Shattered Kingdoms

Superior str and con, inferior wis and cha, perfect mage race.

I'm afraid the Fist has changed, so size and claws aren't so much of an advantage. This was one of the nerfs griffons received in due season. The limits to poison immunity, stopping them from destroying cabal guardians, are another example.

Griffons make half-decent warlocks, with high INT, CON, and HP trains. Having an elemental to hide behind, and resist elements, also helps with their fragility. There's nothing else I can honestly recommend them for.

Of course, if you don't care much about PK, you can play them anyway. Before their big update, griffons were pathetic even against NPCs. That's no longer true. They're a fine RP race. Only ... part of the fun of playing a monstrous race is throwing one's weight around a bit. Griffons ought to be a little more of a threat than they are, even if they remain easy to kill.

Bard class would be a good choice for griffons.

Wait, wait, wait; I thought you were just talking about griffons getting a practice vest/buckler equivalent at creation. What does that argument have to do with the diminishing returns of 'toughness' at levels far higher than those through which the average humanoid character sticks to wearing their practice armor anyhow?

It depends on what you choose to make and your starting stats. You could make a human or centaur that does fine with just a starting weapon while others really depend on their armor even if all they have is that practice vest. Yes, toughness is great at low levels, that's all you get though so what else could I compliment? The snazzy backpack that gets torn up right away because it's the only thing for NPCs to tear up? The stats are great for fighters even though they can't tank later because they have no armor and while you can pull off a caster you better plan on dumping a lot of trains into mana on top of art or you won't be able to keep up with the other races. Not by a long shot.

I was just trying to throw something positive out there. Apparently that's a no-no.