I've been trying my hand at creating some races and was trying to figure out how much being Immune to Poison is and, in the process, found several places where the costs don't seem to line up. Among other things, being a Plant seems better than being a Dragon, which is several kinds of weird.
So, I'm a little confused about whether these rules are balanced and if there is anything I should stay away from.
Is there a consensus about this?
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The rules by Paizo's admission are somewhat balanced. Perfect balance isn't going to be acheived just by point budget alone. It's not any more different than the fact that not all feats are equal.
The consensus is just roll with it and use your judgement.
Yup. I remember someone posted a side by side comparison of the version of Gnolls we got in the ACG with 6 RP, and a version that tried to accurately emulate the bestiary, which was slightly weaker overall. The second one was more than twice as expensive, which is silly. Go over the races with a GM or another player with a good sense of balance if you can to keep them in check.
Any idea why Dragons cost 10 RP then?
I'm trying to figure out how much being Immune to Poison and Disease should be and it's fairly hard to judge.
Well if you ask Argonians it's worth being the second most hideous race in Oblivion.
Uhh. Nope. Darkvision and Lowlight together cost 3 RP, Sleep immunity and a side bonus are worth 2, so apparently Paralysis immunity is worth 5 RP? If that helps. It looks like a pair of immunities would be 7 RP, though disease is a lot less lethal than paralysis most of the time. I'd put that at 4 or 5 RP myself. Or more honestly, entirely ignore the RP system, and build it, show the GM and say "Does this look stronger than what I could do with a human?"
Well if you ask Argonians it's worth being the second most hideous race in Oblivion.Uhh. Nope. Darkvision and Lowlight together cost 3 RP, Sleep immunity and a side bonus are worth 2, so apparently Paralysis immunity is worth 5 RP? If that helps. It looks like a pair of immunities would be 7 RP, though disease is a lot less lethal than paralysis most of the time. I'd put that at 4 or 5 RP myself. Or more honestly, entirely ignore the RP system, and build it, show the GM and say "Does this look stronger than what I could do with a human?"
I think I'm gonna have to do that.
I tried comparing the Dragon to the Plant to get a rough estimate of the cost of Immunity and it's just nuts. Plants get two big packages of Immunities and they don't have to sleep and they cost the same as being a Dragon. Either the Dragon should cost about 5 points or the Plants more like 15, I'm not sure which.
Look for yourself:
Dragon (10 RP)
A dragon is a reptilian creature with magical or unusual abilities. A dragon race has the following features.
Dragons have the darkvision 60 feet racial trait.
Dragons have the low-light vision racial trait.
Dragons are immune to magical sleep effects and paralysis effects.
Dragons breathe, eat, and sleep.
Plant (10 RP)
This type encompasses humanoid-shaped vegetable creatures. Note that regular plants, such as those found in ordinary gardens and fields, lack Wisdom and Charisma scores and are not creatures, but objects, even though they are alive. A plant race has the following features.
Plants have the low-light vision racial trait.
Plants are immune to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms).
Plants are immune to paralysis, poison, polymorph, sleep effects, and stunning.
Plants breathe and eat, but do not sleep, unless they want to gain some beneficial effect from this activity. This means that a plant creature can sleep in order to regain spells, but sleep is not required to survive or stay in good health.