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Disclaimer: I know that per the handbook, gray orcs have a +1 level adjustment. However, I am challenging that in the scope of FK, this makes the race significantly harder and less desirable to play than it should be.

I'm going to do this by analyzing the gray orc race and compare it with other races, both with level adjustments and without.

Gray Orc
Stats: +2 STR, +2 WIS, -2 INT, - 2 CHA (Net gain = 0)
Darkvision (almost every race but humans get this)
Move speed: 40 ft (very high, but no effect in FK)
Scent, a tracking skill (Not coded)
Weapon proficiencies: Longaxes, bows
Light blindness (requires feat to overcome this, pretty much mandatory for all orcs)
Level adjustment: +1

Shield Dwarf
Stats: +2 CON, -2 CHA (net gain = 0)
Darkvision
Move speed: 20 ft (no effect in FK)
+2 to search, lore (not coded)
+2 to resist poison, resist magic (coded)
+1 attack vs. goblinkin, +4 AC vs giants/ogres (not sure if coded)
Weapons: Dwarven waraxes (not coded)
Level adjustment: 0

Moon Elf
Stats: +2 DEX, -2 CON (Net gain = 0)
Darkvision
Move speed: 30 ft
Immunity to sleep (not sure if coded)
+2 vs. enchantments (not sure if coded)
+2 to spot, listen, search
Weapons: double-edged blades, single-edged blades, bows
Level adjustment: 0

Aasimar
Stats: +2 WIS, +2 CHA (Net gain = 4)
Darkvision
Move speed: 30 ft
+2 to spot, listen
Daylight (special racial ability, once per day)
+5 resist to electricity, cold, acid
Level adjustment: +1

Drow
Stats: +2 INT, +2 CHA (Net gain = 4)
Darkvision
Move speed: 30 ft
Spell resistance = 11 + class level (not sure how coded in FK)
+2 will save
Abilities: dancing lights, faerie fire, darkness (each once per day)
Weapons: crossbows, single-edged blades, thrusting blades
Light blindness (similar to orcs)
Level adjustment: +2


I can go on. But this all follows a theme: if you have a net gain in stats, you get a level adjustment; additional abilities might make it +2 level adjustment. Gray orcs not only have no net stat gain, but any benefit they have aside from darkvision is not able to be coded effectively (move speed is meaningless in FK's scope and scent could only be coded like track). Furthermore, they have a penalty in light blindness, which ends up being a mandatory feat!

In conclusion, my argument is that FK should steer away from the handbook for gray orcs and remove their level adjustment.

Re: Athon:

Not that I agree with it, but I will say that (I believe it is in the DM's Handbook listing when designing custom races) not all statistics are created equal.

Strength is one of the most highly coveted statistics in D&D, regardless of class. Bonuses to Strength outclass other stats by a fair amount (look at Half Orc stats for further proof to this). As to Darkvision, not all races get it (also: distance matters; I don't remember the distance on Grey Orcs). For instance, Dwarves get it, but it's a very limited distance. Movement is also a really important thing. It may not be represented properly in FK, but in D&D it can be brutal.

Personally, I think it's ridiculous that races such as Tieflings and Aasimar only get a +1 level adjustment (they can still make it to level 20, but their exp gain is harder), yet many other similar races get much higher L.A.

*edited to include: don't Shield Dwarves only have 20 movement, regardless of wearing full plate or not? Off to work, so can't check.

Selveem wrote:Strength is one of the most highly coveted statistics in D&D, regardless of class. Bonuses to Strength outclass other stats by a fair amount (look at Half Orc stats for further proof to this). As to Darkvision, not all races get it (also: distance matters; I don't remember the distance on Grey Orcs). For instance, Dwarves get it, but it's a very limited distance. Movement is also a really important thing. It may not be represented properly in FK, but in D&D it can be brutal.

Personally, I think it's ridiculous that races such as Tieflings and Aasimar only get a +1 level adjustment (they can still make it to level 20, but their exp gain is harder), yet many other similar races get much higher L.A.

*edited to include: don't Shield Dwarves only have 20 movement, regardless of wearing full plate or not? Off to work, so can't check.

You're right; I corrected Shield Dwarves' move speed. I was using it as an example to prove that they suffer no penalty from this in FK.

I agree that strength is highly coveted. But +2 STR means you can start only start out at 18 in the newbie temple - any other race/class can have 18 STR by level 5 if they spend their first two points in STR (and start at 16). This is why mountain orcs can be good: they have 2 less stats than other races, but they have +4 STR and can start with 20 STR. That's huge, especially since it's exceedingly difficult to find a trainer to teach past 18. So in that regard, gray orcs really don't get much benefit from their +2 STR bonus.

As for darkvision/move speed, my point was that for in the scope of FK, their distance really doesn't matter much. I know there's technicalities like darkvision vs. low light vision, but it's all pretty much coded the same. There is no differentiation between the classes in these regards in FK.

Athon wrote:I agree that strength is highly coveted. But +2 STR means you can start only start out at 18 in the newbie temple - any other race/class can have 18 STR by level 5 if they spend their first two points in STR (and start at 16). This is why mountain orcs can be good: they have 2 less stats than other races, but they have +4 STR and can start with 20 STR. That's huge, especially since it's exceedingly difficult to find a trainer to teach past 18. So in that regard, gray orcs really don't get much benefit from their +2 STR bonus.

I agree; I really do feel this should be changed as it does severely diminish the bonus for these level-adjusted races (and, I believe all the Centaur, Bugbear, and Wemic are already max level so they would be exempted from this; I feel they're already strong enough.

Athon wrote:As for darkvision/move speed, my point was that for in the scope of FK, their distance really doesn't matter much. I know there's technicalities like darkvision vs. low light vision, but it's all pretty much coded the same. There is no differentiation between the classes in these regards in FK.

I don't know how Dark/Lowlight Vision is coded in-game, but I would imagine it should work by number of rooms. Sure, it may get a bit unrealistic in differences between overmap, confined areas, and large fields, but it'd be a start. Dwarves get Darkvision 20, I believe (I'd have to look it up). So, they can see a max of two rooms away, where a Drow might see far more? I don't know; just thinking aloud.

I don't really know a feasible way to incorporate speed. I really don't wish to see more artificial lag added to FK as I find it annoying, but I'm very open to suggestions on other ways to improve it.

I very much like Gray Orcs and feel they deserve their +1 level adjustment in canon however without Scent and Long Gait the ECL is hardly warranted. Would it be possible to grant them detect hidden + track(matching the affects of Scent) and Sprint(for the affects of Long Gait)? Failing that, I'm not sure the level adjustment is appropriate. They're not much different than a common race without those.