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Hard Stat Cap of 18?
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<blockquote data-quote="Viktyr Gehrig" data-source="post: 5805568" data-attributes="member: 9249"><p>See this? <strong>This</strong> is why I hate the caps. A 20th level character is not in any way, shape, or form a normal human being-- he can swim in plate mail armor and leap a castle moat using just his skill ranks (with a Strength of 8), he can survive falling from a low Earth orbit and walk away, and he can fight off an army of armed and trained soldiers in his stocking feet, with nothing but his mess kit and a torch. If he's a spellcaster, he can raise the dead, walk through walls, and tell the physical laws of the universe to sit down and shut up.</p><p></p><p>Even leaving magic aside, past 5th level or so, D&D characters are <strong>innately</strong> superhuman. If you want to play a "normal" character who obeys the laws of physics, you want to play a low-level character. It's as simple as that. If you want to play a low-fantasy game with human or near-human protagonists, D&D is the wrong game.</p><p></p><p>But the thing is... any spellcaster has the means to grant himself superhuman ability scores. What you're saying, when you say that ability scores should be capped by "maximum human potential", is that the Wizard and Cleric should be able to enhance themseleves at will, but that the Fighter and the Rogue-- who are of equal level-- should have to rely upon the Wizard and Cleric to do the same thing.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Yes. And high-level D&D is about <strong>exceeding</strong> them.</p><p></p><p>So why should spellcasters and monsters be the only ones allowed to play?</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Yes. It's the concept of playing zero-to-hero-to-demigod. It's about becoming a mythic hero, and facing the gods themselves on your own terms. I actually hate some aspects of the stat inflation in D&D, but instead of taking away the automatic score increases... I want to take away the plethora of <strong>magic</strong> ability score bonuses that every high-level character relies upon.</p><p></p><p>I would rather have superhuman Fighters and Rogues on their own merits than have a variety of magical buffs being necessary for high-level play.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Viktyr Gehrig, post: 5805568, member: 9249"] See this? [b]This[/b] is why I hate the caps. A 20th level character is not in any way, shape, or form a normal human being-- he can swim in plate mail armor and leap a castle moat using just his skill ranks (with a Strength of 8), he can survive falling from a low Earth orbit and walk away, and he can fight off an army of armed and trained soldiers in his stocking feet, with nothing but his mess kit and a torch. If he's a spellcaster, he can raise the dead, walk through walls, and tell the physical laws of the universe to sit down and shut up. Even leaving magic aside, past 5th level or so, D&D characters are [b]innately[/b] superhuman. If you want to play a "normal" character who obeys the laws of physics, you want to play a low-level character. It's as simple as that. If you want to play a low-fantasy game with human or near-human protagonists, D&D is the wrong game. But the thing is... any spellcaster has the means to grant himself superhuman ability scores. What you're saying, when you say that ability scores should be capped by "maximum human potential", is that the Wizard and Cleric should be able to enhance themseleves at will, but that the Fighter and the Rogue-- who are of equal level-- should have to rely upon the Wizard and Cleric to do the same thing. Yes. And high-level D&D is about [b]exceeding[/b] them. So why should spellcasters and monsters be the only ones allowed to play? Yes. It's the concept of playing zero-to-hero-to-demigod. It's about becoming a mythic hero, and facing the gods themselves on your own terms. I actually hate some aspects of the stat inflation in D&D, but instead of taking away the automatic score increases... I want to take away the plethora of [b]magic[/b] ability score bonuses that every high-level character relies upon. I would rather have superhuman Fighters and Rogues on their own merits than have a variety of magical buffs being necessary for high-level play. [/QUOTE]
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