It seems to me that the design for Aquatic "Races" in 5E is really unbalanced. By Aquatic I mean that they can breathe underwater.
Tritons - resistance to common damage type, 3 spells that are useful in and out of the water, Darvision, +1 to two really useful ability scores and +1 to STR, speak to fishies
Water Genasi - resistance to rare damage type, one useful cantrip, one so-so spell (unless it's a survival campaign), one spell ONLY useful if there is plenty of water around, +2 to an okay stat and +1 to the Perception stat
Sea Elves - resist common damage type, resist charm, Darkvision, Perception prof., trance instead of sleep, +2 to a great stat and +1 to a so-so stat, speak with fishies
Locathah - poor natural AC, suffocation out of water, proficiency in one okay skill and in Perception, +2 to a mostly useless stat and +1 to good stat, advantage on saves vs. several conditions but no damage resistance at all
Grung - no swim speed, but poison immunity, poisonous skin(!), slowish movement but great jump, +2 to a great stat and +1 to a so-so stat, proficiency in Perception, exhaustion without water immersion (during short rest?), cant' speak or read Common
IDK about you, but it seems to me that the Triton, Sea Elves, and Grung are overall WAY better than all the other options unless the campaign is all about the agua. Especially with the custom stat adjustments made RAW by Tasha's and MMotM, there is really no reason not to always choose Triton, Sea Elf, or Grung if you want power for your PC.
How would you balance the Locathah and the Water Genasi to make them more interesting choices for players?
Locathah get a load of condition resistances which are actually pretty useful. To counter their water dependency, you can use magic items. My favourite is a portable hole full of water. Instant swimming pool. You can also use a bag of holding or a decanter of endless water for a similar effect. I would say let your player start with one of these, and most of the time just assume they’re using it regularly.
For the water genasi, there’s not a lot you can do without changing the race a bit. They were alright in Elemental Evil, but in MotM, they got a big nerf. I would say switching their spells would work. In Elemental Evil they got shape water which is situationally amazing. Maybe give them cold resistance instead of acid? If they still feel underpowered, try adding a bonus spell benefit, like Earth Genasi casting blade ward as a bonus action a few times. Acid splash wouldn’t be terrible as a bonus action, especially on a mage build that has there’s free anyway.
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It seems to me that the design for Aquatic "Races" in 5E is really unbalanced. By Aquatic I mean that they can breathe underwater.
Tritons - resistance to common damage type, 3 spells that are useful in and out of the water, Darvision, +1 to two really useful ability scores and +1 to STR, speak to fishies
Water Genasi - resistance to rare damage type, one useful cantrip, one so-so spell (unless it's a survival campaign), one spell ONLY useful if there is plenty of water around, +2 to an okay stat and +1 to the Perception stat
Sea Elves - resist common damage type, resist charm, Darkvision, Perception prof., trance instead of sleep, +2 to a great stat and +1 to a so-so stat, speak with fishies
Locathah - poor natural AC, suffocation out of water, proficiency in one okay skill and in Perception, +2 to a mostly useless stat and +1 to good stat, advantage on saves vs. several conditions but no damage resistance at all
Grung - no swim speed, but poison immunity, poisonous skin(!), slowish movement but great jump, +2 to a great stat and +1 to a so-so stat, proficiency in Perception, exhaustion without water immersion (during short rest?), cant' speak or read Common
IDK about you, but it seems to me that the Triton, Sea Elves, and Grung are overall WAY better than all the other options unless the campaign is all about the agua. Especially with the custom stat adjustments made RAW by Tasha's and MMotM, there is really no reason not to always choose Triton, Sea Elf, or Grung if you want power for your PC.
How would you balance the Locathah and the Water Genasi to make them more interesting choices for players?
Locathah get a load of condition resistances which are actually pretty useful. To counter their water dependency, you can use magic items. My favourite is a portable hole full of water. Instant swimming pool. You can also use a bag of holding or a decanter of endless water for a similar effect. I would say let your player start with one of these, and most of the time just assume they’re using it regularly.
For the water genasi, there’s not a lot you can do without changing the race a bit. They were alright in Elemental Evil, but in MotM, they got a big nerf. I would say switching their spells would work. In Elemental Evil they got shape water which is situationally amazing. Maybe give them cold resistance instead of acid? If they still feel underpowered, try adding a bonus spell benefit, like Earth Genasi casting blade ward as a bonus action a few times. Acid splash wouldn’t be terrible as a bonus action, especially on a mage build that has there’s free anyway.