Munchkin Race

[takasi]

One of the players in our group loves psionics but almost everyone else in the group dislikes the flavor (and/or the mechanics). To make things worse, this player is probably the biggest "powergamer" of the group and despite being in his mid-forties he is regularly teased for being a "munchkin". Last night we talked about a special homebrew race just for this player:

Munchkin

• +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -2 Strength, -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma
• Small: As a small creature, a munchkin gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but she uses smaller weapons than humans use and her lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.
• Munchkin base land speed is 20 feet.
• Naturally Psionic: Munchkins gain 1 extra power point per character level, regardless of whether they choose a psionic class
• 1 extra feat at 1st level
• Favored Class: Psion

These munchkins would be horribly evil of course. They compare to the lolly pop making munchkins of Oz as the craptacular sequel compares to the original. Also, most of them resemble Dungeon Master from the D&D cartoon.

Is this an LA +0 race? According to Savage Species, being small is considered a -1 LA, but I don't think a psion would really care about that at all. In fact the boost to AC and attack would be a benefit. The ability scores balance each other. The extra skill and racial bonuses from skills are replaced with the Kalashtar "naturally psionic" ability. And of course the most munchkiny of all racial features: an extra feat at 1st level.

 

[Spatzimaus]

Ignore Savage Species. The system in there just stinks. Besides, I thought it said LA-1 for each size BELOW Small; Small and Medium are comparable in power, no penalty needed. (It's the loss of reach and movement speed that kills a Tiny race.) I always use Soldarin's system to ballpark LA's, but even that fails in this case.

It's on the strong side for LA+0, for a few reasons. Basically, you've given a perfect example of why purely numerical class balance systems don't always work; while the individual abilities are just fine for an LA+0 race, the sum total isn't. Here's why.
> It adds to a spellcasting stat, which is something LA+0 races normally steer clear of, simply because of the effect you're aiming for: this would become THE race for Psions.
> Even though you've got a net "loss" in stats, you're using three dump stats to raise two of the most important stats, so it's not really equal. If one of the negatives was CON, that'd be a little different, but a Psion gives up nothing significant here (even the loss in Will from WIS is made up for by the class' Good will save). So no, the stats aren't "balanced".
> 1 power point per level is a LOT (that's what you'd get from raising your INT by another 4!) There's a reason the official "Naturally Psionic" ability always gives a flat 2 points.
> A Feat they can select is stronger than being given a specific Feat, or even a Feat from a limited list.
> All you're really giving up are the "flavor" abilities nearly every other race gets. IMO, you should always have a few of these, because if every race boils down to stats and feats then there's nothing really unique about it. But more importantly, you're "trading" things that might only be useful in limited situations for something universally useful (the free Feat). It's just far, far more valuable.

Personally, I'd never allow it. If you wanted to up it to an LA+1 race, that'd be different; you'd only need a few tweaks to be acceptable there. But as is, no way.

Now, I've played Psions and Psychic Warriors, and I'm a card-carrying Friar in the Church of Munchkin (for a BattleMech rule abuse I found long ago, involving a couple dozen Clan ER LLs). So don't think I'm one of those people who'd shoot down everything.

 

[comrade raoul]

It's a perfect race for the name. Strong enough to push the boundaries of LA +0, not obviously strong enough to justify an increase. I'd allow it only as a joke, but with a mature group of players it could be lots of fun.

Savage Species is just wrong about being small. It's like an ability adjustment: in the abstract the penalties balance out the benefits, but players can emphasize the impact of the benefits and minimize the impact of the penalties to make the tradeoffs a net advantage for carefully designed characters.

 

[Nonlethal Force]

> 1 power point per level is a LOT (that's what you'd get from raising your INT by another 4!) There's a reason the official "Naturally Psionic" ability always gives a flat 2 points.

1 point per level is a ton! <We are in a greement>

However, the flat "Naturally Psionic" isn't always 2 (at least in 3.5).

Xeph = 1
Thri-Keen = 1
Dromite = 1
Maenad = 2
Half-Giants = 2
Githzerai = 2
Elan = 2
Githyanki = 3
Duergar = 3


Note that these are bonus points, not bonus points per level as the op has in the race.

 

[Graf]

Int & Dex bonus, extra psionic powers, human bonus feat.
LA +1.
Unquestionably.

 

[jaker2003]

I'd suggest giving them Psionic Body or Psionic Talent for free. It fits the powergamer motif.