D&D 5E Desperately need help, trying to catch up to party.

[Ancalagon]

I think this is a good illustration of how super high ability scores can break the balance of the 5e.

Imagine a Barbarian with the ability array listed up top. 20 STR. 19 DEX. 20 CON. That character would have an Unarmored AC of 19, the same as a Fighter in plate with Defensive Fighting Style. The Barbarian doesn't have to worry about disadvantage on Stealth checks, doesn't have to invest a class resource into the extra point of AC, and gets Fighter level defenses with Barbarian-level HP.

And all the ASI can go into feats

 

[cbwjm]

I don't think it breaks the game it just makes the game play different. Some people like to play a high-powered game.

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[Sadras]

I don't think it breaks the game it just makes the game play different. Some people like to play a high-powered game.

Using that logic, is there ever an instance when you can declare that the game is broken or are we just all politically correct all the time?

 

[CTurbo]

I like playing with high rolled stats, and I like playing with powerful magic items, but I would NEVER combine the two.

 

[CubicsRube]

Max stats isnt broken in 5e as it falls without bounded accuracy.the difference between -1 and +5 isnt enough to break that.

Expertise and an abundance of +3 items are another matter.

I dont like + items at all. I much much prefer magic items that have interesting effects, such as armors with aoe effects, weapons that can slow, etc.

If the party in question is seeing acs over 22 or so, chances aretheres plus items involved

 

[acorn_stasis]

I dont like + items at all. I much much prefer magic items that have interesting effects, such as armors with aoe effects, weapons that can slow, etc.

this is really very true for me too. A magic item should be magical not mechanical. The flavour, the sheer impact on play style and possibilities is so much better than: same as before but now +whatever.

 

[CubicsRube]

Yeah. For example i had made a dagger called "gold digger". It was a gaudy but otherwise normal dagger, except it vibrated in excitement when it got too close to gold. No other mechanics to it, but still a thief's delight.

 

[Sadras]

Max stats isnt broken in 5e as it falls without bounded accuracy.the difference between -1 and +5 isnt enough to break that.

I believe the term 'broken' is rather subjective from table to table and that is what I was alluding to up stream. High stats might not be an issue in your game, they certainly would be in mine. As DM I would have to upscale the monsters stats and numbers, increase the DC of hazards and environmental affects, and reassess/upscale social and exploration challenges from the base. Essentially I have to tinker/FIX everything to provide a challenging adventure.

That is more work for me as DM which I prefer not to have - I already make enough work for myself
The OP party for MY table - is broken.

 

[Stalker0]

I will say, the max stats are not what is causing the issues the OP mentioned. Even though his stats are high, his fellows are still way out DPRing him. Heck even if there classes had 24's in some stats it wouldn't create this much of a gap. So clearly something else is going on.

 

[redrick]

I don't think it breaks the game it just makes the game play different. Some people like to play a high-powered game.

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It doesn't necessarily break the game, but it can skew the balance in a way that requires the DM to adjust other factors to compensate. For instance, in the above example, a level 8 Barbarian in a loin cloth has equal AC to a level 8 Fighter with Defensive fighting style, due to a combination of unusually high Dex and unusually high Con, without any sacrifice to Strength. The Fighter gave something up to get that armor class, and having an AC that high is meant to be reserved for the folks in heavy armor, to compensate for the drawbacks to heavy armor.

By contrast, I had a level 8 Barbarian made with a point buy. I don't have the sheet in front of me, but her AC was either 15 or 16. I know I put at least one ASI into Con. Comparable to a Dex character at that level with light armor.

One solution is to put magic heavy armor into the mix to give your Fighter the AC edge they deserve, but now your ACs are starting to climb higher than intended, and you need to look at attack bonuses for your monsters, etc, etc.