 PM	It depends what kind of racial HD. Yeah, Humanoid HD are weak, but other kinds are great. Dragons, Magical Beasts, Monstrous Humanoids and Outsiders all have full BAB. Dragons and Outsiders especially shine with all good saves, tons of skill points (6 and 8 respectively), and high HD (d12 and d8 respectively). Fey are physically weak with a d6, a wizard's BAB and only two good saves, but they have many skill points. While it's not set in stone, they typically have DR/Cold Iron, some magical abilities and even spell resistance. While they typically have a low constitution and strength score, their other abilities are usually high. There other things to remember about the various creature types traits. For example, Constructs, Plants and Undead have tons of physical immunities. But Undeads are usually seen as evil, with some exceptions though. Excellent suggestions!
Squaba 02-07-08, 12:15 AM	Bump
ragoftag 02-07-08, 11:19 AM	Nice outline, always good to have one when trying to get a race out. Perhaps a brief (!) explanation of what goes where. Eg: racial weapons would go under...? SA, I know, but its best to clear a bit of confusion.
EvilVegan 02-07-08, 12:45 PM	Nice outline, always good to have one when trying to get a race out. Perhaps a brief (!) explanation of what goes where. Eg: racial weapons would go under...? SA, I know, but its best to clear a bit of confusion. Included! Anyone got a good Template for Templates?
Squaba 02-11-08, 11:45 AM	I need a better explanation about how the racial hit die can reduce the ECL. I'm a bit confused on how it helps to mitigate LA. Could you maybe post a better example?
EvilVegan 02-11-08, 04:40 PM	That's a tricky question. First and foremost I want to clear up the confusion by saying that Racial Hit Dice don't Reduce ECL. They reduce LA and provide a filler/substitute that is somewhat better. Typically, it can raise ECL considerably, but the benefits could offset the drawbacks. Look at the following: Dragon Type A dragon is a reptile-like creature, usually winged, with magical or unusual abilities. Features A dragon has the following features. 12-sided Hit Dice. Base attack bonus equal to total Hit Dice (as fighter). Good Fortitude, Reflex, and Will saves. Skill points equal to (6 + Int modifier, minimum 1) per Hit Die, with quadruple skill points for the first Hit Die. Traits A dragon possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in the description of a particular kind). Darkvision out to 60 feet and low-light vision. Immunity to magic sleep effects and paralysis effects. Proficient with its natural weapons only unless humanoid in form (or capable of assuming humanoid form), in which case proficient with all simple weapons and any weapons mentioned in its entry. Proficient with no armor. Dragons eat, sleep, and breathe. -------------- And -------------- Fey Type A fey is a creature with supernatural abilities and connections to nature or to some other force or place. Fey are usually human-shaped. Features A fey has the following features. 6-sided Hit Dice. Base attack bonus equal to ½ total Hit Dice (as wizard). Good Reflex and Will saves. Skill points equal to (6 + Int modifier, minimum 1) per Hit Die, with quadruple skill points for the first Hit Die. Traits A fey possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature’s entry). Low-light vision. Proficient with all simple weapons and any weapons mentioned in its entry. Proficient with whatever type of armor (light, medium, or heavy) that it is described as wearing, as well as all lighter types. Fey not indicated as wearing armor are not proficient with armor. Fey are proficient with shields if they are proficient with any form of armor. Fey eat, sleep, and breathe. . . . . . . Ok, Dragon is obviously a very good type to have. You get the best hit points, the best saves, the best BAB, and 2nd best skill points. If you're making a dragon type of creature and it has a high LA, changing those LA to hit dice isn't going to be that much of a penalty. Since it isn't as much of a penalty, it doesn't "get rid" of LA very well. So lets say you have a half-dragon. It is normally LA +3. If you are playing a half-dragon and are a 1st level fighter, you're expected to keep up with a 4th level party. If you converted this +3 LA directly into 3 dragon hit dice instead of LA (that is 3 Racial HD, +0 LA, 1st class level), you'd have a 4th level character with no LA, 3d12+1d10 hit dice, better skills, etc. . . So it doesn't work to off-set the LA, because the racial hit dice is almost better than fighter hit dice (its easily debatable that dragon hit dice are better than fighter). But, take the same basic abilities as a half-dragon, but change the type to fey. If you have a 1st level fighter that's a half-fey-dragon, you could put 2 racial hit dice on it, and maybe reduce the total LA to +2. So that would be a 5th level character, but 2 of these "levels" are racial hit dice. These hit dice provide decent skill points, but worst hit points and poor saves, and worst BAB. But these 2 hit dice with +2 LA are still better than a flat +3 LA for the simple reason that hit dice provide something more than LA does. They provide a buffer for spells like sleep and holy word. They provide skill points, hit points, saves, BAB, etc. So, Class levels > Racial hit dice > LA. And Some Racial Hit Dice > Other Racial Hit Dice. So lets say you make a race, and it's got a crazy set of