PFS advice (non-optimal class races)

[Winter_Born]

So how does everyone feel about a non-optimal PC race for a selected class at a PFS table?

Say a Dwarven Paladin (-2 CHA) or a Gnome Fighter (-2 STR). Too much of a liability, or does a couple points not really matter in the long run?

I want to contribute the best I can, but I also was wondering about playing a concept that I would love to run with for 12+ levels.

Thoughts? Bananas?

[Helaman]

A Dwarven Paladin doesn't need much more than 14 Charisma so its not a broken concept - it just smites less hard than others on the to hit.

Halfling/gnome fighter is a bit more worrying but again it can be done if you play to other strengths. Gnome Caviliers on dogs are very popular.

Not sure about the new series but the Series 1 to 3 do not seem to be written for uber optimised characters so you don't need to be the top of of the game options to do well.

As long as you have strengths you should be viable - being all round weak on the other hand does make you a drag.

I was in one PFS session with an reasonably Intelligent wise barbarian with decent charisma... Str and dex were Meh! Con was 18 and had toughness feat. The character hit like a wet towel.

That character was a bit of a drag on the group however the dubious strength was that the character could soak damage. I'd look to something whereby you are pretty good at your role but without the pressure of having to be the best at the expense of all other facets of your character. The best option is to have fun.

[Illeist]

If you do happen to decide on a Dwarven Paladin, the Stonelord archetype is too good to pass up. I have one in PFS, and he's ridiculously fun. Dwarves have such great Paladin flavor, but their stats just don't work without some jostling. Stonelord fixes some of that.

[Muser]

Gnomes are pretty boss as fighters, since the str minus means at most a 2-3 points of damage loss. To hit stays the same and with the addition of Gnome Weapon Focus(from ARG), it might even get a bit better. Ripsaw Glaives are also very cool.

I've struggled to build a dwarven paladin a couple of times. The flavor is really solid, since the race is so steeped in familial tradition and has a Lawful Good patron deity in the form of Torag. All point buy attempts however result in a mish-mashy allocation that never takes off. I think 14 is a fine starting charisma for a paladin, but if you are going for a balanced stat spread, needing to put 10 points into a stat just to stay average is a kind of steep cost.

The best I can come up with is 16 12 14 10 9 14 after racial modifiers, which, were it converted to a human would result in only 16 points worth of stats. Not too bad, but it irks me enough to not really feel like using the character. 15 12 16 10 9 14 is a bit better with a human equivalency at 18 points. Starts out a bit weaker than the more standard high-str melee character of other races, but otherwise the stats are pretty decent.

Note, my irritation with the point costs has very little bearing on the actual game. A dwarven paladin with the former point allocation is well worth playing, unless you have a table full of heavily optimized chars.

In a nutshell, no, non-optimal races matter very little in the long run. The only problems will usually result from the squishy thing between the player's ears. :D

[pauljathome]

Winter_Born wrote:

So how does everyone feel about a non-optimal PC race for a selected class at a PFS table?

Say a Dwarven Paladin (-2 CHA) or a Gnome Fighter (-2 STR). Too much of a liability, or does a couple points not really matter in the long run?

I want to contribute the best I can, but I also was wondering about playing a concept that I would love to run with for 12+ levels.

Thoughts? Bananas?

Play what you want to play. PFS is fairly forgiving of characters that aren't quite optimal

[Kjob]

Smart building and more importantly, smart playing, are way more important to character effectiveness than race. Plus now your character may be slightly more diverse/adaptable, which PFS rewards.

[calagnar]

This will sound crazy. It is pure madness. It is how ever loads of fun.
Dwarf Paladin or (Paladin3/Rogue3/Fighter6 This is what I'm working on now.)
Str 17 Dex 11 Con 16 Int 10 Wis 9 Cha 12
Using a two handed weapon. (Earth Breaker, or Great Axe)

[Muser]

Yeah, those "suboptimal" races often have better vision modes or other stuff that gets used way more than say...another feat on a 3/4 bab character.

Unless you are playing scenarios from the first or 0 season, since those usually fall into 2 categories a)"we killed everyone and got everything done on the side!""I lost 2 hp! woo!" b)"I'm dying, everyone is DYING OH MY GO..."