Does a Half-Elf with the alternative racial traits "Drow Heritage" and "Drow Magic" need to take Half-Drow Paragon to take the Drow Nobility feat line?

[Thellond]

Exactly as the title says.

Drow Heritage:

Thellond wrote:

Half-elves with this trait count as drow for the purposes of any effect related to race, including prerequisites. This racial trait replaces the ability to choose any language as a bonus language, instead limiting the character to the bonus languages offered to drow.

Drow Magic:

Thellond wrote:

A few half-elves with drow ancestry exhibit the innate magic of that race. Half-elves with this trait have drow blood somewhere in their background, and can cast dancing lights, darkness, and faerie fire each once per day, using the half-elf’s character level as the caster level for these spell-like abilities. This racial trait replaces the adaptability and multitalented racial traits.

Half-Drow Paragon:

Thellond wrote:

Prerequisites: Drow-blooded and drow magic racial traits, half-elf.

Benefit: You count as a drow for any effects that relate to race. Furthermore, the spell-like abilities granted to you by your drow magic racial trait count as drow spell-like abilities for the purposes of any feat prerequisites.

Drow Nobility:

Thellond wrote:

Prerequisites: Able to use drow spell-like abilities, drow.

Benefit: You may use detect magic as a spell-like ability at will, and add feather fall and levitate to the spell-like abilities that you may use once each per day. Your caster level is equal to your character level.

The way I read it, Half-Drow Paragon is a useless feat, that the alternative racial traits take care of. Am I wrong in looking at this?

[blahpers]

Drow heritage makes you count as drow, which is only one of the two prerequisites for Drow Mobility.

The spell-like abilities you gain from drow magic are not drow spell-like abilities--or even racial spell-like abilities at all. They're simply spell-like abilities granted by the feat.

Half-Drow Paragon makes those abilities count as drow spell-like abilities, thus qualifying you for Drow Nobility. (It also grants the same benefit as the drow heritage alternate racial trait, so that trait isn't really needed--you only need drow magic and drow-blooded.)

[Thellond]

blahpers wrote:

Drow heritage makes you count as drow, which is only one of the two prerequisites for Drow Mobility.

The spell-like abilities you gain from drow magic are not drow spell-like abilities--or even racial spell-like abilities at all. They're simply spell-like abilities granted by the feat.

Half-Drow Paragon makes those abilities count as drow spell-like abilities, thus qualifying you for Drow Nobility. (It also grants the same benefit as the drow heritage alternate racial trait, so that trait isn't really needed--you only need drow magic and drow-blooded.)

Okay, that makes more sense. Side note than... How do I avoid being dazzled? As a level 1 character in the sun often, - 1 sucks. A lot.

[David knott 242]

Note that the Drow Heritage alternate racial trait comes from the Player Companion book Blood of Shadows, so all of the other items described in this thread were originally meant to work in a game where this trait did not exist. As I recall, Blood of Shadows also had a way to grant a half-elf the same Drow racial spell-like abilities that Drow Magic did, so it is quite possible that Drow Heritage was meant to bypass the need for the Half-Drow Paragon feat -- but without access to that Player Companion, I cannot 100% confirm that.

However, there are several Drow racial feats (such as Shadow Caster, Spider Step, and Spider Summoner) that do not require any particular spell-like abilities as a prerequisite, so for them the Drow Heritage trait might be a better option -- especially if you don't need Drow racial spell-like abilities and want to avoid being dazzled by bright light.

[Thellond]

David knott 242 wrote:

Note that the Drow Heritage alternate racial trait comes from the Player Companion book Blood of Shadows, so all of the other items described in this thread were originally meant to work in a game where this trait did not exist. As I recall, Blood of Shadows also had a way to grant a half-elf the same Drow racial spell-like abilities that Drow Magic did, so it is quite possible that Drow Heritage was meant to bypass the need for the Half-Drow Paragon feat -- but without access to that Player Companion, I cannot 100% confirm that.

However, there are several Drow racial feats (such as Shadow Caster, Spider Step, and Spider Summoner) that do not require any particular spell-like abilities as a prerequisite, so for them the Drow Heritage trait might be a better option -- especially if you don't need Drow racial spell-like abilities and want to avoid being dazzled by bright light.

My character concept is a half drow that shows signs of being nobility, hence the Drow Nobility feat line. Gotta sow a lil chaos, let the noble houses try to figure out who fathered me!

[blahpers]

Protective penumbra, IIRC, is the usual means of circumventing bright light weakness. I do not know how accessible that spell is for your character, though. Alternately, lenses of darkness, the most expensive pair of Ray-Bans in Golarion.

[Alphavoltario]

Sorry for the necro on this, but the Regional Trait [Sharp Eyes] mitigates the Dazzled condition.

Sharp Eyes:

Sharp Eyes
Source Wilderness Origins pg. 3
Category Region
Requirement(s) Tundra
You are immune to the dazzled condition.

[ShadowcatX]

Alphavoltario wrote:

Sorry for the necro on this, but the Regional Trait [Sharp Eyes] mitigates the Dazzled condition.

** spoiler omitted **

I am certain your trait that should be taken at first level is an immense help for a character made a year and a half ago.

[Diego Rossi]

ShadowcatX wrote:

Alphavoltario wrote:

Sorry for the necro on this, but the Regional Trait [Sharp Eyes] mitigates the Dazzled condition.

** spoiler omitted **

I am certain your trait that should be taken at first level is an immense help for a character made a year and a half ago.

It is useful for other people that search for information about how you can avoid being dazzled.

[Theaitetos]

Avoid being dazzled? Pah! You've got to turn your weakness into strength, so just learn Dark-Light and give them payback! :D