Ability Score Rebalance

[Einlanzer0]

I think you're correct in ignoring the offense part of stats right now, as "everyone" (okay, most) are going to be maxing their offense stat regardless of what it is. Charisma being weak doesn't really apply to a Sorcerer or Warlock because they're going to put points in it no matter what.

Str
*Carrying Capacity
*Str Checks (common)
*Str Saves (uncommon)
*Heavy Armor Speed (linked to carrying capacity for some)
*Jump distance

Dex
*Initiative
*AC in Light/Medium Armor
*Dex Checks (common)
*Dex Saves (common)

Con
*HP
*Con Checks (uncommon; most seem to be con saves)
*Con Saves (common)

Int
*Int Checks (common)
*Int Saves (rare)

Wis
*Wis Checks (very common; see perception)
*Wis Saves (common)

Cha
*Cha Checks (common)
*Cha Saves (rare)

This highlights some of the issues. Con is great for everyone; it's painful to have a low Con, no matter what. 4E avoided this by having Con apply more to recovery than to total HP. It also shows that the mental stats have nothing other than checks and saves. I think this is a problem. Mental checks are common, but aside from Perception/Insight, they can often be ignored if you don't intend to use them (they're active use).

As if that wasn't bad enough, the skills tied to the mental stats are more likely to be group focused than individual focused, as opposed to the skills tied to the physical stats. In other words, when one character in the party is good at one of them (say, Arcana), it dramatically reduces the pressure for anyone else in the party to be good at it also. Most of the physical skills don't work this way. Someone else's proficiency with Athletics is not as likely to carry you.

I agree that this is a systemic problem in D&D, and it bothers me that WotC explicitly acknowledges the imbalance and put zero effort into correcting it in this edition. Int has never such a dump stat. Giving Int, Wis, Cha mechanically interesting ancillary effects in the same vein as Str, Dex, and Con is a great way to make character building more fun and to encourage greater diversity among PC classes.