Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 borysofebe Sep 08, 2010 2:19:53	I have recently returned to DnD after a long break (2nd Edition) and I would really appreciate some advice on a few things from some of the veterans 4e crew floating around. I have removed the Eldarin, all PH2 races, all PH3 races and the Feywild and made Elves non-Fey creatures. Will this have any impact mechanically? I know about the Fey pact Warlock. I have created my own half-giant (+2Str +4Con +2 Intimidate and kept Goliath power but have called it "Thick Skulled"). Is this overpowered? I have Dark Sunned the Elf too (+2Dex +2Cha +2Streetwise or Nature and kept group Awareness, Wild Step and Elven Accuracy). Too nerfed? I have also returned the cosmology to the Prism Pentad view of Athas with the exception of adding the Abyss. I have changed magic so that arcane casters use either plant, animal (Dragon) ot sun (Rajaat) magic with defiling rules to match. So a plant caster defiles the ground but doesn't have any impact on animals; a Dragon draws half a healing surge from everyone in 20 (including enemies) and a Sun Sorcerer just gets a reroll at no cost (thinking of making this a paragon choice). Any feedback on these ideas would be much appreciated, especially in terms of game breaking stuff.
#2 Dedekine Sep 08, 2010 2:43:02	1. Probably not.  Are you going to remove the Fey pact as well?  That's probably reasonable, especially with the Sorcerer King pact to take up the slack. 2. Yes, it's overpowered.  Non-human races should receive a +2 to two different ability scores, no more and no less.  A +4 modifier will give you big balance problems. 3. Do you mean +2 Streetwise and +2 Nature?  If so, it doesn't seem to be a big problem.  The loss of proficiency isn't a big deal. 4. I don't think this is any sort of issue, except that it will make it harder to convert other 4e material.  On the other hand, it might make it easier to convert 2nd Ed material, so you might prefer it. 5. I can't see why anyone would ever take animal-based defiling as presented: healing surges are useless to monsters, but very valuable to the party.  Especially since it's up against plant defiling, which has no real cost other than the RPing factor, which is going to apply to all arcane magic.  And frankly, sun-based defiling is extremely broken.  A free reroll on the to-hit or damage of all dailies with no cost, mechanical or otherwise, massively outstrips the best benefit any epic destiny has to offer.  With sun sorcerers in the game, there is no reason for any arcane character to choose any other option, preserving or otherwise.  That sort of power should be the culmination of an epic destiny, not something you can pick up at character creation or even paragon. Personally, I am not a fan of house-ruling defiling with an aim to make it more powerful, because I think you have to be very careful when you're providing mechanical motivations for the players to be villains.  Having said that, there is a thread on Defiling House Rules which you might find useful.
#3 Pashalik_Mons Sep 08, 2010 2:51:34	Seeing how you've just gotten back from a long break, I'd recommend running at least one game by the books, before you start houseruling; it'll really show you what needs it and what's just unnecessary.  Things are a lot different in this edition than any I've played before. As for your list, I'd recommend allowing any race, if the player has a good explanation for it.  In particular, I thought the Eladrin fit in nicely as the denizens of the Lands Within The Wind.  For the half giant, cut the con bonus to +2.  4e races(with the singular exception of humans) have a +2 to 2 different stats.  As for the elf, I advise against the change.  There are a few dex/cha races already, if your players want those stats, reflavor the race as an elf.  For the magic changes...I really don't think the magic system needs any change at all.  At the least, rethink the dragon magic thing.  If you mean half a surge of damage, it becomes an easy minion killer.  That being said, I think the ideas of "Familiar Races Aren't What You Expect" and "Instead of 'no', say 'Yes, but...'" are solid ideas to keep in mind at all times.  For instance, instead of "No, no githzerai"  say, "Yes, but tell me how your people avoided the warping influence that turned the rest of your species into beasts." I wouldn't allow a non-standard(for Dark Sun) race without a good story, but if the player has a cool story, I wouldn't dream of saying no.