Ability scores figured out.

[DogBackward]

So, it says that we can talk about mechanics, just not quoting specific things.
I think I should be okay here, but lemme know if I'm wrong.

Okay, so, I sat down for a few minutes to reverse engineer the stats. Looks like they're using the old Elite Array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8). Going from there, I figured out which ability each class was most likely to give a bonus to... not hard to figure out.

Fighters get +1 Strength.
Rogues get +1 Dexterity.
Wizards get +1 Intelligence.
Clerics get +1 Wisdom.

From there, I simply took whatever other bonuses were apparent and applied it to the races. This clarifies why they have different subraces (Hill vs. Mountain Dwarf, for example) that have the same features otherwise; each subrace will likely have a different ability bonus.

Lightfoot halflings get +1 Dexterity.
Hill Dwarves get +1 Constitution.
Mountain Dwarves get +1 Strength.
High Elves get +1 Intelligence.
Humans get +2 to any ability score (likely to account for not having any racial features)
It looks like Humans actually get +1 to all ability scores, then +1 to their class's primary ability score.

So, there it is.

 

[slobster]

Doesn't seem to work for the cleric of Pelor. All of his stats are off your predictions by +1 (except for wis).

 

[Giltonio_Santos]

Humans get +1 in each score and an additional +1 in one of their choice. That solves the Cleric of Pelor, and it's pretty powerful, if you ask me.

Cheers,

 

[DogBackward]

Crap, how did I miss that? That is weird, why would that one be off, everything else looks to work just fine. Maybe the Human gets even more than I thought? That'd be a little too much, though...

Hmm... if we assume +1 to everything from some unknown source (my money's on a typo or some other mistake, like carrying over the stats from an earlier playtest), then it works out to Humans getting +1 to any one ability. Which does a lot less to make up for not having any racial features.

 

[slobster]

They'd only need to get +1 to each ability score to make the math work, no need to give them another +1 on top of that. [EDIT] Durrp I was wrong and you were right, +1 to all and +1 to another looks right[/EDIT]

Yeah, very powerful. I don't think the other racial features really stack up, especially given how ability scores are supposed to be so important in this edition.

 

[Transformer]

Humans get +1 in each score and an additional +1 in one of their choice. That solves the Cleric of Pelor, and it's pretty powerful, if you ask me.

Wow, yeah, that sounds gamebreaking, especially if it were combined with a point buy system. I wonder if it is a mistake.

 

[DogBackward]

Humans get +1 in each score and an additional +1 in one of their choice. That solves the Cleric of Pelor, and it's pretty powerful, if you ask me.

Cheers,

I thought that for a second, but that seems really powerful. Although, dwarves and elves seem to also have some really useful abilities... I dunno, it could be. That really makes Humans a great option for anything, though. A Human Rogue would be the best skill monkey alive.

Actually, I kinda like that idea...

 

[DogBackward]

They'd only need to get +1 to each ability score to make the math work, no need to give them another +1 on top of that.

No, because they have an 18 Wisdom. So even with +1 to everything, they're still getting an additional +2 to Wisdom. So that'd be an additional +1 from race, and +1 from class.

 

[DogBackward]

The more I look at it, the more I think Giltonio_Santos is right. And I don't think it's that big a deal, either. For one, +1 to everything is only going to have so much effect for the most part. A Wizard, for example, isn't going to get much at all from a slightly higher Strength, and won't get a huge boost from Wisdom or Charisma, either. A Fighter won't get much benefit from Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma.

Add to that the rather powerful abilities that other races get, and I'm starting to think it might actually be a decent balance. You've got dwarves that are immune to poison and can't get lost in a dungeon. You've got halflings with two rerolls per day (that's pretty big) and a great stealth feature. You've got elves that are immune to sleep and charm, and have constant Advantage on three of the most commonly made checks in the game.

Honestly, I'm thinking this is not only intentional, but good. It also means that humans are a really good go-to choice again. Instead of everybody playing a dwarf, elf, halfling or dragontaurbirdman for nifty racial abilities, there is a real, good, solid reason to choose human.

I'll admit to a very strong, knee-jerk "Whoa that's broken!" reaction.
But thinking on it... it's really growing on me.

 

[shamsael]

From a 4e perspective, +1 to everything seems like a game-destroying overpowered thing.

From a RC D&D or 2e perspective, it seems almost the perfect balance. Humans have the potential to be slightly better at anything they apply themselves to. But they will never get stonecunning or free-spirit.

I like the idea of humans just throwing bigger numbers into the math while non-humans have options to circumvent the math altogether.