Golden Avariel subrace D&D 3.5

[VikingSamurai]

Here's a little subrace I came up with on the spot.


Golden Avariel (Goldwing)
Description:
There are many stories and legends about how the Golden Avariels came to be. Some say that they are the result of the parnership of an Avariel and a sun elf. Golden Avariels are the distant cousins of Sun elves and Avariel. They tend to be inquisitive. They are graceful, but frail, much like the typical elf.

Statistics:
+2 to intelligence, -2 to constitution (-3 if it is considered level adjustment-worthy), +2 to dexterity
-Medium-sized elf
-Base walking speed is 30ft, base flying speed is 50 ft.
-Flying: A Golden Avariel can only actually fly at 7th level. Before that, he/she can only use his/her wings as a slow fall.
-Low-light vision: Golden Avariel can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. They retain the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
-Proficient with either longsword or rapier; proficient with bolas and lasso. Golden Avariel find that the muscles they use to fly, oppose those used to fire ordinary bows.
-If struck by fire, a Golden Avariel must make a reflex save (D.C. 10 for normal fire, for magical fire check spell D.C)
-Claustrophobia: whenever a Golden Avariel finds himself/herself enclosed in a small area for any significant length of time, he/she must make a Will save (DC 13) or become panicked (-2 morale penalty on all actions; can become aggressive). Saves are made every day. The panic subsides when the character is brought out into the open air.
-Golden Avariel find their wings an impediment to motion when on the ground, suffering a -2 attack penalty and -2 AC penalty as a result. These penalties can be negated if the avariel takes the Ground Combat feat (see below).
-Automatic Languages: Common and elven. Bonus Languages: Auran, Avariel Sign, Draconic, Dwarven, Giant, Goblin, Orc. Avariel commonly know the languages of their enemies and allies, as well as Draconic, the language commonly found in ancient tomes of secret knowledge. They have developed a form of silent communication somewhat similar to the drow sign language.
-Golden Avariel may take the Flyby Attack feat (see page 11 of the Monster Manual) as a General feat; this is not a free bonus feat.
-Favored class: Wizard



Ground Combat [General]
The golden avariel trains to fight effectively of the ground.
Prerequisites: Base Attack Bonus +2
Benefit: Due to specialized training, the golden avariel is able to compensate for the encumbering effects of her wings when engaging in ground-based combat, negating the usual avariel penalties for doing so.
Normal: Golden Avariel suffer a -2 penalty to attacks and AC when fighting on the ground.

Flyby Attack [General]
Prerequisite: Fly speed.
Benefit: When flying, the creature can take a move action (including a dive) and another standard action at any point during the move. The creature cannot take a second move action during a round when it makes a flyby attack.
Normal: Without this feat, the creature takes a standard action either before or after its move.

And now it's time for some shameless self-promotion!
See also:
Kengou base class (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6512999#post6512999)
Improved Monk (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6725511#post6725511)

[Eloel]

That's easily LA+1, if not LA+2.... Though I kinda like it.

[Iferus]

What manoeuvrability does the flight have?

[VikingSamurai]

"That's easily LA+1, if not LA+2"
Shame, know any way I could balance it out? (other than level adjustments? I hate those things!)

[VikingSamurai]

What manoeuvrability does the flight have?

Ehh. Curses, this is what I get for not looking up flight before I make a race that can fly. Would "same as a regular Avariel" be okay?

[PairO'Dice Lost]

"That's easily LA+1, if not LA+2"
Shame, know any way I could balance it out? (other than level adjustments? I hate those things!)

Drop the flight speed and it should be a solid LA +0, maybe halve it to 40 feet.

[VikingSamurai]

Okay, but I think that 40ft is a tiny bit too restrictive. I think that 50ft would be better if I could somehow factor in some penalty, maybe something like a 50% weakness to fire.

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

"That's easily LA+1, if not LA+2"
Shame, know any way I could balance it out? (other than level adjustments?)

Let's take a look.


Statistics:
-2 to strength, +2 to intelligence, -2 to wisdom, +2 to charisma, -2 to constitution, +2 to dexterity

Alright. This large an array of stats rather pigeonholes the class...there's reason most LA +0 races don't have a bunch of stat adjustments. It seems like you're making this class specifically to fill the Bard, Sorcerer, or Beguiler role, and that's bad design...it means that this becomes an almost necessary choice for those classes and a poor choice for everything else.

Additionally, my research shows that the Avariel gains +4 Dex, - 2 Con, +2 Wis, +2 Int. It seems strange to suddenly give them a strength penalty and a Charisma bonus. At the most, I'd say +2 Dex, -2 Con, +2 Int...and that's a set of scores that might be headed towards a level adjustment.


-Medium-sized elf

Cool.


