Help Me With My Class Questions!

[color=darkblue]Well personally I love my elven rogues. I know they aren't the most powerful or common but that is what I prefer to play.

If you are looking for power there I would think several different choices. Forceable power I would think would be a human/barbaian or dwarven/fighter. Magically I would think an elven/wizard. I however am not an expert on these classes, since I have never played one.

[/color]

umm... Venerable Gray Elf wizard?

Meh, it depends, once again. Best bet is to inform us what you are looking for (perhaps in more narrow terms?) and then we can help you from there.

elves make pretty shitty mages, actually. not much hp.

Elves make pretty shitty mages? Why didn't anyone ever tell me? -.-. Seriously, almost all of my mages are elves.. and I don't recall running into too many HP problems.

Oh... right. The -2 Con thing. Yeah... 1 HP/level doesn't really help you all that much beyond like sixth level. By the time you hit 12th level, things are doing 50-60 damage a round on average, so if you're in melee you're pretty screwed either way :P

And early levels you're just open. You don't have a high AC for decent periods of time, and your HPs are low, whether your Con is 12 or 14 (or even 10). In fact, I distinctly remember quite a good wizzie elf I made with a four Con. Campaign died at 15th level (when he had 15 HP! Whee!). Sure, he was open, but that's an excessive case, and even he got along fine so long as he buffed appropriately.

Statistically, elves make one of the weakest wizards. Dwarves and halflings, on the flip-side, make the strongest (with Dwarves barely edging out halflings... But not by much).

Why? Let's look, shall we:

[u][b]Elves racial traits:[/b][/u]
- +2 Dex, -2 Con
The +2 dex is nice for AC, Reflex Saves, and ranged attacks (Rays, anyone?), all things wizards aren't innately good at. However, the -2 to Con is the real wizard killer here. -1HP per level makes you the one-hit wonder, but the -1 to Fort saves (something you're never good at as a wizard anyways) can easily spell the end of your frail friend. Lastly, a skill that nearly all spellcasters should have maxed, Concentration, suffers from the lowered Con. It is easy, however, to argue that the Dex and Con wash each other out, and if such is the case, we'll say that the elf is 'Wizard Neutral' (WN) so far.

- Medium-Size (WN)

- Speed 30' (WN)

- Immunity to sleep, +2 to saves v. enchantment spells/effects
This bonus, while certainly nice, is somewhat wasted on our spell-slinging character. After all, Will saves are the wizard's best save. Therefore, this bonus isn't as useful to the wizard as it would be to, say, a ranger or a rogue. Since we're saying the stat mods are (WN), we can safely say this too is (WN).

- Low-Light Vision
This allows the character to see better in low-light. Since it still requires a light source, this gets a (WN). I'll explain in more detail below.

- +2 to Listen, Search, and Spot checks (+door bonus)
A bonus to Listen and Spot are always welcomed, as those two skills are what are used to determine surprise for a surprise round. The bonus to Search is just icing, and a thin layer at that. The fact that the wizard is going to have a high Int mod means the elf will have one of the higher Search mods in the group early on, but will almost certainly be passed by the 'skilled' character of the group in a short matter of levels, thereby making this bonus less than impressive (except when matched with the secret door thing, that [in my experience] is all but entirely forgotten). Since our wizardly friend isn't likely about to be doing any advance scouting, the bonus to Listen and Spot (as well as the low-light vision) really aren't all that useful, except, of course, for it's 10% greater chance to avoid being surprised. That is nice, however, so in the Christmas spirit, I'll grant that a 'Wizard Positive' (WP).

- Elven Weapon Proficiencies
Not much to say here, as the wizard definately DOES benefit from this ability. Likely one of the more beneficial parts of being an elven wizard, imo. Definately a (WP).

So, in review, at best elves get 2 (WP) and 0 (WN, or 'Wizard Negatives'). Not bad, but if we were reviewing Elven Rangers or Elven Rogues, this review of elves would be far more favorable.

Let's take a look at the flipside, Dwarves, in the same way. Forewarning, Dwarves make a KILLING.

[u][b]Dwarves racial traits:[/b][/u]
- +2 Con, -2 Cha
The +2 to Con is, obviously, the complete converse of the elves -2 to Con. It helps Wizards in all of the right places. It simply makes them more resiliant, which all wizards need. To offset the +2 Con, here we have a -2 Cha; this is hardly a tangable penalty, as wizards rarely rely on Cha and Cha-based skills to get them out of trouble. I think we'd all be in agreement if I gave this a (WP).

- Medium-Size (WN)

- Speed 20' (WN)
(I marked this as (WN) as wizards simply don't need a high maneuverability on the battlefield. This might be a penalty for rogues and certain fighter builds, but it's pretty neutral for wizards. Also, the medium and heavy armor bonus is useless to our wizardly friends.)

- Darkvision 60'
This ability, while not extraordinary, is still worth mention. This allows the wizard to see in the dark, which allows them to use scrolls in the dark. Not big enough to warrant a (WP), but still something noteworthy nonetheless. (WN)

- Stonecunning (WN)
(Useful for rogues and the like, not so much for wizards)

- Weapon Familiarity (WN)
(Nice for fighters and certain secondary warrior builds, but not for wizards)

- Stability (WN)
(Let's face it; if you're in melee, and the opponent is trying to trip/bullrush you, you're probably dead anyways. A +4 isn't gonna help you)

- +2 to saves vs Poison
This one is getting a (WP), and here's why. Poisons suck. They can easily spell the end of any adventuring run, especially if two or more of the party is affected by it, and someone forgot to prepare Restoration spells. Combined with the Dwarves +2 Con mod, this gives your character an impressive +3 bonus vs poison saves, something wizards aren't good at. (WP)

- +2 to saves vs Spells
Compared to the elves bonus against sleep and enchantment spells, this ability is king. This gets a (WP). 'Nuff said.

To save me time and typing, the remainder of the dwarves racial abilities are nice, but not particularily useful to wizards. It is nice to note, though, that they get a bonus to attack some of the most common low-level opponents in D&D, and a bonus to AC against some of the more hard-hitting opponents in D&D, making Dwarves a pretty solid racial choice in both the long and short term game.

Even with this partial review, the Dwarf is at 3 (WP).

Now, I'll be the first to admit that some things I've marked (WP) are more powerful than others... But I find it hard to argue that the elves (WP) are even remotely as good as the dwarves. I hope you can see that with this simple comparison that dwarven wizards pwn elven ones hands down.

Final note: I'm not saying everyone should play a dwarven wizard. I'm just saying they're statistically the most powerful (and with good reason; dwarves are statistically the most powerful race). I personally have never played a dwarven wizard. Hell, I don't think I've ever played a dwarf. (I have, however, played a halfling wizard, and that alone makes me a dirty man.) Really, you should play what you want, because if you don't like the character, it doesn't really matter how powerful it is.

Thank you, and good night.