Post/Author/DateTime	Post
acarpenter 11-12-07, 09:46 AM	I am a little confused on size modifers? Does this always apply or only when there are size differences? Like Human vs Halfing? How do you determine if you get language bonuses? What does the ECL field on the 3.5 character sheet mean? Is playing with character age a requirement or an option? Thanks
RobbyPants 11-12-07, 10:23 AM	I am a little confused on size modifers? Does this always apply or only when there are size differences? Like Human vs Halfing? Well, the bonus applies both to attack rolls and AC, so it actually works itself out. For example, a small creature attacking a medium creature will have +1 to hit and +1 to AC, so effectively, the small guy gets a +1 bonus to hit, and the medium guy gets a -1 penalty. If both were small, the attack bonus and AC bonus would cancel out, effectively giving them +0 against eachother. The whole premise here is that the size is relative to each attacker. So a large creature fighting a small creature has an effective -2 to hit, while the small guy gets +2. There are also size modifiers to things other than attack rolls. Grapples are one example. Typcially you get something like +/- 4 for each size larger or smaller than medium. So, for example, if an oger (large) were grappling a halfling (small), the oger would get +4 on top of his other modifiers, and the halfling would take a -4 penalty. This amounts to a net 8 ponit difference on their opposed rolls (before taking other modifiers into account). So unless the halfling were unusually strong and/or very high level, he would probably get tossed around like a rag doll. :P How do you determine if you get language bonuses? Your Int mod. If it's greater than 0 (i.e. your Int score is 12 or higher), then you get bonus languages. Everyone starts with common plus their racial language (if any). They get a number of bonus languages equal to their Int bonus (if any). Note that you don't lose languages for a low Int score. So even if you have a -1 Int mod, you don't lose a language. What does the ECL field on the 3.5 character sheet mean? ECL stands for Effective Character Level. This is important if you're playing a race that's more powerful than normal that has a Level Adjustment (LA) and/or Racial Hit Dice (RHD). Basically, these raise the "effective level" of the character. For example, a minotaur (LA +2, 6 RHD) counts as an 8th level PC without any class levels. So a level one minotaur barbarian would count as a 9th level character. As a general rule, I avoid most races with a LA. Few are actually worth the loss of class features. If you're new to the game, stick with the standard races for now. ;) Is playing with character age a requirement or an option? Well, you can roll on the table in the PHB, but typically I allow my players to choose their race. You could play an older character if you're willing to take the penalty to your physical stats in exchange for the bonuses to mental stats. As a general rule, just pick an age somewhere inside the range of the age roll. Hope that helps. ;)
DarkfireAngel 11-12-07, 10:33 AM	I am a little confused on size modifers? Does this always apply or only when there are size differences? Like Human vs Halfing? They apply all the time, sizes other than medium can grant you penalties or bonuses in certain situtations, for example grappling or escape artist checks. If there is a penalty or bonus the rules will tell you what they are. How do you determine if you get language bonuses? If you have an Intelligence bonus of 12+ you get a bonus language for every point of modifier that you get. For example 14 Intelligence grants a +2 modifier and thus you get 2 bonus languages What does the ECL field on the 3.5 character sheet mean? Effective Character Level, this deals with races that have a level penalty to keep them in line with the power of the party, as well as racial hit dice, a race with a +1 level adjustment and 4 racial hit dice and 1 level of fighter has and ECL of 6 and would need the same amount of experience points to go to level 2 as a character would normally need to go to 7th level because he is in effect a 6th level character in terms of power and such. Is playing with character age a requirement or an option? It's a requirement, roll randomly using the PHB tables or choose it yourself, speak to your DM about age category limits if you want to choose your age. He might not allow you to play a 10 year old Wizard for (bad) example. Hope that helps you out.
knightwriter 11-12-07, 10:55 AM	Acarpenter...welcome to the most fabulous game in all the realm. You got some great input here from the members on the board. If you have more feel free to pm me, or post them here on the boards. It's a great way to get good feedback. Game on!
acarpenter 11-12-07, 01:53 PM	Thank you all for the replys. Everyone is so helpful. I thought I was going to get flamed, hehehe. I had no clue you could play other races besides the basic ones. I'm sure the rules get confusing playing a monster type race. Thanks again, Alan
goawayugh 11-15-07, 11:30 AM	Thank you all for the replys. Everyone is so helpful. I thought I was going to get flamed, hehehe. I had no clue you could play other races besides the basic ones. I'm sure the rules get confusing playing a monster type race. Thanks again, Alan Yes, many experienced players don't understand the relationship between character level, racial HD, LA, and ECL. Get used to the game before you try to play anything with racial HD or LA.