Helldritch
Hero
But, now we are shifting. To have a wise Goliath, you need to put your high scores into that, Goliaths are "naturally" unwise though.
Not naturally unwise. Just not wiser than the norm. There is a big difference in not having a bonus and having a penalty.
And, you missed my point entirely with the physical and mental being put against each other. Let us take Dwarves for a second.
Hill Dwarves, like you said, have a +2 Con and a +1 Wisdom. But they do not have a +2 Strength like Mountain Dwarves. Why? Hill Dwarves have the same strength as Halflings and Elves, but they are built mostly the same as Mountain Dwarves (two inches and 15 lbs is the difference), they have much the same culture of mining, forging, and weapon skills. Yet, Hill Dwarves are as weak as Halflings, Elves and Gnomes, while Mountain Dwarves are as strong as Goliaths, Orcs, and other large massive creatures.
And why don't Mountain dwarves also get a +1 to wisdom, they have the same culture as Hill Dwarves, so why not?
Because the only thing they share is their race. They have different point of view and evolution path. Mountain dwarves are more haugty and warlike than the hill dwarves. Thus their respective stats bonuses.
Because you can't have a race with +2 Strength, +2 Con and +1 Wisdom. You can't have them give bonuses to both the physical stats and the mental ones. Getting one stat pushes out another. Get two physical stats, and you usually get no mental stats. Two Mental stats? You won't get a physical stat.
It would be quite a race don't you think? This is how the system had been since the beginning. I see no need to change that.
Sure, some races and sublcasses get 1 of each, but since your mind and your body are separate, it seems odd that they affect each other in this manner.
Unless, again, this is all about Archetypes and not about the genetics of the race.
A bit of both?
A gnome is also a magical race. Magic can explain as much if not more than genetics.So what makes a Rock Gnome healthier than a Dragonborn, but equally healthy to a Goliath?