Hello All,
I am working on making a system (somewhat) feasible for playing Monstrous races. Although I generally like the approach followed in the Pathfinder Bestiary, I feel the system is still somewhat to “coarse”. (Some creature abilities becomes worthless more quickly than others)
Thus I came up with the following rules for playing a monster in a mixed group. What do you think about the proposal as written now?
Mixed Groups:
Because of balancing issues, including a single monster character in a group of standard characters, or combining monster characters with different CR’s is quite complicated. However, this is also the situation most likely to occur in most games, thus a system to balance this situation is described below.
If you are including a single monster character in a group of standard characters, or are combining monster characters of different races, make sure that the group is of a level that is at least as high as the monster's Starting Level Equivalent (SLE) . This is the level at which a monster without class levels is equivalent to a character with class levels. The SLE is usually equal to a monsters CR.
For example, in a group of 4th-level characters, a minotaur (SLE 4) would be of comparable strength to e.g. a half-orc barbarian.
In a mixed group, the value of racial Hit Dice and abilities generally diminishes as a character gains levels. The relative strength of a monsters’ Hit Dice and Abilities at each level is expressed as the Effective Level Equivalent (ELE) . This is the number of Class Levels to which the monster is equivalent at the Character Level. The SLE is the level at which a monster without class levels is equivalent to a character with class levels.
At specific levels, a monsters’ ELE will be decreased. This happens with fixed increments, which are given in the race descriptions. These increments are called Level Equivalent Decreases.
When the ELE decreases a character gains an additional class level, as to remain at the same power level as other standard characters. When a race has e.g. an LED of 3 this means that an additional level is received once per 3 levels and the ELE is then decreased by one. This additional level is always received halfway during the last level of the LED. E.g. for a LED it is received halfway between the 2nd and 3rd levels. This process continues until the ELE is equal to the Final Level Equivalent (FLE) , provided in the race overview.
(And of course the standard and appropriate Paizo Monster character disclaimer: “GMs should carefully consider any monster PCs in their groups, especially in Mixed Groups. Some creatures are simply not suitable for play as PCs, due to their powers or role in the game or don’t mix well with standard characters. As monster characters progress, GMs should closely monitor whether such characters are disruptive or abusive to the rules and modify them as needed to improve play.”
Your input is much appreciated. (And I realize I will have to work on FLE's and LED's.....)
