D&D 5E I allow using INT for initiative bonus, thoughts?

[Eggs Benedict]

I agree, Ancalagon. 5th Ed. is meant to sacrifice a little granularity for added speed and simplicity, it seems to me. Your point is exactly what I was trying to express as a frustration in adding complexity through house rules. Adding granularity back into 5th ED. seems like a fool's errand, yet there are issues created by the simplicity of the RAW that beg to be addressed. To some degree, this entire argument applies to Unearthed Arcana too. *shrug*

What's that analogy about pulling a loose thread on a sweater, only to have it unravel? I know I should leave it alone, but it's making me itchy!

*Not to nitpick, but I said INT Bonus/2 = bonus knowledge skills - not INT Bonus = bonus skills. So, that's half as many and a restricted list.

 

[Ancalagon]

I wonder if each bonus point gave something different... so a high int character would get a lot of things, but *not* 5 skills. something like...

int 12-13 Bonus language
Int 14-15 bonus tool
Int 16-17 bonus skill
Int 18-19 bonus language
int 20 bonus initiative

I'm not saying that this is "the best chart", but the idea behind the chart... I think that could work. It also doesn't add much granularity, which I agree [MENTION=6875493]Eggs Benedict[/MENTION] , is something we have to be careful about

 

[schnee]

I wonder if each bonus point gave something different... so a high int character would get a lot of things, but *not* 5 skills. something like...

int 12-13 Bonus language
Int 14-15 bonus tool
Int 16-17 bonus skill
Int 18-19 bonus language
int 20 bonus initiative

I'm not saying that this is "the best chart", but the idea behind the chart... I think that could work. It also doesn't add much granularity, which I agree [MENTION=6875493]Eggs Benedict[/MENTION] , is something we have to be careful about

Yeah, you can pay for bonus languages and tools with downtime, you can't with skills. They're much more powerful and have far more mechanical impact.

I've seen this discussion take place in many places, and FWIW lots of people are in agreement.

- Reward high INT with bonus languages or tools.
- NOT bonus skills. Those are too powerful.