My wife is thinking of playing a pixie from the Savage Species book in my next Eberron Campaign. I know in a few places that some people have played pixies before. What are the pitfalls she should look out for? Is it tough to get through 5 levels with only 6 hps? She is not sure what class to take at 6th level. She was thinking druid to keep with the nature theme but not sure she wants an animal companion or wild shaping ability. I considered having her take sorcerer levels but swap it's spell list for druid spell list and swap the familar for Wild Empathy. Any suggestions?
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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I had a friend play a pixie rogue in a campaign in which I did not participate, so I only know a little bit of second hand knowledge. The one issue that kept recurring was that between the at-will invisibility and size, he was extremely difficult to hit and very very good at infiltrating the enemy's position.
The problem with the pixie is it reminds me of a discussion in Hero's regarding building a typical speedster - the type where you basically never get hit, but when you do, it knocks you out. The problem is that the character is not particularly interactive with the damage rules. You end up with a creature that is almost entirely immune to damage due to its abilities, but if anything ever manages to breach those defenses, it's a one-hit kill.
Not sure if that's helpful, but those are the pitfalls encountered by my friend.
I had a friend who played a quasi-pixie sorcerer. She had flight, but only had invisiblity 1/day. I don't think there was a level adjustment, but this was in the early days of 3.0, when we didn't even have the DMG or MM yet!
The most annoying thing about her was that she got the kill shot with her 1d3-4 arrow on an athack (sp?) that the barbarian, ranger/rogue, and cleric/paladin had been pounding away at for about 10 rounds. She still brags about that to this day. Also, her super high-pitched voice and giggles.
It might be easier to make a tiny flying fey that gets invisiblity 1/day instead of slogging through 5 levels with only 6 hit points. An AoE is super deadly otherwise.
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My wife is thinking of playing a pixie from the Savage Species book in my next Eberron Campaign. I know in a few places that some people have played pixies before. What are the pitfalls she should look out for? Is it tough to get through 5 levels with only 6 hps? She is not sure what class to take at 6th level. She was thinking druid to keep with the nature theme but not sure she wants an animal companion or wild shaping ability. I considered having her take sorcerer levels but swap it's spell list for druid spell list and swap the familar for Wild Empathy. Any suggestions?
What exactly is it that your wife wants out of this character? IIRC, Savage Species has guidelines for determining what abilities add up to a given level adjustment. Maybe you can strip out some of the pixie's abilities that aren't as important to her, or scale down some of the more powerful stuff (or alternatively, build a custom race from scratch based off the pixie parts she likes), to arrive at a lower LA and allow her more hit points.
I'm assuming you're starting at 1st level? In Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed/Evolved, there are Small creatures called faen which can go through a metamorphosis at 3rd level to become Tiny sprytes. Not really like pixies (no invisibility, for example), but they do provide a very small fey character with flight, and can take racial levels of spryte to gain more abilities. If you start your game at 3rd level, she can start out as a spryte with 3 levels of the class she wants.
What exactly is it that your wife wants out of this character? IIRC, Savage Species has guidelines for determining what abilities add up to a given level adjustment. Maybe you can strip out some of the pixie's abilities that aren't as important to her, or scale down some of the more powerful stuff (or alternatively, build a custom race from scratch based off the pixie parts she likes), to arrive at a lower LA and allow her more hit points.
mainly she is looking for something different and thought the pixie seemed interesting. It may just be a whim but it also could have a lot of potential.
As others have mentioned, the tough part is the Hit Points.
Remember, the character won't get its second Hit Die until after area effect spells become common.
And the invisibility can be a double edged sword. Party members probably won't see the character either, and unless metagaming is common (nothing wrong with it, I just can't assume it is) the character is just as likely to get caught up in the party's AOE spells - unless the character finds the least threatening party member to hide behind.
That, and you have to watch out for that one good hit.
The Savage Species Pixie is a full fledged advanced PC race.
But, on the other hand, it can be a fun - if annoying - character.
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mainly she is looking for something different and thought the pixie seemed interesting. It may just be a whim but it also could have a lot of potential.
