After over two years playing in the Shackled City Adventure Path(awesome module, btw, many many kudos to all involved in creating this incredibly fun adventure) I will be taking over the group and running Age of Worms. While I will be spending our last several sessions in SCAP familiariizing myself with the AoW, I will also be using our off weeks to talk to the players about the characters they want to play, developing backgrounds, getting them set for the start of the adventure, and I had a question. One of my future players is interested in playing a Poison Dusk Lizardfolk. Now, I know little about this subrace, as I don't currently have whatever MM they are in, and I haven't really been interested in Eberron. The starting point for the party is 1st level, with a 32 point buy. I am allowing pretty much all of the standard splatbooks(including Bo9S) with some modifications to things that I or my group have seen as imbalanced.
So, the question is, are PDL viable for a PC in this adventure? Overpowered? Under? Highly likely to be stoned to death by frightened villagers?
They're in MM3 p. 96. Your going to want the player to give you the low down on them but in general they are pretty balanced as a far as I can tell.
Basically they're +1 level adjusted. They get quite a bit for that level adjustment. Bonus to Dex and Con and a penalty to Chr. Some bonus to various skills, namely Hide, Balance, Jump and Swim. They are small so those rules apply - they have natural attacks but small creatures with natural attacks are not particularly dangerous. They use nets and bola's as natural martial instead of exotic weapons. can't poison themselves when apply poison and a base speed of 30' fast for a small character. The really big bonus is +3 natural armour.
At first blush they seem kind of strong for a mere +1 level adjustment but they really face a fairly significant problem. They would be great as a martial class but their small - small characters don't make very good martial classes. Penalties for weapons etc. are just to big a detriment.
Probably their biggest benefit would be as a rogue. They can't poison themselves when they apply poison so chances are thats what your player will aim for, they'll make a good rogue but that +1 level adjustment will penalize the character as well meaning a rogue with less hps and less skill points.
Make sure your strict about poison costing cash and don't make some kind of a house rule where the players can easily harvest monster poison. The Poison Dusk player is going to want poison, which is fine, but make them pay for their poison.
I'd say your fine - in fact the player may face some issues. AoWs is really rather tough on the rogue. So many creatures immune to criticals and most of them immune to poison as well. I honestly can't see how this race can unbalance AoWs really and in fact there is a bit of danger of the reverse. The character just not being up to snuff compared to some of the other players - especially the Cleric.
Probably likely to be stoned by the villagers.
Diamond Lake and its environs are VERY close to the Mistmarsh, which is crawling with Lizardmen. It would be very easy to add in the Poison Dusk though.
Heres some suggestions,
-If you can, get MMIII, its got some Eberron centric stuff in there, but is a very useful Manual. Tons of good monsters. Poison Dusk Lizfolk as well.
-Read AOW Arc #3 Encounter at Blackwall Keep. Do this before you let anyone play a Lizardfolk of any kind. It might actually work out kind of interesting to have one in the party for this module.
-You could take a tack directly from Erik Mona's AoW and have the Lizardfolk on display as party of the Freakshow in the Emporium. This would give a Liz a better chance to speak common and have a greater understanding of Human/Demihuman culture.
-Other problems might be later when the Adventure Path goes to the free city. Lizardfolk aren't going to exaclty be welcomed there. If everything goes really well in AP arc 3 (see above) the Lizardfolk might be able to be the ambassador in question. Diplomatic Immunity is good, but it won't save you from a thug on the street whose parents attended a Lizardfolk Barbeque (and not as a guest).
-Make sure the player knows that this is considered as a monster race by most people in the world and will most likely be treated as such. If they like the Roleplaying challenge that goes with this, it might be just the thing you need to add some spice to your campaign.
Oh, what campaign setting are you playing in? I was assuming Greyhawk by saying some of this. But most would apply to both Eberron and FR too, just different names for the locations.
Urk! Jeremy beat my post by a minute. Heheheh
|
Regarding one of your first questions: 32 point buy is not too powerful. I let my players use it, and they are hanging on by the skin of their teeth, and there are seven characters in the party!
We are halfway through the Champions Belt and there have been six character deaths, 3 of which occurred in the Whispering Cairn. Don't let the fact that it is a low-level module fool you.
As you go along, you'll find some sections of the campaingn will seem like a cakewalk, but others will seem impossible.
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
|
I'd check with the player re their expectations for being treated as an outsider all the time. Some players like exotic races for that reason, whereas others strongly dislike that aspect. There isn't some objective measurement of monster race acceptance. In my campaigns, a lizardfolk would be fine. Some people might react negatively, but the character wouldn't be at risk of death in every major city. Adventurers are different and play by different social rules, and the occasional monstrous humanoid is to be exected. So, all else being equal, I'd see how your player wants to swing and mold the world to that degree of tolerence.
I'm not really worried about the whether 32 point buy is powerful. I'm just trying to create a more level playing field for the party. In the SCAP group we had a couple people roll really, really well, seeing multiple 18's on 4d6x6. Then we had other people who looked like they used a 20 point buy to create their character. Most of those ended up shredded scraps on the floor of the SCAP meatgrinder. Then again, so did some of the high rollers. Usually proceeding the following words from our DM, "It's a -insert character's strongest save- save, you should make this." At least 2 characters died following those words, and our wizard almost died when his phantasmal killer was reflected back on him by the morkoth(rolls of 2 on spell penetration and 1 on the will save,) but he made the fort.
