D&D 4E Are humans balanced in 4e?

[Quartz]

In the 4e rules, humans get +2 to one stat, +1 feat, and access to two very useful feats. Other PC races get +2 to two stats, some useful abilities, and access to their own racial feats.

Looking at various story hours, I'm interested to see how few human PCs there are.

Are human PCs weaker than PCs of other races? Significantly weaker?

 

[Eldorian]

I'd say they're a pretty good option for several classes despite only getting a +2 to one stat. However, I am unhappy that humans don't get a +2 to one skill of choice, and would personally allow them to pick one skill, so they could be as good at, say, arcana, as a Eladrin, or as stealthy as a drow.

The +1 to ref, will, and fort is quite powerful, as is an extra at will for some classes, such as wizards and rogues.

 

[SabreCat]

I love Humans for their versatility. An extra feat, trained skill, and At-Will power? Not bad! Maybe they're slightly behind the curve when you crunch raw numbers, but I find it much easier to cram all the stuff I want into a Human build than races with fewer options.

 

[James McMurray]

Human PCs are fine. They excel at some classes, while being weak at others. If the class only needs one stat, such as Wizard, they'll be great at it. A human wizard can start with an at-will for each non-AC defense. Likewise, their feats are great (especially Action Surge), and especially if you have actions that target lots of opponents.

Action surge means your big daily nuke is more likely to hit all of the enemies. Later if you get a PP that gives +4 to hit or a boost to damage from your AP, it's even better.

Human Perseverance means you're more likely to shake off debilitating conditions, and more likely to stand yourself back up if you're knocked out. At epic your odds of standing yourself back up can jump dramatically with Timely Revival.

Humans can start with free multi-classing via their extra feat, making them something like half-elves in that regard, plus they'd have two extra skills over a non-human member of their class, which can be amazing in a skill challenge heavy game.

If you're using the FR book, you can get even more survivability via feats.

Just by pure stats, almost every class is going to have a race that gives them +2 to each of their primaries, but stats aren't all there is to a character. Humans provide a lot of versatility and action point punch, plus survivability.

 

[Tony Vargas]

An extra feat is not quite as desireable as it was in 3e (since a PC gets a lot more feats over his career than he used to), training in extra skill is better than +2 to a trained skill, but doesn't boost your maximum potential with a skill the way a +2 racial bonus does. The extra at-will is much better for some classes than others - some classes have builds that are divergent, leaving only two 'real choices' of at will for each build. The single +2 stat is better the more your build tends to be SAD, the more important a secondary stat is, or the more generally MAD the build is, the more the lack of a second +2 hurts.

So, Humans are quite good for some classes/builds, not so good for others - which is true of all the races. Humans, though, can always manage a +2 to thier primary stat, so they can at least be viable with any class and virtually any build ('balanced' builds in split-primary classes, like the Star Warlock, for instance, are the exception).

 

[babinro]

I really like the direction of humans in 4E namely because they don't come off as 'the race' like they did in 3E. A party of 5 players in 3E from my experience seldom had fewer than 2 humans within it.

In 4E, humans come off as being equal to most races in terms of their general goodness. They make up for the poor attribute bonus with some excellent feats in my opinion, and will only improve as more splat books are added to 4E. In theory, if feats become a lot more aggressive, humans could deteriorate to the be all race again, but for now I find they are nicely balanced with other races.

 

[thecasualoblivion]

Lets look at Humans top to bottom:

1. +2 to any stat--This lets you boost your attack stat, whatever that is. In theory, this makes you good at all classes, but its more complicated in practice as a lot of classes/builds require multiple stats. In general, if a class really needs more than two stats, Human isn't the right choice.

2. Bonus At-Will--The mileage varies on this one. Some classes, particularly the Wizard and Barbarian, find this to be incredible. On other classes it is far less so, or at the very least not a very big deal. A Ranger who uses Twin Strike 90% of the time anyway isn't going to get much mileage out of a third At-Will.

3. Bonus Feat--As others have said, you get more feats and they do less in 4E, but having built over a hundred characters its a nice boost and something you do notice and benefit from. Its just not "This feature in and of itself makes Human the best race in the game" like it did in 3E.

4. Bonus Trained Skill--I'm a little less enthusiastic about this. The +2 to skills other Races get results in higher numbers than Humans can achieve, and are something you do notice. There are a lot of classes/builds that really don't benefit from another class skill, at least not without involving backgrounds.

5. Human Defense Bonuses--In my opinion, +1 to Fort/Ref/Will is the most powerful thing Humans get. This is really freaking good.