abilities worth maybe a +10 LA. If it is an angel or a dragon, you could say it has 8 racial hit dice and +8 LA instead. The 8 racial hit dice only reduce the actual LA by only 2, making it ECL 16, but half that ECL is "useful". If it were instead a giant, you could give it 10 racial hit dice and reduce the +10 LA to +5. Making an ECL 15 creature with only +5 LA, and 10 "less than useful" hit dice. If you were a construct, you could give it 10 racial hit dice and reduce the LA by 6 instead of 5, making it ECL 14. So you aren't lowering ECL, in most cases you're actually raising the effective level it can be used at, but you're making more of that ECL count for something. Compare the angel or dragon with 8 hit dice and 8 LA with 4 levels of barbarian to a giant with 10 hit dice, 5 LA and 5 levels of barbarian, and a construct with 10 hit dice, 4 LA, and 6 levels of barbarian. The construct has 16 hit dice, the giant has 15 hit dice, the dragon has 12. BAB should be about the same. The hit points will be greater on the giant, because of con bonuses. The construct will be immune to more spells based on HD, but also has no con bonus (blech). So. It doesn't alleviate ECL. It alleviates LA. Theoretically, this could work in reverse. Take the Ogre. +10 Strength, -2 Dexterity, +4 Constitution, -4 Intelligence, -4 Charisma. Large size. -1 penalty to Armor Class, -1 penalty on attack rolls, -4 penalty on Hide checks, +4 bonus on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits double those of Medium characters. Space/Reach: 10 feet/10 feet. An ogre’s base land speed is 40 feet. Darkvision out to 60 feet. Racial Hit Dice: An ogre begins with four levels of giant, which provide 4d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +3, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +4, Ref +1, and Will +1. Racial Skills: An ogre’s giant levels give it skill points equal to 7 × (2 + Int modifier, minimum 1). Its class skills are Climb, Listen, and Spot. Racial Feats: An ogre’s giant levels give it two feats. Weapon and Armor Proficiency: An ogre is automatically proficient with simple weapons, martial weapons, light and medium armor, and shields. +5 natural armor bonus. Automatic Languages: Common, Giant. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Terran. Favored Class: Barbarian. Level adjustment +2. It has 4 levels of giant and a LA of +2. Compared to this +10 Strength, -2 Dexterity, +4 Constitution, -4 Intelligence, -4 Charisma. (+4 Net) (+1 LA by itself) Large size. -1 penalty to Armor Class, -1 penalty on attack rolls, -4 penalty on Hide checks, +4 bonus on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits double those of Medium characters. (+1 LA by itself) An ogre’s base land speed is 40 feet. Darkvision out to 60 feet. +5 natural armor bonus. (+1 LA by itself) Automatic Languages: Common, Giant. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Terran. Favored Class: Barbarian. Level adjustment +4. Compared to a human half-dragon: Str +8, Con +2, Int +2, Cha +2. Breath Weapon +4 Natural Armor Darkvision / Low Light Vision Natural Attacks So it doesn't work. But the designers weren't really taking type/racial hit dice and LA into account when designing everything. They were considering CR. I'd really put an ogre at +2 or +3 tops without racial hit dice. It's too specialized to penalize with an LA that high. . . But then, it is specialized for a non-caster, and non-casters suffer the most from LA, so LA is more of a deterent on non-casters and ogres are non-caster specialized. So it does work a bit.
Orchomenos 02-12-08, 01:01 PM	So lets say you have a half-dragon. It is normally LA +4. If you are playing a half-dragon and are a 1st level fighter, you're expected to keep up with a 4th level party. If you converted this +3 LA into 3 dragon hit dice instead... Since your goal is to create a comprehensive guide, I feel the need to nitpick. Do you mean LA +3, LA +4, or ECL +4? :P
Squaba 02-12-08, 05:06 PM	That's a tricky question. First and foremost I want to clear up the confusion by saying that Racial Hit Dice don't Reduce ECL. They reduce LA and provide a filler/substitute that is somewhat better. Typically, it can raise ECL considerably, but the benefits could offset the drawbacks. Okay, so taking a Bugbear, with 3(?) racial HD, racial bonuses, and two feats. Add its 1 LA and give it a level and I have an ECL 5. If a player were to start a game with a level one barbarian bug bear, they would level up at "level" 6 with all the other players who have actual class levels of 5, correct?
EvilVegan 02-14-08, 03:05 PM	Okay, so taking a Bugbear, with 3(?) racial HD, racial bonuses, and two feats. Add its 1 LA and give it a level and I have an ECL 5. If a player were to start a game with a level one barbarian bug bear, they would level up at "level" 6 with all the other players who have actual class levels of 5, correct? Yes. 3 Racial 1 LA 1 Class = 5 class Effective Character level is Racial HD + Level Adjustment + Class levels. If you just have class levels it would be 0 (racial) + 0 (LA) + class levels. So you shouldn't see a bugbear player in a 1st level group. A 5th level character should be roughly on par with a bugbear with 1 class level. The bugbear will always be 4 effective levels behind the rest of the party, unless you use some level adjustment buyoff variant (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/reducingLevelAdjustments.htm).