I've been thinking of replaying Wizardry 8 lately, and of making a few minor modifications to the game, but my current plan (which could change) includes a faerie spellcaster, and the problem is that the fairie race is just bad later in the game for this purpose.

The problem, in particular, is this:
* Fairies get an increase in natural SP regen. From this, I see the intent of this race being designed as a spellcaster (not to mention high INT and SPD stats).
* Fairies have limited equipment (though they at least get 2 AC naturally, which helps but doesn't alleviate the defense issue).
* SP regen items are rare, the most readily available being the Robe of Rejuvenation and the Infinity Helm. (I've already decided to remove the Infinity Helm's SP regen, as it feels ridiculous to have the most powerful SP regen item not be usable by pure casters.)
* Said SP regen items are not usable by fairies. Given that even +1 SP regen is enough to out-regen a faerie, we have a situation in which the faerie doesn't get their advantage over other races late game.
* Don't forget that there's also the Snakeskin Boots, which, again, faeries can't equip.
* I note that faeries can't work around their deficiencies, but yet other races can get the advantages that the faerie gets later (excluding the Cane of Corpus), and are even better at it.
* Also worth noting that Faerie specific equipment tends to be rare drops from enemies that don't appear that frequently.

So, how would you fix this issue? I only want to make simple changes that can be made with the Cosmic Forge editor without having to use a different .exe file to run the game, and I don't want to change any maps or add new NPCs or anything like that.

(I'm planning on making Rings of Power buyable, which might partially fix the issue, but it's still something other races can equip, so it's not a real solution.)

You can change that using the item editor in CosmicForge. There you can enable any item for any race, class, gender.

When you save the changes, it will create a new file /Data/databases/items.dbs. Nothing else.

Also you can just remove the file again, and everything is back to normal.

I know that I *can* change that, but the question is whether I *should*, as I don't want to ruin game balance.

Do you think it's safe to all faeries to wear all the robes? (I believe the only robe they can wear in vanilla are the Canezou Robe, which is a quest item, which is probably the reason they can wear it.)

they can wear the Brilliant Helm for + 20 intel and 6 armour then later on give them the Spiked Boots for another 5 armour

in general I like these two because you can always rely on getting them and they go to any race \ class combo

I would only say a party of faeies (as different to just a single one in a party) needs to scrap around for gear... in my mind the fact they have limited gear options is part of the point

The problem is, at what point is the equipment limitation too much?

Putting it from another perspective, higher SP regen is part of the point of the fairy race, and not allowing them t equip the most readily available SP regen item defeats that point in the late game.

My current thought is to let faeries equip robes, including the Robe of Rejuvenation, but not add anything else to the fairy's equipment list.

would you consider upgrading Zynaryx Plate instead... that is already a special case that you have to shop around for parts so making a mod for that?

Problem is that getting that particular item requires random drops from two specific enemies, and those enemies can be hard to find at higher levels.

Adding +1 SP regen to that armor would be an interesting option, but I'm thinking I'd still want the faerie to be able to use the Robe of Rejuvenation.

(Note that the Zynaryx Plate is an early-mid game item, while the Robe of Rejuvenation is a late-game item.)

a late game Ninja can wear the Canezou Robe that has + 1 stamina and I think about 5 armour... you could try adding to that?

You reminded me of something. This was argued on the Steam forums, and maybe there is a thread about it here, I'm just being lazy, I just got out of work.
Anyways, the Brilliant Helm is always available, it gives +20 to Intelligence, and I believe 6 AC, and it can be equipped by anyone, I think. Does the extra Intelligence actually help skills go up faster(same thing with my Bard's Prospero's Cloak, which gives the same +20 Int.)
I have noticed, as I have given all my casters maxed Speed, and unlocked Snakespeed, that my Alchemist is doing better than the others. He is equipped with an Ankh of Speed, generously provided by a Monastery slime, giving him 110 Speed. His Snakespeed skill is higher than the others, around 3 points or so, even though I have allocated the same skill points at level up. Maybe + to attribute items help skills rise faster. An extra 3 points seems better than random chance.

I would say, yes you should mod them and don't care too much about the original game balance. The item restrictions are generally a mess, many of them not making sense, not following any clear rules, even contradicting each other. That's bad game design, and was probably a result of the developers not being able to polish the game (as they were in a hurry to release it). So changing some items in a more reasonable ways can be seen as polishing the game. Also I agree with that, that Faeries should be able to wear robes.

Speaking of equipment restrictions, there are some other ones that come up that a typical player wouldn't expect:
* The Giant's Sword being Mook only. Such a powerful and heavy weapon, but not on a race that one would associate with such things. (Also, it's a polearm like weapon (2-handed, extended range, high damage + KO), stronger than any of the easily obtainable polearms, yet it's a sword?)

* The existence of items like the Ring of Beasts, plus that one dagger only usable by Lizardmen and Dracons.

* Gender restrictions, most notably female only equipment. (I might not bother to mod this, since I tend to play an all-female party, but might change the Cameo Locket if I get it; the Chieftain's Specter is not an item I'll get bvecause it requires killing a friendly RPG.) (At least this isn't as bad as Elminage Gothic, where way too much high-end equipment (including the strongest weapons for many classes) are male-only; that's a game I'll *definitely* mod if I decide to give it another go, as it's not nice to have a character denied a powrful weapon because of a choice you don't expect to actually matter.)

Speaking of lack of polish, some of the class balance in Wizardry 6 feels that way, with Valkyries leveling up faster than Priests, and Rangers being stuck with both slow leveling and terrible equipment choices, making them not viable on the front line.

Edit: And then the Japanese spin-off copied many of Wizardry 6's balance issues, including the two I mentioned, despite not copying the skill system or the new mechanics (it only copied some of the new races and classes, and made Lizardmen overpowered).

I'm not big on the whole "transgendered/rainbow" thing that our society has become (so shoot me!), but I believe all the same, that gender specific equipment is stupid. Why can't a male Bard/Gadgeteer equip Stamina replenishing items? Why can't a female equip the Chieftain's Scepter? I guess Valkyries are female-only, so I understand that.

Maybe I should remove the gender restriction on the Stud-Cuir Bra +2, perhaps?

Perhaps. That's kind of funny though, having a male character equip a bra. I guess it should be called a bro.
Maybe the +1 Stamina amulets, or whatever they're called, that you find in the lower temple area in Arnika should be gender neutral too, as well as the Locket of Reflection, an ingredient for Ferro. I always make my Bard and Gadgeteer female to take advantage of said items, though it only matters early in the game. It's really not a deal breaker.

for the same reason you need a dick to equip the Cameo Locket