D&D 5E Is Tasha's More or Less The Universal Standard?

[Neonchameleon]

Neither of which have to do with the balance assumptions of D&D. The rules assume rolled stats, for balance. The array is a Mulligan a player can take instead of rolling, and point buy is a variant rule entirety. Neither is a factor to the game's core math.

Every WotC pregen I can think of uses the Standard Array. If the rules actually do assume rolled stats there would therefore appear to be a lot of "do as I say not do as I do" going on from WotC.

Personally I think from observation that rolled stats in 5e are like a lot of the AD&D rules Gygax presented didactically and didn't use at his own table.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Not according to the people who built the underlying math of the game, no. Is it useful? Yes. So are all 6 Abilities. There is no balance difference between the bonuses.

I think there's a case that for dex, at least, there should be.

 

[Parmandur]

You keep citing this as if it were some kind of strong evidence. If in fact they make the claim you are ascribing to them, is it possible they are wrong? I find myself much more persuaded by math than I am by claims of design intent.

I think iynis definitive evidence, frankly. Thry have the math and playtesting data, I see no reason to think any differently because some people feel that a particular attribute is worth more in their gut.

 

[Parmandur]

Every WotC pregen I can think of uses the Standard Array. If the rules actually do assume rolled stats there would therefore appear to be a lot of "do as I say not do as I do" going on from WotC.

Personally I think from observation that rolled stats in 5e are like a lot of the AD&D rules Gygax presented didactically and didn't use at his own table.

Yes, for pregens they take the Mulligan...which is statistically a wash with rolling. For balance purposes, rolling is assumed, and high or low scores don't affect the balance.

I've never seen he Array actually used at a table, but I suppose it happens.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Every WotC pregen I can think of uses the Standard Array. If the rules actually do assume rolled stats there would therefore appear to be a lot of "do as I say not do as I do" going on from WotC.

Personally I think from observation that rolled stats in 5e are like a lot of the AD&D rules Gygax presented didactically and didn't use at his own table.

Every group i have ever been a part of, or known about, rolled stats. Anecdotal, of course, but there you are.

 

[Parmandur]

I think there's a case that for dex, at least, there should be.

On what grounds?

 

[Micah Sweet]

On what grounds?

It is used for attack and damage, AC, and initiative, and its a strong save. Collectively that stuff comes up in play more than anything else.

 

[Parmandur]

Every group i have ever been a part of, or known about, rolled stats. Anecdotal, of course, but there you are.

Well, the rules assume rolling, and major streamers still do it, so it's hardly isolated.

 

[Parmandur]

It is used for attack and damage, AC, and initiative, and its a strong save. Collectively that stuff comes up in play more than anything else.

So you feel that it is more powerful. What is the mathematical basis...?

 

[Irlo]

I readily accept the idea that game designers did not assign racial ASIs based on balance considerations, but I think it’s less likely that they don’t recognize any imbalance among the abilities.

That said, there aren’t objectively more valuable abilities. For a given class, there might be one ability that fully and clearly outweighs the others. For some classes, it’s more advantageous to have a moderately high stats in two or three areas than to have one ability maxed out.

Keep in mind also that D&D is usually played as a party-based game, and having characters with an array of strong points is better for the group than characters each focused on Dexterity (as an example).