Quote Originally Posted by afroakuma View Post
1. Yes and no. It depends on how they are being valued. It would take a lot to make stat adjustments worth a +1 LA on their lonesome, as you note; but conversely, net negative adjustments to stats have the potential to be severely impactful depending on how they land.
That's an

2. A bonus to all saving throws against spells is not situational.
That's why I didn't mention that one, specifically, but rather stonecunning (because seriously), stability and weapon familiarity (whoever uses a dwarven urgrosh or buckler axe anyway?). I could also add the bonuses to skills, especially Appraise and even the resistance to poison.

Many of the others are - but it's important to note that this also applies in a meaningful sense to the abilities of norrags, etc. as well. Lundrias, for example, get increased essentia capacity on brow chakra soulmelds, but this feature only comes online at 9th level at the earliest, and the brow chakra is relatively limited in application. Norrags can indeed make wands, but are still required to front the costs for doing so, must still make Use Magic Device checks to employ such a wand if they are not capable of using it via their class, and it's just a regular ordinary wand if sold or handed off to anybody else. It gives them appreciable flexibility, yes, but is still ultimately situational unless they are willing to meaningfully invest WBL to do things with it, which at that point is an allocation of resources beyond your racial pick.
I wouldn't be so quick to undervalue the stuff with the wands. A crafted (massively superior eternal!) wand of CLW is well worth the expenditure even at a fairly low level and the quasi-Deceive Item makes UMDing it a child's play with a minimal investment into CHA (which the stat adjustment helps with). Also, unlike many of the dwarven traits, such as the +1 to hit against orcs and goblinoids, which become weaker and weaker to the point of irrelevance as the character levels, the usefulness of the wand traits increases with time.

In any event, I do not believe they are excessively "over the curve" or would merit adjustment to LA +1. You are welcome to disagree, and of course the great merit of D&D is that DMs can take material and adjust it as they see fit to make it work in line with how they would like the game to operate. I believe that these races can stand alongside, rather than overtaking, elves and dwarves and all the rest.
Alright. It's your call, of course. You said PEACH, I gave my honest opinion, and if I'm not helpful, please do ignore me.