D&D 5E Ability Scores: Bonuses and Penalties! Optional in DMG?

[Knightfall]

Why do you need to wait and see if the DMG does or doesn't provide an optional rule for racial modifiers? Just house rule it, especially if your players are of the same mind. If you're struggling with what the modifiers should be, use past editions to see what they did to help you make your own decisions.

Well, I'm not likely to run a game before I have all the books. I want to see all my options. Plus, I'd have to build a new gaming group or run a game online.

And, yes, I could always houserule in racial ability penalties; however, I'd like WotC to acknowledge the game's origins even if such penalties are a modular option.

I houseruled it a bit different... Instead of actual penalties, I changed the cap. For example, dwarves can go at 20 cap to most attributes, EXCEPT Dexterity, which have cap on 15. Keeping cap on 15 works well with multiclass rules (at least how they were on playtests and assuming the requisites did not change), do not impeding you to multiclass on other classes. So, even at cap, a dwarf fighter/rogue is possible. It just never will be able (short of magical items) to go higher than Dex 15. Same for elves and Con, halflings and gnomes and Str, and so on... Humans, of course, are not capped under these rules.

EDIT: Humans still capped at 20, but for all abilities, I mean.

The reduction of the ability score cap for different races is a good idea. Very old school. However, I'd likely tinker with increasing the base cap to somewhere around 22 to 25.

Hmm, I wonder if different campaign settings will have different ability score caps, e.g. Dark Sun = 25.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Tell ya what- you can have all my point buy, and I'll take all your gnomes and halflings.

Amusingly, I personally hate point-buy. I mean, I don't mind the players doing it if they want to, but I don't like using it! I actually like rolling.

You can have my Halflings and Gnomes for free though! They're taking up a lot of room in the shed! And I keep finding one of them with my keys. I think he might be a Kender...

 

[the Jester]

Amusingly, I personally hate point-buy. I mean, I don't mind the players doing it if they want to, but I don't like using it! I actually like rolling.

You can have my Halflings and Gnomes for free though! They're taking up a lot of room in the shed! And I keep finding one of them with my keys. I think he might be a Kender...

Hey, man, don't you try to foist any kender off on me!!

 

[Grazzt]

Amusingly, I personally hate point-buy. I mean, I don't mind the players doing it if they want to, but I don't like using it! I actually like rolling.

So do we. Matter of fact, we rolled some 1st level PCs last night using 3d6, reroll 1's. Here's the results (before racial modifiers).

14, 11, 8, 14, 12, 12

8, 12, 12, 13, 12, 9

13, 8, 10, 13, 11, 13

11, 13, 13, 18, 15, 13

12, 13, 12, 14, 10, 14