Quote Originally Posted by Metastachydium View Post
Many of your no RHD LA +0 races (the norrag, the suan, the lundria) are swimming in racial traits, including special qualities that are sometimes quite potent. Don't get me wrong, I really don't like LA but these critters make even LA +1 races simply obsolete through the sheer number of abilities they get for free.
It's important to note a few things:

• Most LA +1 races are not worth LA +1. It's a very poor metric for power. I work with people who have even more experience than I in 3.5 to ensure that when there's an LA +1 on one of these races, it earns its place.
• LA +0 is all over the map in terms of number of racial features. My balance point is dwarves, who have net +0 stat adjustment, irreducible speed, darkvision, stonecunning, stability, bonuses on saves against poisons, spells, spell-like abilities, a racial bonus to attack rolls against very common low-level foes, a dodge bonus against giants, and two more specific skill perks. Add to that that the ability to wield an exotic weapon as a martial weapon is basically equal to half a feat (a good feat? No, but a feat - Exotic Weapon Proficiency) and dwarves get two of them (plus some supplemental ones in other materials).
• Compare that to the lundria, above, who possesses a net -2 to ability scores, a saving throw penalty to a specific band of effects, an immunity to one very narrow effect (lycanthropy), a 1/day spell-like ability without combat applications, a 1/encounter ability that has meaningful combat application but is tightly constrained... they may be more interesting abilities than the default LA +0 races get, but that doesn't make them pound-for-pound better.
• As for whether humans get left behind here (lundrias, among others, get a bonus feat as well as a truckload of other features), it's important to remember that the specific value of the human bonus feat is not merely that it's an extra feat - it's that it's an extra feat slot, which makes it viable to build from. Conversely, there is no feat, prestige class, or other feature in the game that cares if you have Born under the Crescent Moon, which is a nice flavorful feat but contributes dramatically less to build effectiveness than, say, Dodge.

In summation, they're more interesting (I hope) but I don't believe there would be a meaningful power differential and I think the core LA +0 races still all have their place.