Nytewolf said:
Seems to me that this variant lopsides the classes and will in the long run unbalance the flow of character types.
1. You reward the Charisma based classes by giving them more magic items than the others.
Actually, NyteWolf, the problem that some of us are seeing is that Charisma doesn't benefit other classes, and is a dump stat for everyone except for a few classes. Charisma is the only stat that has no natural reward (Str=damage, Int=skill points) But I'll address this on a point by point basis. First, I feel that this gives the Bard a slight edge (they need it), and possibly a minor one to Paladin. And of course the sorcerer.
2. You force the non-charisma classes to whittle away from theyre stats to allow them more items.
No, this is a relatively low-magic game. I also don't remember him saying that it was point-buy, but I guess that isn't really the point. I still say that it doesn't do that. Fighters in general, will not give up a high strength stat to put it into charisma just because they
might get more items. Also, limiting a character to five magic items isn't really.... that restrictive. If we started at zero items, yes it would be. But we still put five slots so that any character can pick the five most powerful things in their arsenal. Even if a sorcerer should manage to have a 19 Cha, he still only gains a bonus of three items slots.
3. By far in a mixed party a Sorcerer is less dependant upon Str and Con than other classes.
I disagree on Constition, but more or less true.
SO he can pump his Chr higher knowing he gets not only a stronger spell caster but also more magic items. Now on the flip side you tell the fighter im sorry you have to be less strong and less healthy if you want a good supply of magic toys. You tell the wizard that sorry your spells will be less effective to the sorcerer's (Save DC's and amount of bonus spells and perhaps even max level of spells allowed) So that you can use as many toys as the sorcerer. The Sorcerer in short does not need to be even close to as Intelligent as the Wizard. But now you tell the wizard he has to be more like the Sorcerer.
That's a bit of a straw man fallacy, isn't it? The fighter isn't going to make himself weaker physically, the mage isn't going to take power from his mind. I would assume that it would go the other way. And maybe the Wizard shouldn't be pumping Str and Con. But still....
The fighter can have
any five magic items running at once. In a low magic world, this isn't that restrictive. Because there is the minimum of five magic items (he isn't punished for having below Cha 10) he is simply slightly restricted. And as for toys.... he isn't limited on potions or any activation use items, which are what I would consider toys. He is limited on min/maxing for ridiculous bonuses on stats.
As for your claim on the Wizard.... I totally disagree. The Sorcerer has always needed a decent Int score to have any skill points. Not that great, but not his lowest stat. What this House Rule does is force the Wizard to remember that he does, in fact, have six ability scores. Again, I don't think it's going to affect their primary spellcasting stat.
I think this houserule is a cruel joke to most of the classes and perhaps other ways should be found to make them have a higher Charisma. Such as has been mentioned using Chr based skills more.
Well, this is a house rule. You don't have to use it. But this seems a straight forward, relatively unrestrictve house rule that will give bards, paladins, and sorcerers a slight boost. But in the long run, it helps to eliminate the "dump stat flaw" of d20. It may not be perfect, but it's a nice beginning according to a lot of people here.
And please try to be less hostile in the future. I know you haven't posted much, and I know I've done it once too, but we try to keep things emotionally neutral when we debate around here.
Cum nefas et candore,
Kisanji Arael, Demon of the Blade
