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Vebrandsson wrote:

Yes gnolls were in a ddi article some time back towards the beginning (during the free trail period if I'm not mistaken). And many people like crimson think that they were terribly done, which I can agree with to some extent.

Sure, if by "think" you mean "know", "realize", "notice", or "understand". :P

ShadowGuard wrote:

I have a question. How would the currently published and DDI races stack up against the rules of this guide or just balance in general? I am guessing that Gnolls and Minotaurs are on the low end, but which race is a good standard for balance?

Hmm, well let's see... In order of how well they're designed from best to worst, here's my analysis...

Deva, Drow, Goliath, Human, Shifter, and Warforged are perfect!
Eladrin and Elf are really high up there too.
And If it weren't for Small size being terribly handled, Halfling would perfect as well. I would say the same of Gnome, but the fact that Master Trickster is completely useless to Wizards rubs me the wrong way.

I have a personal issue with Dwarves and the fact that Encumbered Speed really is practically useless to half of the classes out there, but I don't think I can really legitimately complain about anything other than the tradition here, so I usually let this slide when I discuss poor racial design in the existing races. It's the same reason I generally let racial weapon proficiencies slide too (which are why Eladrin and Elf are up there but not quite perfect). Therefore, letting Encumbered Speed slide, Dwarf is up there with Eladrin and Elf.
I definitely wouldn't let a thing like Encumbered Speed slide for any homebrew races, though.

I dislike that Tieflings are only given a single option for the ability score they use to deal extra damage with their racial power, because I feel like it's just too limiting, so I let players pick between CON, INT, and CHA for that one.
Dragonborn are great except for requiring a CON investment to make Draconic Heritage useful. I let my players take a minimum +1 bonus on that so they still get a benefit even if it's illogical for their build or their character to invest in CON.
I put Tiefling above Dragonborn though because at least Tiefling will always get that +1 bonus to hit from their racial power even if they have no CHA modifier to add damage with.

I just dislike that the Changeling and most Genasi get defense bonuses that are completely unnecessary. My problem with this really is just that I feel like somebody took the easy way out by giving them a boring, unoriginal feature instead of something that would be interesting and unique. Same thing with the upcoming PHB3 Wilden, come to think of it...

On the flip side, Kalashtar are completely missing their racial defense bonus for being a WIS/CHA race, so I'll put them here.

(EDIT: Just to be clear, this is where I'm going to set the line for acceptably well done to unacceptably poorly done.)

I don't think Half-Elf's Dilettante was very well thought out because of how it doesn't allow you to use implements associated with the class you got the power from. To compensate, I allow players of mine who select the race a +2 enhancement bonus per tier to their Dilettante power. This won't stack with weapon or implement enhancements, of course, but if it requires something totally outside what you're class it allowed, you're not totally screwed.

Getting back on the topic of the Genasi, though, I have a particular bone to pick with the Storm ones because their racial power is completely useless unless you specifically select certain class powers or weapons. Really, a level 1 Genasi Tactical Warlord should be a great option, but being completely unable to use your racial power is a total downer.

I absolutely despise the Half-Orc's Swift Charge. Who the heck decided it would be a good idea to give these guys a feature useful for only about a third of the classes out there and almost completely useless to the rest? This was a terrible decision. I let my players have it if they want, but I also give them the option of getting one of their racial feats for free instead: Anger Unleashed, Savage Assault, or Thirst for Battle.
And of course the Gnoll and Minotaur have this same problem just a lot worse, so they're the bottom of the barrel, with Gnoll being slightly more acceptable than Minotaur because it at least has one or two things it can do without being required to be a member of a melee weapon class.

(EDIT: Though really if we do decide to take into account how badly handled Small size was, then I'm actually going to have to put Halfling and Gnome at the bottom for getting racial penalties. I remove the Small size weapon restrictions and limitations from my games, which is why I have them rated up there, but really, playing RAW, at least a Half-Orc, Gnoll, or Minotaur who decides to play against type isn't specifically penalized for it.)

I don't actually know where to put Revenant because I just don't understand them.

PS: How do you do that card effect for racial powers Fireclave?

Exactly like this:

[noparse]name goes here
Text goes here[/noparse]

The result is:

name goes here
Text goes here