D&D 5E Do you miss attribute minimums/maximums?

[Yaarel]

For example, in 1st century Rome, Plinius the Elder lists ‘adamas’ of India as a kind of gem, and describes it as a transparent hexagonal crystal with (turbinated) cone-like ends. In other words, corundum.

 

[Coroc]

For example, this is how I would write up the Half-Orc.

Half-Orc ability score modification: When you create a Half Orc character, you must assign a score of 15 or higher to Strength. Additionally, this Strength score improves by +2. You must assign a score of at least 13 to Constitution, and this Constitution score improves by +1.

(In other words, members of the Half-Orc race will tend to exhibit a Strength of 17 to 20.)



Halfling ability score modification: When you create a Halfling character, you must assign a score of 9 or lower to Strength and a score of 13 or lower to Constitution. You must assign a score of 13 or higher to Dexterity, and this Dexterity score improves by +2.

(In other words, Halflings tend to exhibit Dexterity between 15 to 20.)

Nah Yarel I respectfully disagree. While halflings got the strength of children they got the constitution of an ox.
For me a proper designed Halfling has the scores in that order: Dex Con (Int /Cha) ´(Wis/Str). The last two pairs may be interchange so maybe Cha Int Str Wis for Sam but Int Cha Wis Str for Frodo

 

[Coroc]

You're right, I should have put a smiley face or two in there, and I was using my over-dramatic 'voice' because sometimes I like to hear myself write. I'm saying it as one grog to another, really. I went back and softened it a bit.

But, beyond my unfortunate tone, I think my point stands...The idea of balance over the length of a campaign is really hard to pull off, and having it be built in to certain races or classes is passé.

Not that modern gamers don't like having different power levels or imbalances, that would be incredibly presumptuous (and wrong) to say; the difference is the modern taste for narrative balance. In LOTR, the Hobbits only got 'balance' in their story influence when the parties split up, so they could make do in their own clever, make-do ways and stop being saved by the powerful Humans all the time. With D&D, that's hard when it's a drag to split the party.

(In fact, that was true of my Hobbit character as well - the only time I really got to 'shine' was when I was able to go off on my own, and do things that wouldn't have worked with other characters in the mix. I ended up using mischievous tactics to delay reinforcements, and not a single HP of damage, but that meant our fighters took down a string of giants one at a time instead of all at once.)

(I think the rise of story games is due to that; you can have Gandalf and Pippin in the same party, but they get equal time in the story because the mechanics force it. Fiasco is a great example; you can play a character that literally says 'I suck and everything I ever do go wrong' and make it happen, but instead of being sidelined immediately due to dice, you can play it out and the 'wrong' things have impact. Not so with a 1st level Rogue alongside Gandalf.)

Old D&D had a lot of meaning and interest due to the asymmetry, but the problem was it was too asymmetrical. Certain character types just sucked to use because the game nerfed them too much. I'd rather the mechanics support a wider variety of characters, and the flatter ability scores do that.

That said, a few of my players have re-created that old school feel quite often with their choices. Like, at my table, 'I want to be an Illusionist, and I have an 8 ability score I have to explain somehow... OK, I'm a slight little Forest Gnome, so I'll put in in Strength'. That's perfectly in line with old school.

But, another player can now say, 'I'm a legendarily strong Halfling Barbarian, the Heracles of my people, so I'm as strong as the strongest Human!' and have a hell of a lot of fun with hit. You can't do that with the old game. You can with the new. That's why I'm glad they're gone as rigid rules.

Your LOTR analysis is a ultrafunny, the halflings got their ass saved multipletimes by Aragorn borumir Gandalf and whomever I forgot was it the elfin wife in the movie no I refer to books of course there was no elven wench riding with Frodo . The only time in the book when your analysis really hits the point is in the end phase were Frodo and Sam and Gollum really are the only ones to cross the area unseen by the eye.

Concerning your other post I lolled on myself because first I mistook it for the post of some youngster trying to show it to those old grogs but then I realized it was a grog himself rambling.

 

[Yaarel]

doublepost

 

[Yaarel]

Nah Yarel I respectfully disagree. While halflings got the strength of children they got the constitution of an ox.
For me a proper designed Halfling has the scores in that order: Dex Con (Int /Cha) ´(Wis/Str). The last two pairs may be interchange so maybe Cha Int Str Wis for Sam but Int Cha Wis Str for Frodo

Heh. Punch an ox, and punch a Hobbit Halfling, and tell me who looks more injured?

I suspect, the ox is the one who has the Constitution of an ox.

 

[Coroc]

Heh. Punch an ox, and punch a Hobbit Halfling, and tell me who looks more injured?

I suspect, the ox is the one who has the Constitution of an ox.

Nah it was more about spiderbites than punches

 

[Coroc]

Heh. Punch an ox, and punch a Hobbit Halfling, and tell me who looks more injured?

I suspect, the ox is the one who has the Constitution of an ox.

Nah it was more about spiderbites than punches

 

[Yaarel]

Nah it was more about spiderbites than punches

The 5e Stout Halfling with ‘Dwarf blood’, some say, has flavor with higher Constitution and mechanics to back it up. It would save better versus spiderbite poison.

When I wrote the Halfling ability score modification, I should have said the Lightfoot Halfling, which I had in mind.

 

[Coroc]

The 5e Stout Halfling with ‘Dwarf blood’, some say, has flavor with higher Constitution and mechanics to back it up. It would save better versus spiderbite poison.

When I wrote the Halfling ability score modification, I should have said the Lightfoot Halfling, which I had in mind.

I talk about the hobbit Halfling, and in AD&D 2nd he had high poison resistance like Bilbo in that children's tale. Also LOTR Frodo took a strike from the Nazguls weapon and survived. You cannot do that without high Con.

 

[Yaarel]

Also LOTR Frodo took a strike from the Nazguls weapon and survived. You cannot do that without high Con.

Maybe Frodo was ‘lucky’?

If D&D wants one version of Halfling to be Lightfoot (emphasis on ‘light’) and an other version to be Stout (emphasis on ‘stout’), that seems fine. The stouter of the two is also tough like a Dwarf.