Advanced Races in Strange Aeons?

[domyalex]

Hello folks,

our group likes to play a "pure" PF game: 4 PCs, 15 pts buy, minimal 3rd party material, minimal house rules.

I'm preparing to GM Strange Aeons and a player has asked if he could use the races that appear in Advanced Race Guide (he's currently considering Changeling or Tengu). I admit that thematically they both fit quite nicely.

Could this tip the balance in the adventure requiring tweaks down the road (ie: add monsters, change tactics, etc)? Would other players feel this PC has an unfair advantage? Any other potential issues?

In all my games we have sort of stuck to core races, so I'm not too sure about the impact of the uncommon races in Adventure Paths.

Thanks!

[Rysky]

I have yet to see a Changeling or Tengu in and of itself upset game balance.

[domyalex]

Rysky wrote:

I have yet to see a Changeling or Tengu in and of itself upset game balance.

Thanks Risky,

what about the other classes? Aasimar, tiefling, drow, etc? Anything to watch out for?

[Charon's Little Helper]

While neither would screw up the balance - the Strange Aeons book specifically suggests avoiding many of the odder races in order to keep the game's vibe/theme. Of note though - it specifically calls out Changelings as fitting the theme.

Our Strange Aeons group has a tiefling - which fits pretty well too. (I'd probably avoid Aasimar though.)

[Rysky]

Basically the obviously really strong ones like Munavri and Drow Noble, other than that you could look at the Strange Aeons Player Guide for recommended races.

[domyalex]

Great, thanks a lot!

['Sani]

My players have just started making their characters, but I gave them the rule that to preserve the theme, they are limited to Core races or races that can pass for a Core race.

So Changelings, Skinwalkers, or an Ifrit with the 'Mostly Human' alternate race trait are in, while Tengu, Goblins, and Strix are out.

Because it may be just me, but for this campaign I want the strange otherworldly creatures they face to not be overshadowed by the weirdness of the party.

[Oliver Veyrac]

We have an amnesiac Tengu ex-worshipper of Pazuzu.
Pazuzu is an avatar of Nyarlathotep :)

Spoiler:

The ability to use all swords is very useful, as you have weapon variety in these books. You have the occassional war razor and a ton of crowbar whacks in the future.

My Recommendation if you do advanced races, is to only allow things based on theme. But be flexible. There are no races that really are overpowered. Some say the Suli, but I am meh on the subject.

Big part is they don't need to create their backstory. That is what you can do :) link each PC to an outer god/great old one. There is a great list in the back of the book.

[Morvik]

One of my players insisted that he really wanted to play a vanara because he wanted a tail and climb speed. Well in the opening scene the a dude is getting gills stitched on, and that player had his monkey companion's tail stitched to him. His monkey companion left in an incinerator. Life is hard.

[Rysky]

... was the player aware of this before you did that?