| Nofir Cobalt |
I just joined up with PfS and I just rolled up my first character and got my first module down (hooray!). I'm actually enjoying playing my fighter human and I really don't see me -willingly- giving him up soon. However, having said all that part of me wishes I had the option to play something more exotic. I've always been drawn to kobolds for their appearance and background.
Part of the draw for me to play them is all the stuff they have going against them. For being a potential player race in non PfS games they are rather ridiculously stunted. With -4 str and -2 con with light sensitivity right out the door they introduce some unique obstacles to play. I really don't want to play a race that gives me such huge advantages out of the gate. I want something that gives a bit more "bite" as it were to my adventures. Making such a race work outside its comfort zone seems like an excellent challenge to me (i.e. a paladin kobold) simply because the things needed to bring that around would require some extra thinking and pre-planning on my part.
On the other hand I have always been more of the roleplaying type than the number crunching type. I wouldn't want to fall into the cookie cutter drow anti-hero type situation, but its hard not to not go that route. Everyone wants their character to be unique and special and the exception and I think that is healthy. Or at least it can be healthy as long as it pushes at creativity instead of stagnating it. It seems all too easy to fall into brooding emo territory with tieflings from games I've seen with them.
I know I am new but I can see where both parties are coming from. Those who want to open up new races and those who wish to maintain the status quo. Open up too many races and you homogynize things. When everyone is special no will be. On the other hand I can't help but feel a little stiffled on my own creativity by the boundaries set forth infront of me. Yes, there are racial boons but I'm lucky if I can attend one local convention a year let alone travel abroad to one across the country for a chance to play an exotic race down the line. Since I'm starting out new to this particular facet of Pathfinder I have plenty to chew on my plate now, but then I think to the future and what I may want to do one day and I am flumoxed on how to go about it.
I've said all that so I can finally arrive at my point that, as someone who has just come into these things and this discussion, that a revolving door of switching out 2 or 3 races every couple of years sounds like a good compromise. Grandfathering in players already in play. It gives us something to look forward to while making us use what we have now, and who knows, maybe we decide we like what we have. Emotional attachment is a powerful thing.
I think what I'm trying to say with all this is that its nice to have options.