You're meant to have everyone be around the same RP.
How I work it out is either allowing everyone to play as a more powerful race, or giving out bonuses to make up the difference. Maybe give a bonus feat, maybe grant a template, something like that.
Here's another thought, take it with a grain of salt. Give the races with fewer RP enough points to make up the difference. Let them spend them first on gaining alternate racial traits if they want, then let the group go to town and buy whatever they want to even things up, subject to your approval. Maybe the elves end up with standard elven abilities plus a few each from the lists of alternate elven traits and then buy off their reduced Constitution (one elf) or higher Intelligence (the other), for example.
Some lotr races thread ages ago had the idea of giving weaker races more traits (of the "X is a class skill, +1 to X skill" variety, not racial traits). Could try that.
First , tell me you didnt just let the player make the race and that you atleast meant one of those already in the book.
Now i would go with others here and i would add more things to the other PCs (since you dont seem to mind the world NPCs power) myself.
How much to add or what to add i would base on what exactly you allowed the player with 34 RPs to get, in the end RPs can be crappy or can be awesome , it greatly deppends on what class/combos you do with them.
I quite enjoy playing (or "having" an NPC with leadership) that is a centaur , a 28 RP race , still there is little issue since i usually go for classes/combos that dont benefit much for being a centaur since the start.
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You might want to consider actually sticking the race up. Because of how dodgy the RP builder is, a 28RP race might be mediocre, or it might be completely broken. Heck, an 11 rp race can be completely broken with a little effort. It's hard to say what you will have to do without actually knowing whether it's a 28RP bundle of synergy, or a bunch of random junk shoved together.
When I allow custom races I usually do it by saying "Point-buy and Race-points can sum to 40" or what ever other number. Now, the savvy player will buy race abilities that boost stats if that is what they want, so if you are concerned about that just make it a no-go option up front. (Im generally not worried about it :P )
Give everyone else playing a normal race a free Advanced template?
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Well... The Racw builder is a wonderful idea... But its execution is terrible. The point cost and prerequisites make no sense most of the time (Why the hell there even are prerequisites?! WTF?!) and you can clearly see many abilities were purposely given nonsensical point costs in order to make all core races cost the same and look more balanced than they actually are, while elemental races had their abilities overcharged to make them seem stronger than they are.
All in all, the Race Builder's execution is terrible and dishonest. So just seeing the total point cost of a race doesn't mean much. You have to evaluate the race's abilitirs and weaknesses independently from their cost and then see how they fare.
Why don't you post the custom race here? This way we can have a better idea of what the race can do and how balanced it is.
Post all four characters, including the race build for the custom. There's no hard and fast rule that is going to help you do a simple adjustment, but the group mind of the boards should be able to provide specific advice once we see the differences in the characters.
Well... The Racw builder is a wonderful idea... But its execution is terrible. The point cost and prerequisites make no sense most of the time (Why the hell there even are prerequisites?! WTF?!) and you can clearly see many abilities were purposely given nonsensical point costs in order to make all core races cost the same and look more balanced than they actually are, while elemental races had their abilities overcharged to make them seem stronger than they are.
All in all, the Race Builder's execution is terrible and dishonest. So just seeing the total point cost of a race doesn't mean much. You have to evaluate the race's abilitirs and weaknesses independently from their cost and then see how they fare.
Why don't you post the custom race here? This way we can have a better idea of what the race can do and how balanced it is.
Which is exactly why the class guide didn't get a builder. They would have to make 6-level casting cost the same as weapon training to make the points even out.
34 point buy race can be a monstrosity that leaves the character with several levels of capability beyond the rest of the party, or it can be perfectly balanced next to a half-elf.
The race builder is broken as all hell, and knowing that number doesn't really tell us much about the situation.
What abilities does the custom race have? If we know that, we'll give better advice.
The 'fluffigon' is an immensley powerful race far more powerful than any of the others. I can see no way to balance it with other characters particularly at 1st level.
Looking at the other character it looks like your players are not optimising at all so the power difference will definitely show. Give everyone else +2 to a stat of their choice and a free feat to balance maybe.
