Boosting Half-Elves

[arkol]

I think it's generally accepted that half-elves are one of the poorest races out there. Probably the worse one from the basic ones. I've seen several DM's who grant'em small bonus like a free skill focus at chocie or similar.

Any other sugestions on how to give the half-elves a boost?

[Matthew]

Give them a free Feat?

[Orzel]

Free Skill Focus or Weapon Proficiency Feat

[JackMage666]

I always liked giving them 4 extra skills at first level, and an extra one at every level after that, just like a Human's skill thing.
A straight bonus feat is too strong, though.

[Amiria]

Either a bonus feat (like humans) or that extra skill point (like humans).

[arkol]

I agree that giving them a choice of ANY free feat is too strong. Would make them way better then humans.

I like the idea of extra skills. Or average* feats. Or the choice of either.



*like:
Proficiency (martial only)
Skill focus
Any +2+2 feat (stealthy, alertness and such).

EDIT: How did you got into my brain?! Get out!

[Diggorian]

I got no real problem with half elves, but if I wanted to change'em I'd consider these:

• The free feat showing the inherent versatility of humans is good. I'd favor this to an added weapon profieciency cause that shows cultural training that may not be relevant.
  
• Four more skill points at level one or one more per level, the human trait as above.
  
• Full elven senses: +2 to listen, spot, and search. Maybe the secret door deal. Not a stretch since they've already got low light vision.
  
• I really dislike the bonus to Diplomacy and Gather Info the often scorned half breeds get that their parent races do not. I'd replace it with a +1 to Reflex, Move silent and Hide (or two other Dex skills). My reasoning is that it's like a partial Dex bump, the effective bonus of a +2 to Dex to only a few of Dexterity's benefactors.

Hope this helps.

[my_evil_twin]

Like JackMage, I give half-elves extra skill points as humans.

In the same vein, I give half-orcs a bonus feat from the fighter list.

[MrNexx]

http://rpg-crank.livejournal.com/3431.html

[JackMage666]

http://rpg-crank.livejournal.com/3431.html

But that's a +1 LA, just for the fact that there is no balancing attribute penalty.

[NullAshton]

More social encounters?

[Logic]

Like JackMage, I give half-elves extra skill points as humans.

In the same vein, I give half-orcs a bonus feat from the fighter list.

I do the same, except the feat that half-orcs get is pretty much any core feat.

[Josh the Aspie]

Half elves being outcasts was something that is no longer 'core' to the fluff on the half elf, as it is from an older edition. There are campaign settings, such as Dragonlance that keep this, but I don't think Wizards wanted to introduce children to the idea of half elves and half orcs often being the result of rape, enough so that even children of love remind people of rape just by existing.

Generally speaking, the reasons that half elves wander is because their life span is so different from either human or elven. By the time they get close to being an adult in a human community, their friends likely all have kids of their own, and their human parent is likely long dead. If they grew up in an Elven community, then as they mature their friends seem less and less mature. At the same time, they are held back and viewed as children by the elven adults.

In either case, they feel entierly out of place, and so are highly likely to travel. Most will have experience with both human and elven communities, as well as being exposed to many races and many ways of life in their travels. They're also likely to have to find things like the local bar, or the local armory each time they get to a new town, and so are probably more used to asking around.

That's why I think the diplomacy bonus and gather information bonus are appropriate for a generic world half elves. In most settings where it isn't appropriate, the campaign documentation alters their stats.

[MrNexx]

But that's a +1 LA, just for the fact that there is no balancing attribute penalty.

Not necessarily. Water Halflings, for example, have unbalanced attribute bonuses. Unbalanced bonuses, without much else, can make a +0 LA race.

[Zincorium]

More to the point, slightly unbalanced ability scores are nowhere near enough to make up for the loss of an entire level. If the ability score difference isn't above +4, or no bonus is +6 or above, it's generally not going to be more powerful than a human with a bonus feat, because feats have a cumulative effect in terms of feat chains.

[Kaelaroth]

In a campaign I was planning I was going to use "hybrids", which contained all the bonuses of both humans and elves, had extra arms, and were bloodthirsty war machines bred by evil liches.

If that helps.

[Tengu]

MrNexx's boost is a bit too strong in my opinion. How about using them as RAW, but drop the bonus to diplomacy and gather information, and instead give them +2 charisma?

[lord_khaine]

thats really not balanced either, Cha is a very good stat for both sorceres and paladins, so it should be balanced out by a penalty to another stat.

[JackMage666]

I didn't say it wouldn't be a crappy +1 LA, but it's too strong for a +0 LA.
+2 Dex without any negative side effects is too strong for the basic races, especially since Dex is arguably the best stat - All characters need at least 12 Dex for any real effectiveness (That's refering to Fighters and Clerics in plain Full Plate, which still allows +1 Dex to AC). So, basically, Half-Elves with that variant get a +1 to AC, +1 to a load of skills, +1 to ranged (and some melee, with Weapon Focus) attack rolls, easier qualification for some feats, and so on. They're almost treated as small, without the penalties (almost, I say).

