Do Characters Need Magic Items to Keep Up?

[Tequila Sunrise]

My favored method of removing enhancement bonuses, masterwork armor and feat taxes involves converting ability scores into ability bonuses: PCs start with +0, +0, +1, +1, +2, +3. At 6, 16 and 26 they get +1 to two; at 11 and 21 they get +1 to all. The rest is simple; every level that you don't get an ability boost after 1st you get +1 to all attacks and defenses; if you wear heavy armor you get +1 AC even if you get an ability boost.

*) Grant a total of +9 to attacks and damage over the thirty levels
*) Grant a total of +8 to AC over the thirty levels to everybody
*) Grant another +4 to AC to users of heavy armor (making the total AC bonus +12 over the thirty levels for these PCs)
*) Grant a total of +10 to Fort/Ref/Will over the thirty levels

To nitpick, attacks and AC actually need a total of +10. Expertise falls short of fixing the PC attack glitch.

 

[CovertOps]

*) Grant a total of +9 to attacks and damage over the thirty levels
*) Grant a total of +8 to AC over the thirty levels to everybody
*) Grant another +4 to AC to users of heavy armor (making the total AC bonus +12 over the thirty levels for these PCs)
*) Grant a total of +10 to Fort/Ref/Will over the thirty levels

To further nitpick you did not account for stat bumps in your +10 Fort/Ref/Will. Assuming that the 2 stats you bump are in 2 different pairs (STR/CON, INT/DEX, WIS/CHA) then by level 30 you will have a 3 point gap between 2 of your defenses and the 3rd (which will lag behind due to the stat bumps it DIDN'T get at levels 4/8/14/18/24/28). This means you should either have +10/+10/+13 or +7/+7/+10. Don't really care to figure out the math.

 

[keterys]

Or just not increase ability scores. Course, if you do that you can actually just give everyone +1 everything each level and move on.

 

[CapnZapp]

To nitpick, attacks and AC actually need a total of +10. Expertise falls short of fixing the PC attack glitch.

Not sure it needs to. My guess is that before PHB2, WotC believed that group tactics and power combos would make up the difference. Then they decided the difference would be better as 1 point instead of 4.

In other words, my aim was not to reengineer the math completely, only to consolidate the bonuses as you would get them in the standard game.

To further nitpick you did not account for stat bumps in your +10 Fort/Ref/Will.

Do I have to?

(It was you who started the idea of adding in the stat bonuses, not I)