The Little Tiefling

[Rakku]

So, I'm about to start dming a new campaign and one of my players wants to play a tiefling. I tend to allow my players to use any official material that they can find when they are building their characters and this player in particular wants to use a very specific tiefling trait.

"You are unusually short, granting you all the standard traits of a Small creature."

That is one of the abilities that replaces the spell-like ability that tieflings get. The issue I have with this trait is that I don't understand what "standard traits of a small creature" means.

Looking at the size modifiers table he should get: +1 to AC and attack rolls, -1 to CMD and CMB, +2 to Fly and +4 to Stealth.

But what about other traits that small races have almost always? Would he have a 20 feet base speed? Also, when you get magically shrinked you get a -2 to strenght and a +2 to dexterity. Would he get that too?

On top of that, due to the wording used, I'm not sure if he would be considered a small creature. It says you gain the traits, but are you actually considered of that size category? Do you have to wear small equipment and use small weapons? Are you considered a small creature when deciding whether an ability affects you or not? Or are you still a medium creature with some new traits?

If anyone can shed any light on this, I'd appreciate it. Cheers.

[mucat]

3.5 or Pathfinder?

Either way (and definitely in the Pathfinder case; I'm rusty on 3.5e) he will likely NOT get all the typical traits associated with Small species (such as slower move speed and low Str / high Dex stat spreads.) If this alternate racial feature only mentions that he is small sized, then he should only get the traits directly tied to his Size category, as you listed above.

If this were Pathfinder (and as I look back at your post, I'm starting to realize it is definitely not) this feature -- all the advantages of small size, and very few of the usual disadvantages -- would be considered quite powerful, and the suggestion would be to allow such characters only if the entire party plans to play high-powered races.

Hopefully someone with more up-to-date 3.5 skills can answer you and fill in any balancing factors I have forgotten.

Out of curiosity, why does the player want this trait? Is it an actual RP thing, or just openly a stat-grab? If the latter, are the other players using inflated characters too, or just this guy? Those questions might be more important than RAW.

[upho]

Looking at the size modifiers table he should get: +1 to AC and attack rolls, -1 to CMD and CMB, +2 to Fly and +4 to Stealth.This is absolutely correct, the only additions would be that the normal tiefling's "Size: Medium" racial trait changes into "Size: Small" and the weight and height numbers change accordingly. Nothing else mentioned in the race entry changes, but of course there are a number of specific rules related to size explicitly stated elsewhere (such as being able to fit into smaller spaces, having less carrying capacity and being limited to smaller weapons).


But what about other traits that small races have almost always? Would he have a 20 feet base speed? Also, when you get magically shrinked you get a -2 to strenght and a +2 to dexterity. Would he get that too?Nope, only the default changes you got from the size modifiers table. None of the traits of the other Small races are exclusively tied to size.


On top of that, due to the wording used, I'm not sure if he would be considered a small creature. It says you gain the traits, but are you actually considered of that size category?Yes, in every mechanical sense, he'd be precisely as much of a Small creature as your everyday halfling, kobold or goblin.


Do you have to wear small equipment and use small weapons?Yes, as per the rules for equipment and weapons.


Are you considered a small creature when deciding whether an ability affects you or not? Or are you still a medium creature with some new traits?He'd be a Small creature in every rules-relevant sense and regard, again just like a halfling, kobold or goblin is.

Note also that per the rules, a Small tiefling (with the exact same mechanical impact as above) doesn't lose the SLA. At least theoretically, tieflings can be born from parents of any humanoid race, and explicitly inherits the size of that humanoid race. In fact, mechanically speaking, size is actually the only race-specific trait a tiefling inherits from its humanoid side. From the "Non-Human Tieflings" section/sidebar:

"In game terms, the difference between non-human tieflings and human tieflings is purely a matter of size. Unless they have specific tiefling-related size modifiers, the tieflings of each of these races are the same size as their non-fiendish ancestors. They gain any of the bonuses or penalties related to that size, but gain no racial bonuses except those of the tiefling; beyond size, their humanoid ancestry is purely cosmetic."

I actually very much suspect the option from the list your player found is mostly intended to help a GM with quickly generating varied tiefling NPCs or simply written in ignorance.


Hope this helps.