[Serpentine]

In our campaign world, what bonus they get depends on how they're raised: an extra feat if by humans, and elven weapon proficiencies if by elves. 'Course, we've also given the half-orcs a boost, fixed the different races of elves to make the differences more flavour-based (and thus removing the +1LA of Drow), and tweaked here an there with the others (Goff's been doing the majority of this, and I think he didn't get around to dealing with the dwarves cuz he didn't quite know what to do with them).

[Dant]

I saw an interesting idea on these boards once that made all skills class skills for a half-elf. I liked it. Possibly add in the extra human skill points on top.

[MrNexx]

I didn't say it wouldn't be a crappy +1 LA, but it's too strong for a +0 LA.
+2 Dex without any negative side effects is too strong for the basic races, especially since Dex is arguably the best stat - All characters need at least 12 Dex for any real effectiveness (That's refering to Fighters and Clerics in plain Full Plate, which still allows +1 Dex to AC). So, basically, Half-Elves with that variant get a +1 to AC, +1 to a load of skills, +1 to ranged (and some melee, with Weapon Focus) attack rolls, easier qualification for some feats, and so on. They're almost treated as small, without the penalties (almost, I say).

I'd argue that Dex is the best stat; intelligence gives you bonuses to the number of skills you know, a wide variety of skills, and makes wizard spells more powerful. Wisdom improves a good number of skills, improves will saves, and improves cleric casting.

Important to me, however, is that the +2 Dex bonus matches the fluff usually associated with D&D half-elves... as graceful as elves, but solidly built, like humans. Aside from that, this half-elf has less bonuses than the PH version... a version which most agree is underpowered.

[bugsysservant]

Yeah, MrNexx's changes are a bit strong for LA +0, but so are the Lesser Planetouched from FR. Although I do agree that charisma is better than dexterity. Charisma is supposed to represent force of will, and any half elf that reaches the minimum adventuring age will be very forcefull, as they have had to cope with being an outcast from both their societies for all their lives.

[Sleet]

Either a bonus feat (like humans) or that extra skill point (like humans).

That's what I do.

[Draz74]

http://rpg-crank.livejournal.com/3431.html

Hmmm. OK, so, here's another way of looking at how this is overpowered.

First, assume that any gamer in his right mind will select the "Bonus Feat" option from the list of optional features.

Now, compare this Half-Elf to the standard Human (which is considered pretty good for a LA +0 race, slightly better than the elf/gnome/halfling options overall).

Your half-elf loses 1 extra skill point per level, and gains +2 Dex. I'd say that's an even tradeoff.

Then he gets (for free icing on the cake) Low-Light Vision, Elven Blood, and one other minor ability selectable from a list.

Except for builds that really need that extra skill point per level, this half-elf is strictly better than a human. Bad sign for game balance.

[Chris_Chandler]

I give half-elves specific bonus feats, all from the "alertness" +2 to two skills range of feats, depending on the heritage of the 1/2 elf in question. There are 4 human subraces and 3 elven subraces in my homebrew, creating 7 different types of 1/2 elf (based on the mother's lineage, making it a bit easier). One subrace of human gains a +2 to DX but a -2 to ST, which, becuase of the ability overlap between the two races transfers to the 1/2 elf, in this case. It works pretty well. They aren't oozing with power, but gives a bit of flavor and a "free" mechanical edge in a few skills. I see no reason for limiting this to a single feat choice, but I'd leave that to the DM in question for a ruling.

[BardicDuelist]

My "balanced" half-elf:
-Immunity to sleep, +2 vs. enchantment.
-Low light vision (half-elves have keener sight than humans)
-Elven and human blood (half-elves count as human and elven)

-Dodge as a bonus feat (while half-elves are not at graceful as their elven ancestors, they are still more so than their human counterparts)

OR Weapon Focus (longsword, long bow, short bow, or rapier) as a bonus feat (half-elves try to pay homage to their ancestry by mastering a traditional weapon)

-4 extra skill points at first level, one at every level therafter (half-elves are as versitile and capable as their human ancestors if raised amongst them).

OR Proficiency with Longswords, Long Bows, Short Bows, and Rapiers (half-elves learn amongst their elven peers how to handle their traditional weapons).

[MrNexx]

My "balanced" half-elf:
-Immunity to sleep, +2 vs. enchantment.
-Low light vision (half-elves have keener sight than humans)
-Elven blood

-Dodge as a bonus feat (while half-elves are not at graceful as their elven ancestors, they are still more so than their human counterparts)

OR Weapon Focus (longsword, long bow, short bow, rapier) as a bonus feat (half-elves try to pay homage to their ancestry by mastering a traditional weapon)

-4 extra skill points at first level, one at every level therafter (half-elves are as versitile and capable as their human ancestors if raised amongst them).

OR Proficiency with Longswords, Long Bows, Short Bows, and Rapiers (half-elves learn amongst their elven peers how to handle their traditional weapons).

I like this one; I like it better than mine. Just a question about the Weapon Focus... is that for all the weapons, or pick one?

And can I talk you into posting it to the Cranky Gamer, either under your name, or I post it with credit to you?

[BardicDuelist]

Thank you for the compliment MrNexx. I meant it to be with one weapon, will change that. You can post it on there and credit me if you like.

[MrNexx]

Thank you for the compliment MrNexx. I meant it to be with one weapon, will change that. You can post it on there and credit me if you like.

http://rpg-crank.livejournal.com/343...d=22119#t22119