+2 int +1 wis adds up to how much mana at 50? Jibber? I know you know.
It's not about the mana, it's about how much free pracs that will give you.
Half-elves 2.0
beads 500? I am thinking having 1000mana keeps this from slowing the monk down. While it may not have a huge affect on the game, I am quite sure it would be out of balance. I may not be able to explain how it would be an advantage but those who play and truly pwn with monks as they are, would show us in no short order how cruel it could be turned against us. I had forgotten the int 23 would be 1 practice for each, but some veterans operate from the one practice anyway. I was thinking of the drawn out battles where beads evaporate, or worse when your beat down and sacrifice the beads to save your skin, how helpful the extra mana is suddenly.
well I played many Monks, some terrible and some decent, I played both H-elf and human, and honestly I prefer the human for a few reasons. Like the magic bonus that they get, better overall stats, more hp, better regen, and lesser exp penalty. Yes h-elves learn a bit faster, (from what I can tell only a little faster) but with monks you HAVE to train. So they have 1 extra in dex and int but less con and str. Honestly a monk SHOULD have more than one set of beads as a back up, if they dont then it is a big mistake. And remember monks regain mana by meditating so that means H-elves will gain a bit more than the human.
Human: Max: Str: 20 Int: 20 Wis: 20 Dex: 20 Con: 20 (for monks dex is their prime stat)
H-elf: Max: Str: 19 Int: 21 Wis: 20 Dex: 22 Con: 18
I do like the idea of altering the stats 19, 23, 20, 22, 18 seems like a fair range. I also think opening them up to Cleric, Invoker, Battlemage would not only make sense but would be quite nice.
OR
instead of having half-elves...why not have a race called half-bloods? such as elf/drow/dwarf/avian mixed with human's...upon creation you could specify your other half...which would alter your stats, guild choices, and alignment...
this could make for some great descriptions...like a half-blood that was avian and human...they grew wings...but are unable to fly
I think it would make things very interesting...