The Human Target
Adventurer
Good god, no.
D&D 5E Do you miss attribute minimums/maximums?
Sacrosanct
Legend
Skill checks first appeared in the very first issues of Dragon in the 70s (can't recall which issue off the top of my head, but I know it was one of the first). I played AD&D from 1981 to 2012, and everyone I played with used skill checks, which was a simple "roll under your ability score." IME, it was a very common rule. Also, they were used A LOT. For pretty much any improvised action, from leaping off tables, to tripping, to trying to convince others of something, to recalling info----basically anything that is considered a skill check now.
So yeah, every point mattered in AD&D, and had an impact, regardless if you had a + bonus or not.
SwivSnapshot
First Post
I thought I would miss them when I started playing 5e, but I was wrong- PC's are the top 1% of the top 1% and are meant to be outside the norm. If that means my halfling ranger can out arm wrestle a goliath barbarian, so be it.
The Crimson Binome
Hero
As it states in the DMG, though, NPCs use the same method as PCs for generating stats. If you wanted a system where halfling PCs could be exceptionally strong and halfling NPCs were as weak as we'd expect, then a better model would be to start them with a penalty (or even just a low maximum value) and permit them to raise that with levels.
SwivSnapshot
First Post
The DMG guidelines are moot. No one designs each individual NPC who appears in a campaign. The vast majority of NPC's likely haven't been statted at all and most of the remaining are taken from the Monster Manual or Volo's as needed.
The Crimson Binome
Hero
No one cares about any particular pre-generated NPC. Those are singular data points which provide very little information regarding the underlying principle by which they were generated.
Since it is a true fact that NPCs in the world conform to the same generation model as PCs, it remains true regardless of which particular samples you take. The worst case scenario is that you think the NPCs in the book are all there is in the world, because that will lead you to incorrect conclusions about the actual distribution.
mflayermonk
First Post
Do I miss the time? I could have bought a house for $40,000. So, yes, I miss that time.
I definitely want class minimums back. The idea of playing an 8 Int Wizard is just idiotic AFAIC.
Li Shenron
Legend
Gender-based min/max -> no
Race-based min/max -> I wouldn't mind them, I would for example be fine if the caps were affected by racial bonuses, so that a race with +2 strength and +1 dexterity would actually have max Str 22 and max Dex 21; and by the way note that they already do automatically apply to minimums... if you can't roll less than 3, then a race with +2 Strength can't have less than Str 5!
Race-based min/max -> I wouldn't mind them, I would for example be fine if the caps were affected by racial bonuses, so that a race with +2 strength and +1 dexterity would actually have max Str 22 and max Dex 21; and by the way note that they already do automatically apply to minimums... if you can't roll less than 3, then a race with +2 Strength can't have less than Str 5!
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