Talk:Lost Child (5e Race)

D16

If you don't own a d16 (I certainly don't), you can do this instead:

2d8+d2-2

(A d2 is basically just a coin, by the way.)

If you also don't own a d8, you could always do this tedious but mathematically equivalent roll:

8d2+4d2+2d2+d2-14

Hakr14 (talk) 00:17, 19 April 2017 (UTC)

Traits

I like this race's aesthetic, but, uh, its traits are a bit wonky. Since review was requested anyway, I'll break down the traits into sections below. - Guy (talk) 04:31, 19 April 2017 (UTC)

Copycat

Although I don't think the 5e Race Design Guide itself says so, any trait that "copies" what someone else can do—even temporarily—is considered overpowered at best, and game-breaking at worst. Monsters, especially at higher CRs, can do things players should never be able to do without great sacrifice. This is especially true for casting high-level spells.

• It's also very vague what "ability" encompasses, especially as in 5e "ability" usually refers to ability score.
• Traits in 5e also avoid making distinctions like before, after, or during "battle"—something like 1 minute would be more appropriate.
• Terms like "enemy" should also be avoided, as most traits and spells in 5e strive to avoid making such distinctions between creatures without necessity. If it's too powerful or unbalanced to be used on any creature, than it's probably too unbalanced to exist.

I think this trait should be replaced or removed, especially as it doesn't seem to be tied to the race's aesthetic design (which is what I like most about the race, coincidentally). - Guy (talk) 04:31, 19 April 2017 (UTC)

Childish

I think these ability score adjustments should go under "Ability Score Increase." Ideally that section would be renamed "Ability Score Adjustment"... but that would require abandoning the template and doing things manually. The powers that be generally frown upon a race having ability score decreases in 5e, as no official races (to my knowledge) have decreases. - Guy (talk) 04:31, 19 April 2017 (UTC)

Ethereal

I think its effects should be clarified as follows, "As an action, you become intangible and transparent until the start of your next turn. While intangible, you are immune to nonmagical damage and have resistance to magical damage. You cannot attack, cast spells, or regain hit points while intangible. Your base walking speed increases by 10 feet until the start of your next turn. You cannot become intangible on consecutive turns." As it stands, I was unsure how I would have implemented some facets of the trait if I was GMing it, but this should make it clear without making it too exploitable. - Guy (talk) 04:31, 19 April 2017 (UTC)

Levitation

To clarify its effects, I think this should be rephrased as follows: "You float gently just above the ground. You ignore difficult terrain or hazards that require you to touch the ground, such as caltrops. You always take the minimum possible damage from falling: 1 bludgeoning damage for each d6 that would be rolled." - Guy (talk) 04:31, 19 April 2017 (UTC)

Response

Thanks for the suggestions! I've gone ahead and added them to the article.

Your biggest complaint (and for good reason!) was with Copycat. I've decided to reimagine it as a high risk, high reward tactic. Is this any better? Or is there still some glaring issue I've missed?

Hakr14 (talk) 16:37, 19 April 2017 (UTC)

Thinking on it a bit more, Copycat is starting to look less like a trait and more like a spell. Should I remove it from here entirely and give it its own article? Hakr14 (talk) 20:12, 19 April 2017 (UTC)