Catfolk vs Lesser Aasimar LA

[Samy]

Hello,

I'd like to hear some opinions on the level adjustment of Catfolk (from Races of the Wild). Per RAW they are LA +1, but I'm going to make an LA +0 version of them. The question is how much I'm going to cut from their abilities.

Specifically I want to balance them against Lesser Aasimar (Player's Guide to Faerun, LA +0) because two other characters in the party will have that race, and I want the LA +0 Catfolk to be on par with the Lesser Aasimars. I realize that the Lesser Aasimar is at the very top end of LA +0, but that's what I'm going to balance against.

Removing all the similar aspects of the two races, here are the differences as I see them:

Catfolk:
• +4 Dexterity
• 40 feet move
• Low-Light Vision
• +1 natural armor bonus.

Lesser Aasimar:
• +2 Wisdom
• 30 feet move
• Darkvision
• Daylight (Sp) 1/day
• Resistance to acid 5, cold 5, and electricity 5

I think Darkvision and LL Vision can be roughly equal, so that basically leaves +2 to an attribute, +10 move and +1 natural armor versus Daylight and three elemental resistances. I'm thinking cutting *one* of the Catfolk's advantages would make it about the same as the Lesser Aasimar, but taking away two of those would make it noticeably below the Lesser Aasimar.

As I don't perceive cats as particularly hardy, I'm thinking of dropping the natural armor bonus, and calling the two races about equal.

Disagreements?

[etrpgb]

IMO you can remove the +1 NA or reduce the Dex bonus to +2. Or even do not bother at all and simply set LA0.

[Talya]

Yeah, i'd say remove the natural armor bonus.

As for being "at the top of the LA+0" chart, I don't disagree. They're both about even with humans...right there at the top...

[Mikeavelli]

The +2 attribute bonus over the lesser Assimar is the directly correlating thing here, it adds +1 dex AC, +1 to dex-based skills, +1 to reflex saves, etc.

- All of the Catfolk abilities scale very well with higher levels, while the Aasimar abilities are disproportionately low-level abilities.

If you're running a low-level game (1-6 ish) they'll be balanced. If you're running much higher than that, the Aasimar is going to fall behind or feel gypped on abilities.

[deuxhero]

^^Which is a good thing.


Really, Catfolk are an victim of exotic race tax. Some races (Goliath) are worth it with buyoff, but most aren't.

[Samy]

- All of the Catfolk abilities scale very well with higher levels, while the Aasimar abilities are disproportionately low-level abilities. If you're running a low-level game (1-6 ish) they'll be balanced. If you're running much higher than that, the Aasimar is going to fall behind or feel gypped on abilities.
Good point, I didn't consider that!

[etrpgb]

If Lion Totem is banned (as is in my games, I do not know if it is common) catfolks have Catfolk Pounce feat!

Beside +4 Dex is something the character will enjoy for all the career. The +1 NA will be soon replaced by a magical item.

[Godskook]

The +1 NA will be soon replaced by a magical item.

It stacks with magical items, iirc.

[Vemynal]

bump down the +4 dex to a +2 dex and compare the two...looks about even to me =/

[Siosilvar]

It stacks with magical items, iirc.

You do recall correctly. An Amulet of Natural Armor provides an enhancement bonus to your existing NA; for most races, that's adding to a +0 bonus.

[Greenish]

If Lion Totem is banned (as is in my games, I do not know if it is common) catfolks have Catfolk Pounce feat!If Lion Totem barbarian is banned, anyone can take Run as a feat. :smallamused:

[Samy]

Thanks everybody for the opinions, I think I'm going to go with removing the NA and calling it a day. I really appreciate the input!

[etrpgb]

If Lion Totem barbarian is banned, anyone can take Run as a feat. :smallamused:

Sorry? Run gives pounce?

[Godskook]

Sorry? Run gives pounce?

He's making a joke about the other guy's lack of precision in what he said.

See, the ACF that gives pounce is spirit lion totem barbarian, and is found in Complete Champion. Lion totem barbarian is from Unearthed Arcana, and gives Run as a first level bonus feat.

Honestly, at this point, that's kinda 1 step away from being a lightning warrior comment.

[DeAnno]

Wis is a better stat than Dex IMO, since it's a casting stat, so +4 vs +2 is ok. LLV is (in my opinion) a good deal worse than Darkvision 60, but +10 feet more than makes up for that. Catfolk Natural Armor is ok, random Aasimar SLAs and resistances are lol. Catfolk are maybe slightly better, but taking away anything but the +1 NA will hurt them too much.

[Anarchy_Kanya]

On the topic of catfolk and aasimars: In PF standard races are more powerful so races like aasimars or hobgoblins are considered +0 CR (new LA in PF). A catfolk has +1 CR in 3.5 but is it really a +1 CR creature?

[deuxhero]

For Pathfinder, no.

[Anarchy_Kanya]

You sure? Because it's stats are quite good for a +0 race, even in PF.