D&D General (2024) Is it just me or has Unarmored Defense become really common, now?

[ECMO3]

My next character will probably be a fighter, so I might have to try this!

It is pretty boss in tier 1. With action surge and nick you could do 3 attacks a round every round and 4 when you action surge. You do have to invest in Wisdom though, which means a lower Constitution if you are on point buy.

That is a really good trade in my opinion though if you want to be a better PC overall, as Constitution is the most useless ability generally.

The other thing the Monk dip does is open up a lot of other weapons to a Dex build - hand axes, spears, sickle, light hammer, quarterstaff .....

 

[ECMO3]

Full plate has a 15 STR requirement. A dex build can dump stat strength, with all the initiative, stealth and ranged benefits that come with it. Also, I use dual scimitars now. Dual scimitars are cool.

Dual Scimitars work pretty well on a Strength build too though.

 

[Silam]

That is a really good trade in my opinion though if you want to be a better PC overall, as Constitution is the most useless ability generally.

Why do you think so ?

 

[ECMO3]

Why do you think so ?

It is tied to no skills and has almost zero value outside of combat. I think I have seen a Constitution check less than 5 times in 10+ years of 5E.

 

[Silam]

It is tied to no skills and has almost zero value outside of combat. I think I have seen a Constitution check less than 5 times in 10+ years of 5E.

Certainly… so is the statement that it’s the most useless stat based on your personal experience of combat being a very small % of the game? (If so, it would be a valid take, though not universal…)

 

[doctorbadwolf]

bonus from Cha to AC is hard to justify by narrative, feels like a game design gimmick which is the kind of thing that makes D&D look dumb

Hard disagree. It is easy to justify. Charisma isnt just charm and good looks, it is also presence, which is extremely easy to use as explaination for being harder to hit. Hell that is how i explain dragonic sorcerers, rather than the bonus coming from their magic (which is also perfectly good, the ac boost is cha because their magic is cha and the ac boost is from their magic).

 

[ProfessorDetective]

Brb. Going to make an Infernal Pact/patron Bladelock.

My first thought, as well. Makes perfect sense for a Fiend Warlock, same as the Fey pacts for Archfey or the Spellfire feats for Spellfire Sorcerer. Starting to feel like an attempt to make up for the "all subclasses at level three" thing. Using backgrounds and origin feats to lead into their obvious subclass counterparts.

Also, I'm half-expecting Charisma-based UD to show-up as an Invocation or a feature on an updated Hexblade, eventually. They may as well complete the set, right?

 

[Clint_L]

Certainly… so is the statement that it’s the most useless stat based on your personal experience of combat being a very small % of the game? (If so, it would be a valid take, though not universal…)

Certainly constitution is more valuable if your games are heavily focused on combat. Conversely, the less combat you see, the more useless it is. So in all of the pillars of play it’s only relevant to one, and even there it’s never the primary attribute. I agree that it is the most limited attribute, by a huge margin, though it’s also the second or third most useful stat on some popular builds.

 

[jmartkdr2]

Charisma has been a magic stat (strength of soul power) for at least 26 years now - I can understand not liking the change but not noticing until now feels like a stretch.

 

[Silam]

Certainly constitution is more valuable if your games are heavily focused on combat. Conversely, the less combat you see, the more useless it is. So in all of the pillars of play it’s only relevant to one, and even there it’s never the primary attribute. I agree that it is the most limited attribute, by a huge margin, though it’s also the second or third most useful stat on some popular builds.

I mean… it’s certainly possible my games have been much more combat heavy than the norm, but it seems to me that Con is among the top 3 stats for pretty much every build, not just "some popular builds"…

Combat is just one of the three pillars but it’s also the one you die in …

You don’t die from failing an Insight… unless you fail to sense that the cup of tea you’re being handed is poisoned (and you dumped Con so you’re failing the save for it). You could miss an important clue from failing a social challenge, or be inconvenienced (land in prison, etc) but rarely is it fatal.

For the exploration pillar, it’s a similar story. You may get stuck if you fail, but your life would rarely be in danger, and if a trap you failed to disarm does put you in danger, that’s probably a symptom that you lack HP and therefore lack Con

Con is rarely the first stat but even more rarely is it the last.

I did play a character with like 3 in Con once in the name of concept, but I knew full well I was dialing up the difficulty to 11. It definitely was not because it didn’t matter, optimization-wise.