Well, in that case I think it would pay to look into less LA-intensive options. It can really suck having a single hit die for 6 levels, and with the multitude of low-LA races out there, it's relatively easy to find something that feels "different" without also feeling "extremely fragile."
Of course, I've DMed games with my wife as a player, and if she really wants a pixie, you should probably just let her ;)
My wife is thinking of playing a pixie from the Savage Species book in my next Eberron Campaign.
Hey, just out of curiosity - and sorry if this is a bit repetitive - does she want to play a pixie because of the favorable combination of AC bonus, attack bonus, and magical abilities the race affords, or because it's fun to play a cute little gal with wings? This exact choice hearkens back to a debate we had around here a few months back and it's interesting to see it crop up again in a more public forum.
or because it's fun to play a cute little gal with wings? This exact choice hearkens back to a debate we had around here a few months back and it's interesting to see it crop up again in a more public forum.
I would guess the latter.
I would guess the latter.
Cool. That'd be my reason too. Though I do wonder if anyone's ever had the experience of a player being a pixie because they think they can crunch the rules into something truly deadly.
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Have you ever read 'Knights of the Dinner Table'?
One of the other gaming groups in town, the disfunctional 'Black Hands' has a member called Gordo, a huge guy who lost all his body hair in a freak lab accident. Because he lives off his compensation cheques, he's free to play Hackmaster 24/7.
He always plays female pixie-fairies, which creeps out the rest of the group (especially Stevil, who sits next to him), who feel that he gets far, far, too into the whole thing.
Any strip with them in should be full of the potential pros and cons of such a PC.
Gordo: "I crit! For <roll, roll> TWO points of damage! Huzzah!"
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My wife is thinking of playing a pixie from the Savage Species book in my next Eberron Campaign.Hey, just out of curiosity - and sorry if this is a bit repetitive - does she want to play a pixie because of the favorable combination of AC bonus, attack bonus, and magical abilities the race affords, or because it's fun to play a cute little gal with wings? This exact choice hearkens back to a debate we had around here a few months back and it's interesting to see it crop up again in a more public forum.
I have a player right now who is playing a Grig from savage species in Rise of the Runelords.
The cute factor was the key in his case. Oh, and the wings too.
I would guess the latter.Cool. That'd be my reason too. Though I do wonder if anyone's ever had the experience of a player being a pixie because they think they can crunch the rules into something truly deadly.
Sure. The Pixie Optimization Handbook
And here's a pixie psychic warrior I created for the Core Coliseum (on the WotC boards).
The downside of playing one from level 1 (IMO) is that for four levels in a row, you basically get very few new abilities (maybe a spell-like ability or slightly better DR & SR, but that's about it), while the rest of the party is having fun getting new spells, new feats, etc., etc.
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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I would guess the latter.Cool. That'd be my reason too. Though I do wonder if anyone's ever had the experience of a player being a pixie because they think they can crunch the rules into something truly deadly.
The player I knew ran it for optimization purposes. The character was inserted into an ongoing campaign, so it already had a few class levels and all the pixie levels. The class was rogue, and due to the insanely high saves and improved evasion, even AoE's couldn't touch him. Melee attacks were useless because he was always flying. Targeted effects didn't work unless the opponent could sense invisibility. If somehow he was targetted, he still had DR and SR to provide an additional layer of defense. He didn't do a ton of damage, but he had arrows that put enemies to sleep and did other nasty things and was almost impossible to hit. I think the character got hit maybe once or twice over the course of 4-5 levels of play.
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In my experience the biggest problem is the invisibility, exactly what Sebastion said. The important thing about Savage Species, though, that helps here, is that it's 3.0. So, you're gonna have to redesign it anyway. Take the 3.5 MM and determine ECL (I think it's 8?) and then creatively divide the abilities into 8 portions. With this you can make the invisiblity a 1/day, 2/day, etc. thing -- like someone alluded to earlier.
That brings you to HP. Well, Pathfinder just bumped wizards to d6; you could maybe do the same, yes?
-W. E. Ray
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Wes, I think choosing a pixie for both reasons is reasonable. Moreover, though, I think they're hand in hand; they can't be mutually exclusive. In other words, you want to play it cuz it's cute with wings and that means, equivically, that you're tiny with the mechanics that go with it.
