Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Humans: they get the shaft
I'm barely into the new Pathfinder opus and the first thing that leaps out at me is: why play a human? Every race can choose any favored multiclass now (half elves get 2!) so the vaunted flexibility that made it so easy to plan a build is now commonplace. If you plan on playing a character past 3rd lvl go for halvsies ( -orc or -elf).
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Humans still get the bonus Feat at first level and an extra skill point every level.
ReplyDeleteI think Half-Orcs got trimmed a bit. Half-Elf got a boost but I think that they sort of needed one. I can see your point but I am not sure if it is a deal breaker.
By comparison the human benefits are watered down by the favored multi change. The curve from having a bonus feat (ONE bonus feat, ever) rapidly fades from a lofty vantage point of, say, 6th level.
ReplyDeleteThe skill bonus is only a little bit better than getting the extra point from choosing it for your favored multi.
How did half-orcs get trimmed? Looks to me like they took all the disads away.
From what I can tell, the only changes to Half-orcs are:
ReplyDelete1) now gets +2 to any stat vs. +2 STR, +2 WIS and -2 INT.
2) gained +2 to Intimidate
Changes for Half-elfs are:
1) Gained +2 perception to all senses rather than just sight and sound.
2) Lost ability to auto perceive secret doors.
3) Gain an additional Favored Class
An extra feat is huge as long as you pick something useful. Q: Why do so many folk play a human fighter? A: 3 feats at first level.
Extra skill points is also huge, especially for the classes that do not get many points (i.e. Clerics, Fighters, Paladins and Sorcerers). In combination with the Favored Class bounus, you can have your cake and eat it too (or have two helpings of cake).
I agree that there is not a lot of "wow" to humans but I do not believe they were shafted.
Well from what you pointed out there Half-orcs got a bonus. They still get a net +2 stat bonus like everyone else, plus a new bonus to intimidate.
ReplyDeleteHalf-elves gained to buffs and lost one. Looks like a win to me.
Ppl play the human fighter because they usually make up first level characters, and 3 at 1st lvl is huge. That bonus feat looks pretty stale at 7th lvl. Do you think if your human fighter could take Darkvision as a feat at first level he would? Or a blanket +2 to perception rolls? He would... but he cant. Just because the Half -elf or -orc has different bonus "feats" doesnt make the special ability any less huge. Things like dark- and lowlight-vision, perception bonus, extra favored multi, etc, are just as (and in some cases more) useful as Dodge or Improved Initiative.
I guess my point is that the "halfs" are not that much different from before. I do not remember a ton of helf-elves being played. We may see more of them now, especially for someone planning to multi-class.
ReplyDeleteThere was certainly a ton of half-orcs. +2 Str and +2 Wis was asking to be fighter, barbarian, ranger, cleric or druid. (Previously when it was bonuses to Str and Con, it was the preferred melee race).
All races got a net +2 to abilities. Half-orcs now only get to modify one (of their choice) rather than three. I think that the days of "all" of them having 20 Str in our group may be over.
I still think that a bonus feat is a big deal whatever the level it is gained. Darkvision can be obtained through spells or magic items at higher levels.
Hell yeah, now everyone will be tripping over themselves to play a half-orc sorcerer. Im gonna name mine Chavez!
ReplyDelete