I've got two Aasimar in my latest game (not DMing), and I couldn't help but feel their +4 attribute bonus without loss and their elemental resistances are a bit... much.
They just seem poorly balanced in my opinion, and I'm curious how any DMs have handled this in their games. I have two options I'm considering suggesting:
1. The old method of raising the ECL on powerful races.
2. Requiring a -2 attribute bonus (player's choice), as well as making the Celestial Resistance ability gradual - perhaps getting a point every 4 levels or something of that nature.
I'm also considering granting a boon onto some of the races which end up with a 'balanced' (0 overall change) in attributes to match the 2 of the base races; for example, a Goblin could ignore the -2 in one of the two applicable stats of their choice.
Feedback appreciated. Thank you.
Assimar make great clerics, but other than that they don’t have that big of an advantage. That stat bonus is fixed, and most classes other than clerics don’t take full advantage of them. The elemental resistances are also not that big of a deal especially at higher level. Assimar also have limited favored alternative favored class bonus so the standard races come out ahead on those.
Humans can also get +2 with two stats by giving up skilled and the bonus feat. This is actually a lot more powerful than the Assimar because they get +2 to any two stats. Even a standard human actually is actually stronger than the Assimar because the extra feat allows most builds to come online sooner.
Elves make much better Wizards than just about any other race. They get a bonus to the two important stats, and Elven magic stacks with spell penetration. They also get free weapon proficiency in bows which means with their higher DEX they actually use a bow fairly effectively at low level. The +2 save vs. enchantments is going to be worth a lot more at higher levels than 5pts of energy resistance.
A dwarf barbarian is going to be a lot tougher and harder to take down than the assimar any day. Pick up steel soul and glory of old and you will have saves high enough to make almost any save you need. You will have more HP than anyone in the party. While a lot of the dwarves racial traits are circumstantial they get a ton of them. They also get proficiency with three good melee weapons so even when they are a class with simple weapons they are decent in combat.
Another thing to consider is that the standard races all have more options than any other race. They have more race specific feats and have alternative favored class bonuses for all classes. Overall they tend to be the best races to play. The nonstandard races are mostly niche races where they are good any one or two things but outside their specialty they are not that strong.
It is worth a mention that I am playing an Aasimar that started at lvl 1 and is now lvl 8 and I don't think my energy resistance has helped me once.
Oh its good when you get hit with crap, but it does not happen so often.
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They are a bit powerful but not so much so that I'd consider them unbalancing. Really you should only notice it if the character is overall better-built than the rest of the party.
Aasimar are definitely not worth a level in a PF class, and energy resistance less than 5 is pretty meaningless. A -2 penalty somewhere wouldn't be too bad but it would probably leave aasimar at the low end of average.
Goblins do not need a boost. +4 Dex is worth -2 in two other stats. I have a goblin ninja in my current group and he does at least as well as the human fighter with just a basic Dex build.
Assimar make great clerics, but other than that they don’t have that big of an advantage. That stat bonus is fixed, and most classes other than clerics don’t take full advantage of them.
Some aasimar variant heritages get stats that are terrific with certain classes. Angel-blooded paladins and Azata-touched bards (also get a Perform bonus! and Glitterdust SLA!) stand out.
If you're worried about Aasimar power the best thing to do is nerf or forbid variant heritages.
Aasimar really aren't limited, attribute-wise. Unlike a Tiefling, it doesn't take a feat to get basically plusses to whatever attribute you want, and plus two to a spare in addition. If you have a leniant DM, the stuff you can trade Daylight out for is often as good as a feat (posibly even +2 to more attributes...) but if he's making you roll, well, good luck on always knowing if it's raining or not i guess.
They are basically good for anything you want to use them for. they have no drawbacks, save for being outsiders - which you can trade off with no real issue. They are, in my opinion, on par with humans. Which puts htem ahead of half-elves, half-orcs, and skinchangers who are all, in turn, ahead of the other races in terms of 'being good at everything."
Which isn't a problem per se... except that often these five races also happen tp be BETTER at stuff than races that are clearly geared for particular classes. liiiiike... a half-orc witch is leaps and bounds ahead of a changeling witch... even though everything about the changeling "flavor" is all about being a witch. or humans being far and away better fighters than dwarves. I guess orcs at least get to be best barbarian, but even then, Ragebred skinchangers are on par, maybe exceeding...
Honestly, the only nerf I'd consider is reducing their Darkvision to Low-Light.
I'm not sure if you're playing with the variant Aasimar or not. Those certainly do improve the race quite a bit, because its biggest problem is where those two bonuses are placed by default. Wisdom/Charisma is quite literally the worst two-stat combination possible. The Cleric is the only class in the game that keys off both, and even then channeling is a pretty meh class feature. The vast majority of charisma-based classes have good will saves so the wisdom isn't very useful to them, and characters lack charisma-based class features just don't get much out of the attribute at all.
If you're not using variant Aasimar, it's an exceedingly one-dimensional race that's good for building Clerics and otherwise its only gimmick is elemental resistances.
Well, Clerics and Shaman. And the occasional oddball Druid that wants to be party face. it's more an issue of every class that casts using Charisma. we need more Wisdom casters out there.
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If you're not using variant Aasimar, it's an exceedingly one-dimensional race that's good for building Clerics and otherwise its only gimmick is elemental resistances.
I wouldn't say that. If you're a full caster anything on top of a +2 in your casting stat is gravy in terms of ability scores, so the vanilla aasimar is a fine choice for sorcerers and casting-focused druids, bards, and oracles. On top of the elemental resistance you do get Darkvision and +2 Diplomacy and Perception, and Daylight is circumstantial but sometimes handy. It's no elf wizard or half-orc scarred witch doctor, but it doesn't have to be.