Doing away with inflexible race ability bonuses

[Garthanos]

Racial bonus switcheroo is totally in line with many 4eisms.

This follows something that I was considering for a while now - adding in the penalties for the races and then allowing players to remove the penalty for a feat.

So Elves and Eladrin -2 CON
Dragonborn and Dwarves -2 DEX
Tieflings -2 WIS
Halflings -2 STR
Human none
Half elf change to "+2 to any" with no penalty

And again create a feat that removes the penalty.

I kind of like it (don't quite get halflings/gnomes running around with normal strength). Heros might indeed over come these kinds of limits... but its sometimes important to see that the limits are there to be overcome.

Maybe I am alone but I am inclined to encourage

Dragonborn not to take the rogue class and not because of Dex but because it isnt honorable and they lose some honor based benefit if they do?.

Halflings not to take an Arcane class, perhaps there inner magic is wrapped up in luck .. taking concious control depletes it.

Tieflings wierdly work as priests to me (ie snap back effect.. the ancestors made mistakes so the modern compensate and really have learned there lesson)

 

[77IM]

I let all PCs get a +2 bonus to any one ability score (although it does not stack with the racial +2 bonuses). So a dragonborn would get +2 Str, +2 Cha, +2 (anything but Str or Cha). To compensate, I don't give out as many points in the point-buy.

It's worked out extremely well. Most people are "playing to type" (halfling rogue, eladrin wizard, etc.) but we just had an elf warden join the group with an 18 Str, which would have been a very painful purchase under the normal rules.

-- 77IM

 

[Garthanos]

Well, with some of the new racial bonuses it makes some of the races less traditional than they were before. (1/2 elf CON+CHA, 1/2ling DEX+CHA)

Not sure what to make of half-elves they now conform to mix-background human stereotypes ;-), healthy and often pretty due to benefits of genetic diversity.

But for halflings I have sort of missed D&Ds definitions ... to me they are just renamed hobbits. So high dex and charisma is a "fair" descriptor for Merri and Pippin 'hobbits' ... wisdom hobbits Sam, Frodo and Bilbo in the latter group.

Care to work up a Real Hobbit?

Hobbit
+2 DEX, secodary (divide +2 between Charisma and Wisdom).
-1 on Intimidation.
Hobbits getting a -2 on Strength so lets give them gifts that let them do some of the fighter warlord or even ranger? things better... wrapped around luck as the special effect of course...

Maybe something like getting dodge giants free... but call it.
"Overlooked Again."
You gain a +1 bonus to AC and Reflex
defense against the attacks of Large or larger foes.
Though perhaps it needs to be more specifically compensating
the str penalty, any ideas?

Actually I seem to recall the hobbits ability to Vanish was almost magic, did gnomes and hobbits get their wires crossed ;-)

And since I think Arcana is ANTI-hobbit like and not because they aren't intelligent... If Arcana remains an untrained skill the hobbit can use Second-chance twice per encounter or one other encounter based gift. (this is sort of my luck = leaking arcana concept ... once you take it under control the incidental effects vanish.... )

 

[CapnZapp]

I let all PCs get a +2 bonus to any one ability score (although it does not stack with the racial +2 bonuses). So a dragonborn would get +2 Str, +2 Cha, +2 (anything but Str or Cha). To compensate, I don't give out as many points in the point-buy.

A neat solution.

I like how the fix doesn't require something special for humans. How many points in the point-buy do you hand out?

(I'm considering not changing the number of points you get, but instead start people out on something less than 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 8; perhaps 10, 10, 10, 10, 8, 6. While you could simply apply your third +2 to the dump stat and buy your way out of any negative stat modifiers, this would encourage you to keep an actual weak side. Having one is an interesting quirk that standard characters lack, imo.)

 

[77IM]

I give out 20 points. This results in ability arrays slightly higher than the core rules, but I've found that due to the graduated-scale point-buy, people tend to put their "extra" points in less-useful abilities, which I think is good. (A low stat can make for good role-playing, but so can an unusually high "useless" stat.)

I like your idea of lowering the initial scores. A score of 6 seems too low to me (a -1 vs -2 in a dump stat you don't plan to use doesn't really matter, and it doesn't provide any "Achilles's heel" because of best-of-two defenses). But two 8s, or even three 8s, might work. You could actually start ALL the scores at 8 and give out extra points in the point-buy (say, 28 points).

-- 77IM