The Campaign Builder's Guild

Hey everyone,

I'm trying to make my setting ready for actual playing, but I'm still unsure about the stats of my new races. Both are +1 LA. Please let me know what you think.

Felion

The felion are a reclusive race, renowned for their blending of arcane and divine magic (i.e. the mystic theurge is restricted to this race for this setting).

FELION TRAITS
- +2 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom, -2 Strength. The felion are a smart and wise people, but they do not have the muscle of other races, nor do they normally need them.
- Medium: As Medium creatures, felion have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
- Felion base land speed is 30 feet.
- Felion receive the Practiced Spellcaster feat as a bonus feat for a spellcasting class of their choice. Their +1 level adjustment counts as a Hit Die for purposes of this feat. Thus, a felion Wiz4/Clr3 who has applied this to his wizard class casts his wizard spells at effective caster level 8.
- +2 racial bonus on Concentration checks: Felion sometimes focus on things for a very long time, a practice that has become a natural talent through generations of training.
- Due to their long years of study, a felion can use any Knowledge skill untrained.
- Automatic Languages: Felion. Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages such as Druidic). Someone who is born as a felion has access to amazing amounts of knowledge, both in the heads of other felion and in the books the felion have gathered over the ages. A dedicated felion can learn virtually any language he desires.
- Favored Class: Cleric. The felion are very spiritual, though not necessarily pious.
- Level Adjustment: +1.

Half-Elves

In my setting, half-elves are extremely rare. Interracial breeding is normally impossible, but magic has changed this and now a couple of half-elves walk the lands. Because elves that marry humans are shunned by their race, few half-elves are born, but there exists a noble House that consists completely of half-elves, and it keeps the race from dying out by making sure half-elves only marry half-elves (lots of inbreeding here, but it's a large House and they also marry in any "new" half-elves that are born from a human and an elf parent, if they are willing). Either way, half-elves are more powerful in this setting, and this is what I came up with.

HALF-ELF TRAITS
- +2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma: A half-elveâ,¬,,¢s grace makes her naturally better at stealth and archery. Her grace, fairness, and generally strong personality makes her better at influencing others.
- Medium: As Medium creatures, half-elves have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
- Half-elf base land speed is 30 feet.
- Immunity to sleep spells and similar magical effects, and a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against enchantment spells or effects.
- Low-Light Vision: A half-elf can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
- +1 racial bonus on Listen, Search and Spot checks: A half-elf does not have the elfâ,¬,,¢s ability to notice secret doors simply by passing near them. Half-elves have keen senses, but not as keen as those of an elf.
- +2 racial bonus on Diplomacy and Gather Information checks: Half-elves get along naturally with all people. This bonus usually doesnâ,¬,,¢t apply when elves are involved, because elves are disgusted by half-elves.
- Elven Blood: For all effects related to race, a half-elf is considered an elf. Half-elves, for example, are just as vulnerable to special effects that affect elves as their elf ancestors are, and they can use magic items only usable by elves. (See the Monster Manual for more information about elves, and the Dungeon Masterâ,¬,,¢s Guide for more on magic items.)
- Automatic Languages: Armindoréan and Elven. Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages such as Druidic). Becoming mature at such a late age, half-elves have enough time to learn just about any language, and they have all the versatility and broad (if shallow) experience that humans have.
- Favored Class: Bard. A multiclass half-elfâ,¬,,¢s bard class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing (see XP penalty for Multiclass Characters, page 60 of the Playerâ,¬,,¢s Handbook). Half-elves are natural wanderers, and can pick up tales with their diplomatic qualities wherever they go. They also have the looks and artistic talent to work all that in a beautiful show, making them natural bards.
- Level Adjustment: +1.

Here is a summary of the earlier discussion on our old forum.

Quote from: Elven DoritosI personally would take a look at the drow and the tiefling, and try to have it fall between those two extremes. (The drow is, in my humble opinion, slightly overpowered for +2 LA, and the tiefling is by far the weakest +1 LA in the game).

Or an appropriate Spell-Like Ability. Something minor, probably, most likely a few 0-levels. Look to the gnome for good examples of this.[/quote]@b): meh, the +1 level adjustment reduces their max skill rank in all skills by 1. for skills a player would plan on maxing, the charisma bonus & level adjustment effectively cancel each other out.[/quote]Influential Speaker: Once per day, a half-elf can influence one person he speaks to, as per the suggestion or charm person spell. To charm his victim, he simply needs to talk to them for at least one minute and will it to happen, but to suggest an action, he needs to talk to the victim for at least one minute and work the suggestion into the conversation. In either case, the victim gets a Will save at DC 10 + 1/2 character level + Cha modifier.

(In response to an inquiry what the felion look like) Their looks are much like Scandinavians (blond hair, blue eyes, mostly), except that they tend to have not as much in terms of muscle. They are slightly taller than most humans, but not broader (so they look thin).[/quote]Yes, but it's not set in stone. I originally wanted them to look more unique, but I couldn't really think of anything.

If I had to choose, I think I'd go with charm person: to me, it makes more sense that they have a semi-natural, semi-magical ability to make people like them whenever they talk with them for a while (this could make interesting fairy tales btw, don't talk to the half-elf in the wood for more than 30 seconds, little ones!) than allow them to influence anyone that talks to them for too long in whatever direction strikes their whim.

But why would it be a problem to have them pick? If you say it's overpowered, I say I'll remove other abilities to match.[/quote]I don't know, I simply can't think of any analogous ability which allows members of a race/class to choose between two different effects. It's not overpowered per se, it just seems a little vague to me. (Again, this is just my impression - maybe someone else should weigh in on the issue?)[/quote]

No bonus foot for the Half-Elf?

Nah, I'm most likely gonna go either with the human's bonus skill points or with a variant of the Influential Speaker ability.