Races aren't as lackluster or questionable, for the most part, as some of the classes can be. That said, there are some oddities among them as leftovers simply because pieces aren't used/nobody thought to change them/nobody thought they NEEDED a change.

Racial Bonuses: This is just something that's irksome to me, personally. -4 to an ability score needs to die. There have to be better ways to balance a race without starting off your character as some sort of cripple. The races in question are Goblin, Kobold, Svirfneblin and Duergar and...is it just me, or is -4 to Charisma some sort of byword here? It seems to be saying 'we want this race to have some sort of major penalty to excuse the other features, but also don't want to subtract anything important'. Charisma is a VERY well-known dump-stat, which means if a straight -2 isn't enough to dissuade you, -4 certainly won't, but if -2 HURTS, then -4 is almost insurmountable.

I do, however, want to focus on goblin and kobold, whose stat penalties are, in my opinion, bordering on inexcusable. The justification I've been given before is that, if you're going to play a 'monster' race, then you deserve to be penalized mechanically as well as socially for stepping outside the 'bounds of the norm'. A cursory look at our player base highlights that as perilously close to comedy, as I very much call into question logic that states you should be penalized for playing a goblin or kobold, which are very common (if, granted, not exactly friendly), but mechanically REWARDED for playing a part-dragon winged abomination. One of those is more likely to be run out of town by superstitious townsfolk, and frankly it's not the lonesome 3-foot-tall vermin.

I'm not saying kobold and goblin characters shouldn't be ostracized to some degree, but I DO maintain that they have a place on the server, and it serves no one to hit them with half of the largest ability score penalties just for taking that place. Moreover, if you REALLY don't want just anyone playing a kobold or a goblin...make them a platinum coin race. Isn't the separation of 'normal' races and 'extraordinary' or 'unusual' ones exactly what that feature was designed for?

For the record, the very strange mix of features svirfneblin get to begin with also irks me, but the majority of those are straight out of the books. Granted, so are the penalties I'm arguing for reducing (NOT removing), but...what exactly are svirfneblin supposed to be in the absence of an NPC class? A druid/shadowdancer? They get a net -4 to their ability scores in addition to a potpourri of defensive passive attributes, but personally I think they'd be better served with just the basic gnome ability scores and those. And then don't touch the ECL. I assume it's there primarily because of those...somewhat obscene aforementioned passives, and not because they have a +2 to Wisdom.

ECL's: Hold your groans, audience. I'm not going to trod all over the hot-button-issue of outright removing ECLs from races. I just think they need to be reconsidered a bit in light of changes already made. ECLs on Orogs, Genasi, and Svirfneblin were all altered already, and a long time ago, in fact, but those changes left a few holes. I'm not going to delve into the choice of making Genasi +0, either, mostly because I think it's neater than it is shocking.

No, let's talk about Ogrillions.

Ogrillions gain +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence and -2 Charisma. They also get +2 Natural AC.

Earth Genasi get +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 Wisdom and -2 Charisma. They also get Stoneskin at their level once per day.

Not so different, really. Except that the Ogrillion subrace HAS A +1 ECL. It's not for the AC bonus - it's negated the instant you set foot into mid-levels and find a decent amulet, and stoneskin's DR is infinitely superior. Is it...because they have a penalty to intelligence instead of wisdom?

No, I find it more likely that this is just a simple oversight. Understandable, since very, very, very few people play half-orcs, let alone their subraces. But we'll get to that.

Another thing I want to point out are the other two planetouched races, Tieflings and Aasimar. I can see why they still have an ECL - they have a net +2 and a net +4 to ability scores, in comparison to the genasi net +0. I'm not suggesting this be changed, I'm merely bringing up the contrast given changes already made to genasi.

Half-Elves: I've said it before and I'll say it again. Please. PLEASE make this race DO something. If you change NOTHING ELSE about the entire race system from here until eternity, I beg of you, give half-elves some love. Every other race and every other subrace (except, you guessed it, their own, half-drow) either has ability score bonuses or features that are just as good, if not better, like humans. This race has such rich potential, but on a server with as much mechanical consideration as our own, their lack of distinctive, competitive features brings them down to the ground and then stomps on them for chuckles. Since I've made this argument before, I'll state my specific change again: -2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma.

We don't have any non-ECL base races with a Charisma bonus, but we have a whopping 12 races (including two base ones!) with Charisma penalties. This is such a horribly neglected stat that it's no wonder almost all of our paladins and sorcerers belong to one of three races, two of which have ECLs. Rosary, as in all things, is an exception.

"But wait!" the savvy among you are saying, "we have Durpari! THEY have a +2 bonus to Charisma, and no ECL!" Well spotted!

That makes it even more ridiculous to deny half-elves the same.

Durpari keep their base human bonuses, get ANOTHER bonus feat, have a net-0 ability score range, no ECL, and +2 Charisma. Hell, +2 CHA/-2 WIS is mechanically weaker than that because Durpari give -1 to 2 instead of -2 to 1. Worried about too many half-elven bards and sorcerers? Tough beans - half-elves are explicitly supposed to be exemplary BOTH of those things, because of their creative talents in the former case and their elven ancestral magic in the latter.

Honestly, I can't help but feel half-elves only haven't been changed yet because no one is pushing for them to change. They're just forgotten. Durpari stand as a magnificent example AGAINST arguments of why they shouldn't get this bonus, and the fact that all other standard races get ability score bonuses or better is a magnificent example FOR why they should. We have 7 base races, not 6, people - I think it's high time we made that seventh feel loved.

Half-Orcs: Well. ALMOST 7.

Here's the thing about half-orcs. They're not just at the level half-elves are at, they're strictly mechanically weaker than their base race counterparts. Don't give me any of the old lines about how their +2 STR makes up for a -2 to mental stats - Earth Genasi get strictly better bonuses, AND stoneskin, for no ECL now. It's ridiculous that they still have a net -2 to ability scores. I don't even believe it's up for debate, and I don't say that lightly. So I'll be brief with this one.

Get rid of Ogrillion. Give half-orcs a +2 to Constitution. Call it a day. They'd still be slightly inferior to genasi, but that's countered by slightly different mental penalties and a much more acceptable flavor. If you play an earth genasi with 6 in two mental stats, you're going to be called cheesy. If you do the same with a half-orc, it's just expected.

There IS an option two, and I like it much better. Remove the half-orc's -2 penalty to Charisma. This would put them on a perfectly level playing field with all other base races and make them unique in the process. Once again - we HAVE TWELVE races/subraces with a Charisma penalty. It's really, really old, people. But intelligence penalties? Strictly the domain of half-orcs, ogrillions, and (with a dose of hilarious irony) half of the elven subraces. Giving half-orcs a +0 Charisma makes more sense than it first appears, too: they may be ugly, but Charisma also accounts for presence and intimidation. However unseemly they appear, when a 7-foot hunk of scowling meat walks into a room and shouts at you, you pay attention. It doesn't call for a BONUS to Charisma, but a -2 Intelligence alone suits them better and makes them stand out more among the other races.

Kobolds: It bears mentioning again, purely because I am a kobold fanatic and I know we are host to several other kobold fanatics. Lower the Strength penalty to -2. Really. You're not going to see a sudden rampant influx of kobold Barbarian/Weapon Masters (although sweet Sune, that sounds amazing), but a -4 penalty to ANYTHING is so mechanically vindictive that it gives the sense you're not SUPPOSED to play it. If that's the case, once more, Platinum Coin them. I don't think we should, though.