Talk:Delphox (5e Race)

Musicus Meter Score: 7

This race has a score of 7 according to the Musicus Meter race guidelines. With this metric, first-party races' scores range from 4.5 to 8. This is a guideline, not a rule, and it's important to use your own judgment alongside this scoring.

This scoring may be the groundwork for a focused {{needsbalance}} usage. A contributor to this page may request a detailed breakdown of this page's balance. Without this information, {{needsbalance}} may then be removed. This meter cannot be the sole basis for a needsbalance template, but may be included as an accessory to a wider discussion of a race's balance.

This template should only be placed on a race's talk page. If this template is not placed on the talk page, please move it.

Delphox

Cost	Racial Trait
2	Intelligence score increases by 2.
1	Wisdom score increases by 1.
0.5	Darkvision
0.5	Flare Witch
1	Mystical Fire
0.5	Vulpine Intellect
1.5	Magician
7	Total.

I was going to hold off on making Delphox since my last race, Incineroar (5e Race), was a fire type, but was encouraged to do so when a friend said she wanted to see Delphox made into a race since it was one of her favorites.

The idea behind Delphoxes being compared to witches/hags comes from folklore, where such occult practitioners would use snakes or foxes as familiars.

The part in the physical description that talks about a Braixen with green fur is a reference to Braixen's alt color in Pokken Tournament.

Flare Witch (a reference to the TCG, specifically Delphox's BREAK card from the Fates Collide expansion) and Magician were originally reversed, with Flare Witch giving Delphox Innate Spellcasting for Vicious Mockery, Hellish Rebuke, and Mind Spike. The idea behind this was to help capitalize on Delphox's psychic typing while balancing the damage types of it's attacks, as Vicious Mockery and Mind Spike do psychic damage while Hellish Rebuke and Mystical Fire (which we'll get into later) both do fire damage. Not only that, but Hellish Rebuke seemed fitting given the Pokemon Y/Alpha Sapphire pokedex entries.

"Using psychic power, it generates a fiery vortex of 5,400 degree Fahrenheit, incinerating foes swept into this whirl of flame."

However, ultimately, I decided to switch the two, scrap innate spellcasting and go with Psionics instead. Lastly, Flare Witch's ability is a fire version of Primarina (5e Race)'s Liquid Voice.

Mystical Fire is based on Delphox's signature move. However, you may have noticed that I made it so you can use your intelligence modifier in place of your Constitution if one is higher than the other. This is because of how Delphox uses the attack. In the game, it makes a fiery circle with it's wand and then breathes fire through it. In my mind, it's using magic to enhance it's own fiery breath, so the power of the attack could be determined by it's own ability to project it's breath or the power of the magic enhancing it. Maybe I'm just overthinking it, plus it might be changed.

Vulpine Intellect was originally Vulpine Cunning and would have offered the same thing Gnome Cunning/Vedalken Dispassion does. However, I realized that including that would have spiked Delphox's score to around 8.5-9, plus it would be a rather strong plus to a race built for spellcasting.

Finally, the idea of Delphoxes living in ruins and the rumor of some knowing the Wish spell is actually a little nod to Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon. If you use Scan Island on a Saturday, you can find a Delphox on Ancient Poni Path, where there just happens to be ruins, that knows the move Wish. --MetalShadowOverlord (talk) 17:18, 20 January 2019 (MST)