The breath weapon will become useless after about 2nd level , the flight is immensely powerful and combined with a kineticeists ranged attacks could be game breaking at low level.
I cannot give really good advice on balancing this race as I would not have allowed it unless everyone else had silly races with big bonus's
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Have you looked at the third party race/class, Draconic Exemplar?
We have one of these in our Friday night Pathfinder game. I think that it's overpowered compared to the rest of us, but it might give you a basis for comparison for what another publishing company did to create draconic characters.
I do think that +2 to a stat of their choice, and a free feat to the others could be a good start to trying to balance things.
That fluffigon is nuts! It gets a bunch of great immunities and a flight speed right out of the gate, plus an additional ability increase!
Remove the flight speed (make it at very least cost a feat), the immunity to paralysis (make it a bonus to saving throws instead) and the additional ability score and it'd be okay.
Alternatively, use the Draconic Exemplar racial paragon class proposed by Hmm.
If you want to keep the sexual dimorphism you could remove the +2 wis from the base. So males get +2 str, +2 con -2 cha and females get +2 wis, +2 con -2 cha.
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Did you notice that the Draconic Exemplar has the ability to take a humanoid form at level 3? About flight... Most of the humanoid races that grant it do so after level 5. Aasimar wings have a 2 feet path, and you can't take them until level 10. Sylphs get flight via a single feat at 9th level, but can't do it in medium or heavy armor.
Perhaps you can offer a feat that gives increasing flight abilities akin to the witch flight hex?
I've done characters that can fly at first level due to an animal companion, but they've had to put in an investment in skills like ride and handle animal every level in order to carry it off, and they had to put feats into boon companion. So they had a feat and skill point cost, and they had to have their animal buddy with them and make those fast mount checks.
Oh! I'm also forgetting encumbrance. Not being able to carry more gear than a light load is a cost in itself, making ant haul the best spell in the universe.
There should be some trade-offs to pay for this ability, and definitely enforce those flight skill checks!
Hmm
There was a thread a few months back where a rather naive GM allowed his player to use that 3pp Draconic Exemplar and ran into significant problems with it. It's broken as all hell, don't use it.
There was a thread a few months back where a rather naive GM allowed his player to use that 3pp Draconic Exemplar and ran into significant problems with it. It's broken as all hell, don't use it.
One of my players is using that class. He might very well be the second least powerful character in the game (out of 6). And that's in a party where the only "caster" is a Ranger.
It looks worse than it is, honestly. Elemental resistance/immunity ruins it.
The encumbrance penalties do affect flight and with a poor maneuverability she won't be flying too well early on. I wouldn't restrict the flight too much though, part of the fun of a flying race is getting to fly. If suddenly they're always inside with no room to fly the player probably won't like that. Having times where it isn't too useful (Inside a cave) is fine as long as they do get the chance to soar and fight from the sky.
One other thing to remember, both the Kasatha and Fluffigon's gear are made to be more expensive since they are non-standard shapes. That is a balancing mechanic to help keep races that have wings, extra arms, and so on in check. If you refer to the Armor for Unusual Creatures table in the Core book you will see that their armor will cost twice as much.
One last thing, on the territory of the energy immunity, make the enemies smart and this isn't much of an issue. If they hit her with a fireball and she doesn't get hurt the evil mage isn't going to keep chucking fireballs. Have them try other elements, and if the party start to make long-term enemies those enemies will learn about her immunity for the future.
For a quick balance to the other players... just give them easy templates that adjust them to be on par with Fluffigon (can't believe I typed that...). With their power level, dropping the Advanced Creature template should bring them to some parity with the Custom. Or if its flavor you seek to bring to them, the Celestial/Fiendish/Elemental templates are fun too.
Gratz Fluffigon, your party is worthy of you... meet the Azlanti-equivalent elves and orcs ^_^.
The updated Fluffigon looks strong, but not brokenly.
I'd switch flight to glide (like Featherfall with a bit of vertical movement when falling), which can be upgraded (strenghen the wing muscles) with a feat at level 5+, when a Fluffigon is finally fully matured.
