I hope that other classes will gain this sort of depth, rather than more towards a SAD design.
I think that making the game more SAD actually improves the games options. If the assumption is that your character is going to have an 18 or 20 in your primary (like it already does) embrace that design restraint but don't make more design requirements like secondaries and tertiaries. That just muddies the water and makes characters forced into certain stat placements and abilities. Why needlessly do that? Open it up give more options. Do you really expect that every class (they are planning on quite a few) is going to get the necessary development space to make every nuanced option a reality. I don't, I think that is a pipe dream.
That said, I think making Basic Attacks based on your Primary stat is smart. That just means they're useful to non-Str characters.
I think this is a perfect example of what needs to be done with the overall system. But taken to the next level it will completely free up character design. Options baby options. With a completely SAD system you can then choose whatever options you want outside of your primary. You decide what feats you want to qualify for, you decide what skills you want to be good at, etc.
That said, I'm at something of a loss as to how to reduce the reliance on a single stat without tearing the system to pieces.
Completely embracing SAD will make it a forgone (which it already is), with that being a constant it frees up a lot of design space.
4E focuses heavily on ability scores.
4E wants you to max out your attack score. And would like you to have a great secondary score as well.
Here in lies the issue, if you have to have a great primary and then you are also required to have a good secondary and possibly a tertiary or second primary. Every class winds up looking cookie cut. When designing my characters I dont want to come out of the WotC cookie cutter factory I want to make my own unique character. They have not given you much free space to do that with your stats. Embracing SAD will free up those areas to make the character you want not the character WotC designers want.
And don't forget you may want high scores for feats which may not match your secondary or even primary. Oh also you want to keep defenses up so try to spread the scores across the groups . . . 4E is never SAD.
Exactly, although I draw a different conclusion. 4e is so MAD it can be frustrating. Freeing up class requirements free up those stat resources for options like feats, defenses etc.
I think the developers are purposely trying to cut down on the MAD issue though whether they go far enough is up to individual DMs to decide.
I agree there feat selections for PHB2 really push the fold, their design should continue to be far reaching and free up the stat constraints that are imposed, make the assumption class primary is an 18 or 20 and move on (as it already is whether they consciously designed the game that way or not). Let the player decide what their secondary and tertiary are not the designer.
I always thought that a system should always allow you to pick all the options that give you your optimal play style before having to round up the math and with too many math enhancing feats I am worried we won't have room for cool feats in our builts unless we sacrifice heavily.
I agree, some blurbs in a future supplement (DMG2?) might be nice with applying a few of the "fix it" feats for free at character creation.
It created an unfortunate disconnect in my head when I had an ungodly strength attribute, but couldn't pick up a brick.
Well D&D has moved in that direction whether we like it or not. Targeting energy bolts with your CON, Crossbowing with your STR, swinging a sword with your INT - by realism's standard these would be tossed out the window. I mean you can easily explain away these issues like you are so tough it allows your magic to target better, or you leap forward with your strength slightly when you pull the trigger of the crossbow, or you are so smart you can calculate the trajectory of your sword to give maximum effect. I am and I think most people are beyond the realism problem. 4e is any stat = any use.
Let's jump in the way back machine and travel to those heady days of 1E and 2E. An 11 Str fighter was fine.
3e and 4e both torqued up stat reliance, I think this is a function of (.5*stat)-5. Before you needed a 15 or higher to get a stat modifier. My experience though was every fighter type had 18/xx and every thief had high DEX to increase their thieving skills still. I think the stat formula was a good addition. I can see an argument for: 1-3 = +0, 4-6 = +1, 7-9 = +2 etc.
18 is the new 11 for point buy characters. The flip side of this is that 10 is the new 3. Imagine a world where every mage has Str 3 and Int 11 and every fighter has Str 11 and Int 3. This is the world that 4E math expects.
Very effective analysis. It is an interesting shift that I had never considered.