Homebrew advice (flight)

[Moofaa]

So I am designing a homebrew playable creature (a faerie actually), its Tiny in size and is a spellcaster. How can I make flight a usable trait that can't be easily abused? I'm thinking of limiting the flying height in some way that it can't be out of reach (avoiding the nightmare of a Tiny sized flying spellcaster abusing reach in every encounter). On the other hand I would hate to say "no" when a character wants to do something simple like fly a couple stories up to a window or to the top of a tree.

Another option would be some sort of penalty to casting while flying or some sort of check. I was wondering if anyone had any advice to give or could point me to some existing rules, as I haven't really dealt with flight very much in my games.

[Vauron]

Tiny flyer who casts spells? Slap a few racial hitdice on it, maybe some LA. Tiny flyer alone would be too good for the first few levels.

[Land Outcast]

What Vauron said, Having a fly speed warrants by itself LA +1... what you could do about it to make it more manageable would be to make it progressive, for example: start with fly speed 5 (clumsy), inscreasing at 3 HD fly speed 10 (poor), at 5 HD fly speed 20 (average), at 7 HD fly speed 30 (good).

Tiny by itself gives +3 to AC & attacks as well as a +8 bonus on hide checks... That's a bit much for first levels (note I'm not saying these bonuses by itself are cause for a +1 LA, I'm just saying that they shouldn't belong to a creature without it).

I'd still give it a +1 LA.

Want to post the stats you've been working on? we might be able to help further.

[Moofaa]

I'll consider the advice you've both given me so far. I'd post my stats but since the race is tied heavily to my homebrew spell casting system I'd have to post that too and its not ready.

Rules are mostly based off of 3e, but heavily modified and incorporate a few things from 4e. I'm also experimenting a bit with some things that haven't been seen since earliest editions of D&D such as racial stat limitation. Faeries are limited to a strength and constitution of 10. (really just wouldn't make sense to have an 18 strength character that's 2 feet tall).

Race will be geared to low health, much like any spellcaster, with 2hp/level+con (8+con at 1st).

Once I get around to finishing out their abilities they will have some druid-like powers that will probably include shapeshifting into animal forms.

[Land Outcast]

Once I get around to finishing out their abilities they will have some druid-like powers that will probably include shapeshifting into animal forms. Then you'll have the same problem when the creature turns into an eagle and stay out of reach.

On another note: don't worry for a spellcaster being too far away, unless the spell being cast has long range until fifth level they'll be -at most- within the first range increment a crossbow or longbow.
And if they are somehow bombarding the enemy who has no chance of retribution, the enemy probably will run and take over.