Actually, I don't think it would be a bad idea to let every race pick a favored class at 1st level, just like humans. Especially if it's going to only affect your hitpoints. Maybe even make first class you take the characters favored class. I never quite figured out why humans are more adaptable than other races.
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It doesn't only effect hitpoints.
Let's understand the point of favored class. It's NOT to give you bonus HP. The point of favored class is, if I'm this class, I can multiclass with another class without penalty.
If you're an Elf (favored class Wizard) and you start as a rogue and then multiclass to a fighter you'll start getting hit with an XP penalty if the classes are two or more levels apart (5/2 for example). Now, if the Elf were to multiclass to a Wizard instead of fighter, he could have them 5 levels apart (7/2), then there's be no penalty. However if you always keep them within 2 levels of eachother, there's never a 20% xp penalty.
Humans get the benefit of any class because they're supposed to be versatile. It's a multiclass benefit to being human.
By giving extra HP Paizo is adding in a benefit to BEING your favored class for the reasons that can't be any class.
I got the impression the bonus hit point was a replacement for the multiclassing penalty. Admittedly, it doesn't actually say that, so maybe it's just my own bias. I really dislike the multiclassing penalty, but think the bonus hit point is a great way to handle favoured class.
To players inclined to keep their characters single classed I've given a 10% XP bonus. Now, if that class is their favored class I up it to a 25% bonus.
Maybe the Beta Playtest will do something similar?
There is a feat in Unearthed Arcana called Additional Favored Class:
Additional Favored Class [General]
You are more adept at combining different talents than most members of your race.
Benefit: Choose a character class, such as ranger. The chosen class is treated as a favored class for the purpose of determining whether your character takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.
Normal: Without this feat, if any class other than your races favored class is two or more levels lower than your higherst level classs, you take a -20% experience point penalty to xp earned for each class that is not within one level of your highest level class.
Special: You can gain this feat multiple times. Each time you take the feat it applies to a new class.
It wouldn't be too hard to retool this feat to give you the hp bonus for your additional favored class:
Additional Favored Class [General]
You are more hardy than most members of your race that multiclass without selecting this feat.
Benefit: Choose a character class, such as ranger. The chosen class is treated as a favored class for the purpose of determining whether your character gains additional hit points for each level taken in the chosen class.
Normal: You do not gain bonus hit points for levelling in a class other than your favored class.
Special: You can gain this feat multiple times. Each time you take the feat it applies to a new class.
I also understood this as multiclassing penalties are going away (in alpha stage anyway).
I still don't see why humans are better at any class. Every race has priests, thieves, rangers, fighters, etc. Why are humans better adapting any occupation? I have nothing against favored class concept, but I just thought it could be same for every race, you get some bonus every time you take class in which you started your career. Just a thought, mainly because the whole favored class thing is so different in Alpha anyway.
Of course I also like dwarves very much, but never was a fan of fighter class =).
I've also thought of favored class feats, but it strikes to me as waste of feat. Of course in Alpha we get more feats, so it's not so bad...
I think favored classes should be done away with completely; no penalties, no bonuses. It doesn't make sense rules-wise. Why should a human fighter be better than an elven fighter? Or an elven wizard be better than a dwarven wizard? If every class stuck with their favored class there would be no elven or dwarven clerics, no elven fighters, and no dwarven wizards.
Get rid of favored classes entirely. Get rid of multiclassing xp penalties, too. All they do is force certain races down certain class paths and don't allow them to role-play their PCs to their full potential.
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Favored classes have never stopped my players from doing odd combinations, like a dwarven wizard, or an elven fighter. And they aren't any worse than a human version of it.
They only become worse if they try to multiclass, and even then, only if they take small dips. A human fighter/rogue will advance at the same pace as an elven fighter/rogue, if they keep their levels in each class the same. A human, however, being the more adaptable race (and if you have questions of why this is so, look at common fantasy literature. The 'bonus' in being humans is adaptability, that's the whole point), can be a rogue 2 / fighter 10 without penalty. If an elf did that, unfortunately, his training would be slowed. He is no *worse* than the human, he just advances at a slower rate.
I think people make far too much of favored classes, and those people I see make really big deals of it are the same that like to take two level dips in fighter, three level dips in rogue, a few dips in paladin, etc. etc.
It's a fine system. The bonus hit points thing makes it better. Keep it.
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I think favored classes should be done away with completely; no penalties, no bonuses. It doesn't make sense rules-wise. Why should a human fighter be better than an elven fighter? Or an elven wizard be better than a dwarven wizard? If every class stuck with their favored class there would be no elven or dwarven clerics, no elven fighters, and no dwarven wizards.
Get rid of favored classes entirely. Get rid of multiclassing xp penalties, too. All they do is force certain races down certain class paths and don't allow them to role-play their PCs to their full potential.
I fully agree with this. I never enforce the penalties as they are and to me it is a bias system imposing racial overtones upon the game. If you play the game with racism to reflect the real world or portrayed racial hatreds (which will be enough penalty on its own i.e. Dwarves and Elves always fighting, standard Elves hating Drow and vice versa) you don't need them. From a player's stand point all races should be equal in terms of what they can do for the player.
The purpose of playing a fantasy game is to play something fantastic. My friends always ask why I never play a human character or if I do, why is it always a female. My answer is, I'm a human male every day of my life; I know what that's like, but I don't know what it's like to be an elf, dwarf, halfling, a girl, a fox, centaur, etc. So I want to role play what I don't know and imagine what life is like for these characters. How they cope with other races or even the bigotry they might face. There is nothing like saving a town who still despises you, but has to begrudgingly thank you as you hope they don't decide to kill you in order to save face. I've played in a few games where my PC could not enter a city because of race which added a very educational aspect to the game; not to mention a sense of humility and respect for those who live with it everyday and cannot walk away from a table. So why should I be penalized for not wanting to play a human, especially if all races are suppose to be getting balanced to account for abilities?
A radical idea concerning hit points and tying that subject with what has already been mentioned, what about the possibility of removing hit points from class and assigning them to race instead? Give each race a base hit die which increases every level. That would be quite a change up to the game and add more diversity to it in one shot, presenting characters with varying hit dice between a given class. Example Dwarf=d8 Elf=d8 Human=d10 Halfling=d6 Gnome=d6 and so on as examples. Or maybe a dice range depending on Constitution so Dwarf would have d8, d10, d12 d8=3-8 d10=9-18 d12=19+ which would kind of work the constitution bonus in at the same time. Just something to think about, but git rid of favored class and related penalties.
Add me to the list of folks who see no reason whatsoever for keeping this rule.
Granted, it's SUPER easy to just houserule away, which I've already done IMC, but it's a waste of space in the book, IMHO.
I like the Favored Class rule particularly for non optimizers in the game who don't care to PRC. It ensures that all PRCing has a cost in game.
IMO there should also be a favored class "Generalist, Multi-classer or Jack of Trades" option in which the standard multiclassing experience penalties are strictly enforced for the base classes.
Not Barbarian -1, Wiz-4, X PRC - 15 favored class Wizard.