At first blush they seem kind of strong for a mere +1 level adjustment but they really face a fairly significant problem. They would be great as a martial class but their small - small characters don't make very good martial classes. Penalties for weapons etc. are just to big a detriment.
Monk and rogue are usually good choices for small characters, since the damage scales up with level increases. Spellcasters are also good, since spell effects do not (usually) depend on size. A barbarian might be a good choice with the Con bonus, no Str penalty, and high AC; Leap Attack (and Combat Brute) would probably be a must have with the Jump bonus.
The biggest drawback would be the +1 LA. Unless the whole party starts at ECL 2 (which is your option), the player will have to wait to bring in the character.
Monk and rogue are usually good choices for small characters, since the damage scales up with level increases. Spellcasters are also good, since spell effects do not (usually) depend on size. A barbarian might be a good choice with the Con bonus, no Str penalty, and high AC; Leap Attack (and Combat Brute) would probably be a must have with the Jump bonus.The biggest drawback would be the +1 LA. Unless the whole party starts at ECL 2 (which is your option), the player will have to wait to bring in the character.
I agree with the rogue since most of their damage comes from the sneak attack and not from the weapon. Can't say I think their comparable to a medium build with a monk though. a d6 damage is already a little low on the damage scale. d4 makes this really rather extreme. The damage output will boost up but it sure will take a long time with that +1 level adjustment. Low ability to grapple just adds another detriment to this option.
I find the race a little intriguing for spell casters. From the mid levels on the spell casters are vulnerable to just about any bad turn of fate and a bonus to AC and hps from stat boosts and natural armour sure seems appealing - still that +1 level adjustment is a lot to overcome, your starting off by penalizing your spells because your about a level behind say a gnome spell caster. Thats a pretty big penalty.
The leap attacking Barbarian has some interesting potential. With a poisoned weapon it might even be pretty good - still a tad dangerous with a small character, if the enemy goes for a grapple its bad news for a small barbarian. Still a seething ball of wee lizard in a rage does seem kind of cool even if its in a lot of trouble if a large creature grabs it.
One of the PCs in my tpk AOW was a lizardfolk druid.
He was the second son of Kushak and the sole survivor of the fatal brood of eggs.
He had fled the tribe after Ilthane took over, and was working as a scout for the militia in Diamond Lake. People may not have liked him, but his ties to the law kept him safe. His motivation for leaving his tribe was his conviction that their ally was actually their doom. He wanted support for a coup to reaclaim the tribe and slay Ilthane. The party seemed like a likely group of allies.
Damn pity they all died in the three faces of evil and his fluff never came into play. Same for the Greyhawk thieves guild member who had to leave the free city in a hurry after having an affair with whatshername.(The woman Murdered by Loris Raknian.)
At the moment, druid or scout looks to be the characters choice of class.
As far as forcing the character to wait on bringing the character in, I was thinking of doing a little adjusting to allow the player to start with the character. Somewhere(I don't remember which book it was, may have even been somewhere in 3.0) I recall seeing an option for 1st level multiclass characters, gaining some of the benefits of each of their classes, and gaining the rest when they reached 2nd level(or 3rd for triple classes) and I was thinking of doing something similar with the racial bonuses and class abilities.
At the moment, druid or scout looks to be the characters choice of class.
As far as forcing the character to wait on bringing the character in, I was thinking of doing a little adjusting to allow the player to start with the character. Somewhere(I don't remember which book it was, may have even been somewhere in 3.0) I recall seeing an option for 1st level multiclass characters, gaining some of the benefits of each of their classes, and gaining the rest when they reached 2nd level(or 3rd for triple classes) and I was thinking of doing something similar with the racial bonuses and class abilities.
Whispering Cairn is pretty nasty, I'd just let the player take his 1st level in druid or scout and be the only 2 ECL character in the group...it'll just take him longer to reach his 3rd ECL since he'll have to go from 0 to 3000XP.
|
You should have no problem. My PCs started out with a 32-point buy, and there were 8 characters to start (now down to 6 PCs as 3FOE winds down).
If it becomes neccessary, an extra wolf here, an extra fire-beetle swarm there, and your PCs should be running for the hills just like all of the PCs in the many and diverse campaigns that have run before yours.
Age of Worms is a great campaign. That said, DM prep is everything. Know the stat blocks of the major baddies intimately; know what they can do, and try to find the best and most evil combo of NPC abilitlies, spells, etc. before any given game night even begins.
Whispering Cairn is pretty nasty, I'd just let the player take his 1st level in druid or scout and be the only 2 ECL character in the group...it'll just take him longer to reach his 3rd ECL since he'll have to go from 0 to 3000XP.At the moment, druid or scout looks to be the characters choice of class.
As far as forcing the character to wait on bringing the character in, I was thinking of doing a little adjusting to allow the player to start with the character. Somewhere(I don't remember which book it was, may have even been somewhere in 3.0) I recall seeing an option for 1st level multiclass characters, gaining some of the benefits of each of their classes, and gaining the rest when they reached 2nd level(or 3rd for triple classes) and I was thinking of doing something similar with the racial bonuses and class abilities.
I pretty much agree. With one or maybe even two level adjustments for a long campaign I might just overlook the fact that some players will be a tad strong right at the beginning. Things even out pretty quick. AoW is so hard that these level adjustments probably won't be a problem. Maybe you can reward the more standard players with a couple of free potions or low level scrolls just to make everyone happy, and in truth thats all I think you need to worry about in this regards. The AP is so hard - especially Whispering Cairn and Three Faces of Evil that your only real concern is making sure that the other players don't resent their powerful companion.