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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gradine" data-source="post: 8062392" data-attributes="member: 57112">I agree that there are ways to avoid the problem, and this is definitely one of them. I also suspect that these will be less common problems for players seeking out a product titled, in some form, "5e Advanced". Such players are much more likely to identify as some form of optimizer, and thus will likely seek out and deride whichever "trap options" exist. I humbly submit that a cure to that would be to design the game the better emphasize all three pillars equally, and give every class options to excel in these pillars, and allow the classes to make these choices in isolation. To borrow from my own writeup in a different thread:Bards are the party face. Rangers handle the exploration pillar. This leaves social skill challenges with the Bard running point everyone else essential being sidekicks. The solution comes from giving each character and each class unique ways to contribute to each pillar. A (poorly executed) example would be the Fighter's Extreme Athlete. The Fighter's excellent conditioning allows them naturally excel at swimming and climbing (outside of heavy armor, anyway). But the Fighter could have access to other choices to help them excel in a variety and encounters. A great-axe fighter may have a background as a lumberjack, and thus know their way around a forest better than most. A mercenary would excel at bartering. A bodyguard? Intimidation, perception, insight. These not only increase choices points at level up but also help flesh out more who the character not only is but was. Ideally, this would involve incorporating backgrounds more into the class design themselves, giving specific bonuses (I'm thinking less "static bonus to d20 roll" and more "skill tricks") and abilities (sometimes derisively referred to as "ribbons") to characters. This is especially ideal for those players who don't plan out their characters' entire intricate background to the slightest detail in advance. By a lowish level (somewhere around 3-5) your character would have selected the abilities that collectively make up their background and the roles they can play and contribute in each pillar. These pillars don't have to be balanced by class, necessarily; it would make sense for the Bard to pick up more social pillar abilities, the Ranger more exploration, the Fighter more combat, etc. But you're never left with the choice between combat effectiveness and social effectiveness. You're not left to decide "should my character take this bonus to swords, or to weaving?"</blockquote>

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