Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Halloween Jack 07-14-07, 02:17 PM	Are there any guidelines for creating balanced races? Something that, perhaps, calculates the relative worth of a +2 skill bonus to a saving throw bonus, attribute bonus, dodge bonus, or free feat?
Malchius 07-14-07, 02:24 PM	Check Savage Species even though I think it's third, gives general guidelines though, most of which have been broken.
Rerecros 07-14-07, 02:27 PM	http://yabathewhat.tripod.com/FP.pdf There is yabba's FP system, but it is only a guideling, present any races you make on the board because the how racila abilities interact can make a race weaker or stronger than the sum of it's parts. The FP system is also completely wonky with ability scores, take dex for example. Dexterity Ranged attack rolls. [3 FP] Armor Class. [4 FP] Reflex saving throws [2 FP] Balance, Escape Artist, Hide, Move Silently, Open Lock, Ride, Sleight of Hand, Tumble, and Use Rope checks. [4.5 FP] So +2 dexterity worth 4 FP, broken down is worth 13.5 FP
Thomar_of_Uointer 07-14-07, 06:33 PM	Are there any guidelines for creating balanced races? Something that, perhaps, calculates the relative worth of a +2 skill bonus to a saving throw bonus, attribute bonus, dodge bonus, or free feat? There are several. The DMG suggests you compare the race to existing monsters. The one I use is the acid test, and I consider it nearly failproof. The acid test simply requires you to fully create the race with all the abilities you want it to have. You then make a character from that race with 1 level in the race's favored class (assuming you gave it a favored class that plays well to its strengths). Next to this, you make a human with 1 level in the same class and the exact same ability scores (before racial adjustments). Try to make the human match the race's feat, skill, and equipment options as best as possible (for instance, if you have a multi-armed race with ranger as its favored class, you'll want to match it up against a human ranger with the two-weapon fighting option). Now you compare the two characters to see if the humans is less powerful. If the human is less powerful, give him another level in the same class and boost each character's equipment by 1 level (according to the NPC equipment guidelines in the DMG) and repeat the process until the human is as powerful or slightly more powerful (in other words, if you presented both characters to a powergaming player, he'd pick the human at least half the time). Now that you have two characters of equal power, run the math really quick to determine the level adjustment of the race (thus, a level 5 ranger being on par with a level 1 ranger with 2 racial Hit Dice means it's a LA +2 race). Does that make sense?
Halloween Jack 07-15-07, 10:53 AM	It does, but that seems like a pretty complicated process to go through. Oddly enough, not long after I posted, I managed to find a third-party sourcebook (Race Creation Cookbook) that works pretty well, using a point system. It aligns pretty closely with what we all know about the base races (namely that elves suck and dwarves are really powerful).
JTalbain 07-15-07, 08:20 PM	It does, but that seems like a pretty complicated process to go through. Oddly enough, not long after I posted, I managed to find a third-party sourcebook (Race Creation Cookbook) that works pretty well, using a point system. It aligns pretty closely with what we all know about the base races (namely that elves suck and dwarves are really powerful). :rofl: Since when have Elves sucked? A lot of their abilities get downplayed because they're not as obviously related to combat ability, but their racials are incredibly useful. Half-orcs on the other hand....
Shadowfax7 07-15-07, 08:39 PM	I managed to find a third-party sourcebook (Race Creation Cookbook) never heard of this book, can you provide a link to it if it's online or link to info on it if it's hardcopy.
Halloween Jack 07-16-07, 12:00 AM	:rofl: Since when have Elves sucked? A lot of their abilities get downplayed because they're not as obviously related to combat ability, but their racials are incredibly useful. Half-orcs on the other hand....I don't see them as being worth sacrificing the feat and extra skill points you'd get for playing a human. They certainly don't stack up to the many bonuses dwarves receive. And the really neat thing about a Con penalty is that it sucks no matter what class you're playing. never heard of this book, can you provide a link to it if it's online or link to info on it if it's hardcopy. http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=10697