6. Human Feats--Humans get some pretty decent feats. Action Surge is one of the better Heroic feats.


Classes:

Cleric--This looks bad at first glance, but that is because people tend to prefer Laser Clerics, which Humans aren't suited for(you won't benefit from the 3rd At-Will). The secondary stat for melee Clerics is Wisdom, not Charisma, so a Human beginning play with 18 Str(16+2) and 16 Wisdom will make an excellent Melee Cleric.

Fighter--Fighters benefit from the extra At-Will, and outside of Strength Fighters aren't terribly stat dependant.

Paladins--The Class most dependant on multiple stats in the entire game. Avoid like the Plague.

Ranger--Doesn't significantly benefit from the third At-Will, and any melee Ranger will be too stat intensive for the single +2 to an ability. Makes for a decent Archer though you won't be using the 3rd At-Will.

Rogue--Humans are a very underrated Rogue race. Probably the best Artful Dodgers after Drow/Halfling, and the best Brutal Scoundrels after Elves. The 3rd At-Will is nice, and Rogues are very much a two stat class.

Warlock--Warlocks are generally a two-stat class, and with the Dark Pact you can make some use of the 3rd At-Will. IMO, Humans make some of the better Infernal Warlocks.

Warlord--The Warlord is very much a class that is dependant on more than two abilities. The extra At-Will is nice, but the lack of a second stat boost hurts.

Wizard--Humans generally make 4e's best Wizards, period. No class benefits more from the third At-Will, and Wizards are possibly the least stat-intensive class in the game. The Wizard also tends to have his defenses attacked more than his AC, so the +1 to Fort/Ref/Will is particularly shiny.

Swordmage--Swordmage is basically a two-stat class, and benefit from the third At-Will, so Humans do well here. I'd lean more towards a Shielding Swordmage with Intelligent Blademaster, though spending the extra feat on Durable can accomplish the same thing with an Assault Swordmage.

Artificer--The Character Builder gave them a third At-Will, and its definitely not a stat-intensive class from the look we've gotten. Seems like a decent fit.

Barbarian--All three Barbarian At-Wills are first rate, and this is not a stat intensive class. Humans are my favorite Barbarian race.

Bard--We only have two Bard At-Wills to look at right now, but this appears to be a two-stat class that really enjoys the extra feat(more multiclassing) and skill(Bards are the skill gods of 4E).

Druid--Druids love the extra At-Will as much as Wizards and Barbarians do, and are a two-stat class.


When you look closely, Humans are pretty good overall. The only two classes I don't like at all with Humans are Paladins and Warlords.

 

[Doctor Proctor]

Fighter--Fighters benefit from the extra At-Will, and outside of Strength Fighters aren't terribly stat dependant.

Eh...I agree on the other class recommendations you made, but you need to be careful with Human Fighters. If your DM is allowing Martial Power, then you're probably okay, but a PHB Fighter is kind of tough. Sure Strike basically sucks as an At-Will, so you really only get two useful At-Wills. It's either Cleave and Tide of Iron for a Guardian Fighter, or Reaping Strike and Tide of Iron for a Great Weapon Defender.

If you're using Martial Power though, then you have access to all the new At-Wills that they added. I would steer away from Tempest Fighter for the same reason that the TWF Ranger doesn't work. Battlerager can work fine though, since you don't need to have a huge CON score to get a benefit out of it (18 STR/16 CON works fine for a STR/CON Axe/Hammer Battlerager). Going Battlerager would also allow you to take Crushing Surge, Cleave and either Tide of Iron or Reaping Strike depending on whether you're going with a Sword and Board or a Two-Handed Weapon style.

 

[thecasualoblivion]

Eh...I agree on the other class recommendations you made, but you need to be careful with Human Fighters. If your DM is allowing Martial Power, then you're probably okay, but a PHB Fighter is kind of tough. Sure Strike basically sucks as an At-Will, so you really only get two useful At-Wills. It's either Cleave and Tide of Iron for a Guardian Fighter, or Reaping Strike and Tide of Iron for a Great Weapon Defender.

If you're using Martial Power though, then you have access to all the new At-Wills that they added. I would steer away from Tempest Fighter for the same reason that the TWF Ranger doesn't work. Battlerager can work fine though, since you don't need to have a huge CON score to get a benefit out of it (18 STR/16 CON works fine for a STR/CON Axe/Hammer Battlerager). Going Battlerager would also allow you to take Crushing Surge, Cleave and either Tide of Iron or Reaping Strike depending on whether you're going with a Sword and Board or a Two-Handed Weapon style.

I was considering Martial Power when I spoke of Fighters, and I agree with you on the Tempest Fighter.

 

[Tarrl]

Why steer clear of the Tempest Fighter??