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Message: <blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 8608860" data-attributes="member: 6790260">The difference between the 4e dragonborn and the (original, pre-Fizban) 5e dragonborn is a lovely demonstration of what can be done to make ancestry features work better and encourage certain archetypes.Translating its 4e-isms to 5e, the 4e Dragonborn has the following racial features:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">+2 Charisma, and +2 Strength or +2 Constitution (your choice)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">While below half health, you get +1 to attack rolls and the DC of actions you take that force targets to make saves</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">When you roll a Hit Die to regain HP, add your Constitution modifier to the HP regained</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Gain a small bonus to the History and Intimidate skills</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Dragon breath (more frequent, since it's an Encounter power, arguably better scaling in 4e's lower-HP-scaling environment, and adding Con mod to damage)</li> </ul>These give us some hints as to directions they can go. The race shown above is relatively versatile, but with a clear bias toward social things (universal Cha bonus, Intimidate bonus) and physical combat (Str or Con bonus, features that scale off Con or trigger at low health), while still having just a hint of the intellectual (History bonus).I am not giving these as examples of what 5e necessarily should do. Just noting that the loss of literally 3 out of 5 racial features (and reductions to both of the remaining features) is a significant part of why people care so much about racial ability bonuses, and how this problem can be more effectively opposed.Given 5e is moving toward viewing "ancestry" as different from "culture," it might be necessary to make all non-physical skill bonuses culture-specific, perhaps as part of a revamped Background system, e.g. Dragonborn might have a "Scion of Arkhosia" typical background or culture-component, but this could be swapped out for any other culture one fancies, including inventing a new culture with DM approval.For my own "Arkhosian Dragonborn" rebuild, I would do the following.This gives actual weight and mechanics to both aspects, without making them particularly powerful or dramatic. Ability scores remain "fixed," but cover a very broad spectrum--you can get a total of seven unique ability score options from the above list, covering a sizable swathe of character options. Nothing mental is provided by Ancestry, and nothing physical is provided by Culture.</blockquote>

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