When my Player ran a Pixie in our brief sortie in Savage Species it was, first, because of the skill points and size: mechanic stuff. But he asserted he enjoyed the idea, and designed and played the pixie based on the concept. After all, there are other choices with similar mechanics but he vehemently wanted pixie.
But I don't think this is limited to the pixie but is true of Savage Species play all the time -- for groups that play human, dwarf, elf, halfling, gnome only, that is. When you tell your Players, Hey guys, ready for a brief Savage Species game?, there's an equal part of excitement that stems from playing mechanically different PCs and from playing radically different races.
-W. E. Ray
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Sure. The Pixie Optimization Handbook
Wow, followed that link and there are some pretty powerful pixies out there. And dang, when did Tinkerbell get implants?! Somebody got just a little overzealous with the artwork there! :)
Sure. The Pixie Optimization HandbookWow, followed that link and there are some pretty powerful pixies out there. And dang, when did Tinkerbell get implants?! Somebody got just a little overzealous with the artwork there! :)
Yeah, there are a number of "busty lady pixies in lingerie" drawing in that thread, if that's what you're into. :-)
I have had a few raised eyebrows when it comes to a Fey flavored Warlock vs. Devilish.
Really? I didn't get that at all. Of course it probably helps that nobody had played a warlock in our group before I did, so they didn't come to it with a bunch of preconceived expectations...
I'm planning a low-epic encounter with an Eldritch Giant Spellthief 20, and his minions are going to pixies, so that Handbook should be really useful! Thanks!
I think the minions might be spellthiefs too. They're sneaky and magical, which is what pixes are too. Or possibly Spellthief 1/Beguiler 8/Assassin 1/Arcane Trickster 10. That's +7d6 sneak attack and 9th level spells (and the ability to steal 9th level spells with the Master Spellthief feat) compared to +5d6 sneak attack and 4th level spells.
I created a pixie-esque character for the Second Darkness campaign I am running.
This is not a true pixie, but rather combines the elements that seemed to make it interesting to play. It is also using the Pathfinder RPG Beta rules, so maybe not totally appropriate for this forum.
• -8 Strength, +8 Dexterity, +3 Charisma.
• Tiny size: +2 bonus to Armor Class, +2 bonus on attack rolls, +8 bonus on Stealth checks, -2 penalty on CMB, lifting and carrying limits ½ those of Medium characters.
• A pixie's base land speed is 20 feet. It also has a fly speed of 60 feet (good).
• Low-light vision.
• Racial hit points: 2
• +2 racial bonus on Perception checks.
• +1 natural armor bonus.
• Special Qualities: Damage reduction 10/cold iron, and spell resistance equal to 15 + class levels. By expending an action point as a free action the character can manifest greater invisibility for 1d6 minutes + 1 minute per character level.
• Appearance: The character is 18 inches tall and weighs around 2 pounds. Character has pale silver-blue skin dotted with sparkling golden freckles, bright sapphire blue eyes, that show very little white, and silky blue-black hair. Large gossamer violet wings sprout from the character’s back. The character is clad in a light silk blouse of burgundy, black hose that are slightly tattered and patched, and curled slippers of purple-dyed kidskin. A worn black leather baldric and belt circles the character’s body from which an empty scabbard hangs (meant for a tiny sized rapier).
A friend of mine played a pixie in a game I ran a few years ago. She enjoyed the scouting (flying, invisibility, etc.), and there were a few times that her illusions got the party out of some sticky situations. But after a while, she felt inadequate once the fighting actually started. She provided great recon, but the FOR saves on the sleep arrows isn't that tough and she wasn't dealing any damage.
She told me in private that she wanted to play a different character, that's how annoyed/frustrated she was with it. Some of that had to do with the other players; I'd provide scenarios where the pixie's abilities were well suited to accomplishing the task, but rather than knock at the door, the other players would do something akin to tossing the bag of holding into the portable hole and throw it at the door.
So I stacked the Deck of Many Things so that she drew "gain the services of a 5th level fighter" and then the donjon. She then played the fighter.
So, what I'm saying, in a very long-winded way, is your wife should consider who the other players will be playing when deciding to play a pixie.