If you give the other "normal" races a free bonusfeat you will be balanced racewise, imho.
Happy gaming!
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Still broken - just not AS broken.
Try this -
Type: Monstrous Humanoid (Darkvision 60 ft.)
Subtype: Fire
Size: Medium
Base Speed: Normal (30 ft.)
Ability Score Modifiers: (+2 Str Male +2 Wis Female) / -2 Int [no race should get +2 to two different physical stats]
Language: Standard (Common and Draconic) (Ignan, Dwarven, and Auran)
Defence Racial Traits: Natural Armor (+1 Natural Armor to AC), Elemental Resistance Fire: 10
Feat and Skill Racial Traits: Skill Training (Fly and Acrobatics are class skills)
Natural Attacks: 2 claws (claws & bite are really good for no cost - only 1 race can get it - Tengu - and that's about all it gets - and it's stats give -2 Con which is harsh)
Then add 2 racial feats which eventually give clumsy flight.
Here's my adjustment for this: 'character levels in terms of XP'.
Let's take your 31-point Fluffigon. Page 219 of the Advanced Race Guide talks about how encounters with a group that has one or more advanced races requires a bit more challenging of encounters as compared to a 'standard race' group; it can be used as a more-or-less direct 'effective character level' tweak. Fluffigon, at 31 points, would be +2 levels.
Don't use it directly. A Fluffigon of X level is not equivalent to a character of X + 2 levels. What a Fluffigon is going to be essentially equivalent to is a character with up to (however many XP 3rd level is for you) less XP than the others. Say you're running it on a Fast progression - that's 3300 xp. So everyone goes adventuring, and gets another 2700 XP; the 3rd level PCs have hit 6000 and made 4th level, while the Fluffigon character is 2nd level and closing in fast on 3rd. By the time they hit 5th or 7th, the 'extraordinary' PC is for all intents and purposes running right with them, and if they put out some extraordinary effort that allows the other players to appreciate the character, they won't mind bits and pieces of extra XP that eventually bring the character even; he's just a weird 'different sentient' at that point, and the Fluffagon poofydraco is just doing stuff that other members of the party can do anyhow, just via other methods.
...
Let's take your 31-point Fluffigon. Page 219 of the Advanced Race Guide talks about how encounters with a group that has one or more advanced races requires a bit more challenging of encounters as compared to a 'standard race' group; it can be used as a more-or-less direct 'effective character level' tweak. Fluffigon, at 31 points, would be +2 levels.
...
I wouldn't put much stock in that. Drow Nobles are 41RP which should be a +3 level adjustment from levels 1-5, but the Bestiary Drow Noble(only level 3) only has a 1 level adjustment going by it's CR, and Jason has stated that this is how it was intended.
Ahh... it took me a minute to figure out what happened, but the original +1 CR callout was rolled into the text. Everything is correct there, it is just not spelled out as +1 CR.
So... yeah, a drow noble character would be 1 level lower than the rest of the group. Although, I should note that over time, this benefit might diminish to a point that is it no longer worth the +1 bump, but I think that should be left to GM discretion.
Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing
+2, +1 - as I said, and as he says, over time, the benefit diminishes to the point where it's negligible - 3000 xp less than the group winds up being 'enh, there's a slight off-chance that he won't level along with us'.
Please note, however, that as I pointed out, the chart itself takes into account the BP average of the group as a whole - which means if you've got one drow noble in amongst five other standard-race characters, it's going to bump the total from 7 to not-quite-13: i.e. no real change in the group's challenges. If your entire group consists of drow nobles (which I actually played in once - or rather, I played the 'daughter of a destroyed House she cannot remember, adopted into a new House'), then yeah, your characters might effectively be able to handle challenge ratings three higher than what they normally can.
What the GM selects as the effective XP value of the race is up to them; typically, the more BP you count for, the more XP you'll probably count for. But different abilities will mean different things in different campaigns; a dyed-in-the-wool chaotic evil drow noble is a bloody inconvenience in a good-angled sunlight-run campaign, while a glowing-holy-aura aasimar is a frickin' arrow-magnet in an Underdark campaign.
So as always, your mileage will vary.