-Base walking speed is 30ft, base flying speed is 80 ft.

Not cool. An LA +0 race with an 80ft fly speed? Not good AT ALL. Instead, take a look at the Raptoran race from Races of the Wild. It begins with its flight ability being nothing more than gliding if it falls, an eventually achieves true flight around level 10. That's much more balanced for a LA +0 race.


-Flying: If a Golden Avariel wears light armor, his/her flying speed is decreased by 5ft. If a Golden Avariel wears medium armor, his/her flying speed is decreased by 10ft and he/she must have a strength score of at least 8 to be able to fly. If a Golden Avariel wears heavy armor, his/her flying speed is decreased by 30ft and he/she must have a strength score of 13 or higher to be able to fly.

I don't like it. Flight is already penalized by weight...just remove this clause.


-All racial traits of elf apart from ability adjustments.

So an LA +0 race that gets all the abilities of another LA +0 race, a powerful flight feature, and better ability scores (sure more are penalized, but, with those penalties, I'm only going to be taking classes that use the scores I have...which will, overall, make me better). The Elf is crying himself to sleep...well, to trance, but the idea is the same. This needs to be downgraded a bit to work alongside the standard races.

So here's what I'd do. LA +1, +2 Dex, -2 Con, +2 Int, a Raptoran's Flight ability, and all Elf traits. You might even be able to swing a +2 Wis in there from the Avariel heritage without unbalancing things.

LA +0 is harder. I'd say +2 Dex, -2 Con, +2 Int, a Raptoran's Flight ability, Low-light Vision and +2 to Spot, Listen, and Search might do it, but you also might have to drop the +2 Int.

[VikingSamurai]

I'm sorry for my absolute lack of intelligence in this matter. I should have at least researched this before I went on to make a hybrid subrace. I can also see that I need to brush up on balance skills.

"LA +0 is harder. I'd say +2 Dex, -2 Con, +2 Int, a Raptoran's Flight ability, Low-light Vision and +2 to Spot, Listen, and Search might do it, but you also might have to drop the +2 Int."
I think it might actually be more sensible to drop the dex bonus because this is inheriting the intelligence of pretty much both the Sun elf and the Avariel.

Also, I thank you for your detailed analysis.

[Cieyrin]

Considering how rare Avariel already are, Golden Avariel are gonna be as rare as Black Chocobo. @_@

Also, it would probably be better to actually say all the race gets in the description, rather than referring you to other books that not all of us necessarily have. Saying to refer to an obscure Faerunian race isn't exactly inviting to those not necessarily learned or have any books from the campaign setting, let alone the ones the race is described in.

Them's my 2 coppers. Take as you will.

[VikingSamurai]

In fact, that's a very good point (seeing as I myself do not actually have the book that has avariel in:smallfrown:). I will try to do this to the best of my ability.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

So an LA +0 race that gets all the abilities of another LA +0 race, a powerful flight feature, and better ability scores (sure more are penalized, but, with those penalties, I'm only going to be taking classes that use the scores I have...which will, overall, make me better). The Elf is crying himself to sleep...well, to trance, but the idea is the same. This needs to be downgraded a bit to work alongside the standard races.

Whoops, I missed the "otherwise works like an elf" thing the first time around. That being the case, I agree with Djinn here on the alterations that need to be made.

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

I'm sorry for my absolute lack of intelligence in this matter. I should have at least researched this before I went on to make a hybrid subrace. I can also see that I need to brush up on balance skills.

Eh, no big deal. That's what the community is here for, after all. :smallbiggrin:



I think it might actually be more sensible to drop the dex bonus because this is inheriting the intelligence of pretty much both the Sun elf and the Avariel.

Duh...for some reason my eyes read "Sun Elf" and my mind went "Normal Elf." You're entirely correct.

Though, looking at the Raptoran, you may not actually need to take the bonus away.


Also, I thank you for your detailed analysis.

Hey, any time. :smallbiggrin:

[sigurd]

I like this.

I don't think you need to have this be literally an offshoot of the Avariel and Golden Elf. Why not make them a variety of Winged Elf, perhaps from an other plane.

Q: How does "-50% weakness to fire (somewhat flammable wings)" work as a game mechanic?


S

[VikingSamurai]

I like this.

I don't think you need to have this be literally an offshoot of the Avariel and Golden Elf. Why not make them a variety of Winged Elf, perhaps from an other plane.

Q: How does "-50% weakness to fire (somewhat flammable wings)" work as a game mechanic?


S

Thanks.
Perhaps, but I've pretty much sorted it out now (famous last words) as a hybrid.
Possibly 50% more damage taken from fire due to "slightly" flammable wings. Or maybe a percentage (or ref save) that the character's wings are set alight due to fire, dealing 1d6 damage per round?