Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 caeruleus May 19, 2005 21:33:27	I was just wondering, has anyone played a demihuman in BECM D&D where the human characters reached 36th level (or close to it)? If so, were the demihumans at least roughly balanced with the human characters?
#2 weasel_fierce May 20, 2005 0:47:44	The main drawback is hit points. Attack values and saving throw benefits tend to make it fairly even. Elves propably bite it a little harder, as their spellcasting doesnt improve. Halflings get the boost though, as they can rack up weapon mastery slots at a frightening pace. I havent played that far, but on paper, it looks to balance out fair enough to avoid anyone being bored.
#3 zombiegleemax May 20, 2005 9:05:45	WF nailed it. Like he said, the main two things that don't improve are hit points and spells for elves. Demi-humans, especially Dwarves and Halflings will have superior saving throws at 8th to 10th level than human classes into the late teens and twenties. R.A.
#4 caeruleus May 20, 2005 10:25:05	Thanks for the replies. I actually found it kinda funny when it says that elves cannot master spells beyond 5th level. Of course, this can vary from campaign to campaign, and there's nothing wrong with it. I just found it funny given how elves are typically seen as being very good at magic.
#5 weasel_fierce May 20, 2005 12:54:43	Elves do have the edge of being able to trudge around in plate mail, as well as chuck fireballs ;)
#6 greylord May 20, 2005 16:09:53	Long ago in an BECM version of OD&D I played the Elf, but we houseruled the class to include it so that the Elf spellcasting could continue to go up until 36th level. It was one dang bad Elf...and I played him actually as a rather bad guy type PC...(sold my soul, made pacts with dragons to save the world from evil...but then with them just replace the current rulers with myself...I finally came to a bad end I must say though after the rest of the party finally after years of this went out to get me and put me down...but that was a LOOOOOOOOOONG time ago).
#7 weasel_fierce May 21, 2005 0:22:04	Actually, the back of the Rules Cyclopedia has rules for advancing to level 36. I sort of prefer demihumans to be different though.
#8 erudite May 21, 2005 11:30:12	Thanks for the replies. I actually found it kinda funny when it says that elves cannot master spells beyond 5th level. Of course, this can vary from campaign to campaign, and there's nothing wrong with it. I just found it funny given how elves are typically seen as being very good at magic. In RC elves are good with magic. Every elf can use some of it. But humans (not all, just the talented ones) are better. They go beyond what any other elf can do, not as a race, but as individuals. So while elves might have accepted 5th level spells as the limits of mortal power, along comes this upstart race of short-lived nobodies who produce guys who blow past the normal limits of power. As a race, elves are magical. But they have a place in an older order of things, one that does not account for dynamic, aggressive sparks of energy called humans. That said, there are options to allow elves to progress to higher levels of magic, but how common that is in a campaign remains up to the individual DM.
#9 caeruleus May 22, 2005 23:08:25	In RC elves are good with magic. Every elf can use some of it. But humans (not all, just the talented ones) are better. They go beyond what any other elf can do, not as a race, but as individuals. So while elves might have accepted 5th level spells as the limits of mortal power, along comes this upstart race of short-lived nobodies who produce guys who blow past the normal limits of power. As a race, elves are magical. But they have a place in an older order of things, one that does not account for dynamic, aggressive sparks of energy called humans. That said, there are options to allow elves to progress to higher levels of magic, but how common that is in a campaign remains up to the individual DM. That's a good explanation, thanks.
#10 zombiegleemax May 23, 2005 11:40:37	I played a high level Elf. I think I got him up to Attack Rank K or thereabouts. He was pretty good in a fight, and I think he was balanced with the human characters - the fact that he had those limits on his spells and what not is probably the balancing factor.
#11 erudite May 23, 2005 16:15:29	That's a good explanation, thanks. I'm just glad for those days when I open my mouth and somthing coherent comes forth...