Personally, I think that they went too far with magic users in 3.x and I hear 4.0 isn't any better. The other classes suffer and you suddenly see parties that are 75% spell caster. Our own party has more spell casters or characters with magical abilities than non-spell casters on a ratio of 2 or 3 to 1. I admit that not having to play wizard protector all of the time helps, but when wizards can dish out 3 or 4 tiimes the damage than a fighter, rogue or ranger at the same level, the imbalance seems pretty clear. One of the first games I played in, a mage tossed a 10D10 fireball at 6th level while the two fighters in the party was maxed out at less than 2D10 with feat and strength bonuses... with one target at a time as opposed to a dozen.<br/><br/>Anyway, I would note, in regards to the dire bats, that Wren has not approached, or even looked at the bats. She's actively moving away from them and the last thing she's going to do is be seen with them. This is mainly because they are monsters and even though summoned and controled, the blow back is going to hurt... alot. They are going to cause a panic and a lot more trouble than it's worth and she doesn't want to be pained with the same bloody brush when the towns people mob them. She's also very much against 3 going up against a second vampire and an unknown number of creatures in someone's home territory... so she's gong for the rest of the party. If they'll come along after being left behind.<br/><br/>Regarding "evil" races and the reaction of NPC's is, I feel, spot on. On the occasions that I've run, I've made it a point to tell players that if ou play a race with a bad, or unpopular reputation, you're going to get the bad with the bonuses. A drow is going to be looked upon with distrust at the very least, outright hostility at worst and the character is going to have a really hard time. I know a lot of players and DM's tend to cover over this side of things, but I'm a firm believer in it adds to the story and if you don't want the negative with the advantages, don't play the races. If you walk up to a city gate with horns and hooved feet, you're going to get a bad time by the guards and an even harder time finding a place to sleep. No one wants to be seen associating with a demon, or demon spawn. No one wants to be painted as being connected to a drow or even worse, a half-demon drow. Walking down a street of people who don't know you should get looks and people making space around you... or even rotten food thrown at you if there's been troubles of late. I don't make it impossible, but I make you work for the right to play the character with all the neat perks and not so nice reputation. The character shouldn't have an easy time until/unless he/she's earned a reputation to midigate the image. Dritz is an excellent example and it does add to the story, the RP and the reason why you're playing the character that you are.