Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ThePaperGangster 03-13-07, 11:45 PM	This is my first post, first race, and first time playing DND! Its my B-day today, and I got the game along with the fact that anything can happen in it. Im a random abstract, so, BANG I was into it. I signed up here, and I posted my race. Fethocken are half peacock half man, or at least that is what they seem. Males have bright turquoise and brown feathers (peacock half) and skin with a blue tint ("human" half), while females have pink and green streaked feathers (peacock half), and skin with a green tint ("human" half). Their hair is replaced by feathers, which are brown/black/white/green/blue/red-green-yellow. They can fly with ease, yet get tired after a while and refuse to use their wings any longer, and are very strong. They are not very intelligent and are clumsy, though. Fethocken Racial Traits * +2 Cha, +2 Str, -2 Int, -2 Dex. * Small: Fethocken gain a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, and must use smaller weapons than Medium creatures can. Their carrying capacity is 3/4 that of a Medium creature. * Base Speed 20 ft. Flight Speed 20 ft. With average maneuverability. Can only fly 160 feet a day, until level 8. They can not take the Improve Flight feat. * +2 racial bonus to all Perform and Profession checks. * +2 racial bonus to all Fortitude saving throws. * Favored class: Ranger
Deity 03-13-07, 11:55 PM	Usually having an odd number bonus to a stat is frowned upon, because, well, let's say you can put either a 14 or 15 into Str. If you put in a 14, you end up with 17, giving a +3 bonus to Str related checks, but if you put a 15 into it, you get 18 and a +4 bonus. If you keep bonuses even, then you avoid this issue.
ThePaperGangster 03-13-07, 11:57 PM	Would it be better with +4 Str and no Cha bonus?
Fireclave 03-14-07, 12:22 AM	Flight almost always warrents a LA increase of at least +1. You also didn't post the flight manuverability. It's just bad form to make stat modifiers odd. I'd drop the str to +2. They are not very intelligent and are clumsy, though. With no penalty to dex and a +2 to reflex, they seem to be the very opposite of clumsy.
ThePaperGangster 03-14-07, 10:47 AM	This is all fixed. Reflex was supposed to be Fortitude, and I forgot the dex penalty.
YabaTheWhat 03-14-07, 12:07 PM	This is my first post, first race, and first time playing DND! Considering you've never played before, it's generally a good idea to start out with the standard races & classes, or at least something close (if you're part of a way-out-there group). Once you get a feel for how the game works, and more importantly in this case, the power of various abilities in terms of race and class balance, then you can start working on your own races. As others have pointed out, flight is a very powerful ability, which can make an archer or spellcaster nearly unkillable at low levels, as well as awarding several other tactical advantages in outdoor settings. This ability is typically balanced using a level adjustment (LA), or awarded gradually as the creature progresses (see: Raptoran (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/iw/20050106b&page=1)). Your race has neither, and essentially gets full flight for free at first level. A racial bonus larger than +2 (i.e. an even number of +4 or higher) is also quite potent. While such a penalty can sometimes be balanced with drawbacks (see: Orc), that has not occurred in this case.
Krusk 03-14-07, 12:50 PM	If you really want them to fly, you could consider a gilde ability. allow them the effect of slow fall as the spell for 10 rounds a day only works with a light load. Then at level 12 or so offer them the ability to take fly as a feat.
ThePaperGangster 03-14-07, 03:11 PM	Now, they can only fly 160 feet a day, until level 8. Is this OK? A member of my game who knows the game well says that is much better, but should be 200 feet. Any thoughts?
YabaTheWhat 03-14-07, 03:31 PM	Now, they can only fly 160 feet a day, until level 8. Is this OK? A member of my game who knows the game well says that is much better, but should be 200. Any thoughts? I'd suggest 60 ft per hit die per day until level 8 (60 ft at L1, 120 ft at L2, 180 ft at L3, 240 ft at L4, 300 ft at L5, 360 ft at L6, 420 ft at L7), after which it becomes unlimited. (Be sure to state that they cannot take the Improved Flight feat, as that would give them the ability to hover, effectively negating the limit.) Alternatively, the limit could be stated as a number of rounds per day. There's still the problem of the tremendous strength bonus. When awarding flight, even in limited quantity, it's still a major benefit. A large strength bonus is also a major benefit. In short, these guys beat the pants off any of the standard races and most published races. If you don't want to sacrifice a level to get these benefits, they need to be toned down further. If, however, you are willing to give the race LA+1 (level adjustment of +1; they sacrifice one class level permanently as an "empty" level in exchange for better racial traits), then you'll have more room to give them what you're giving them.