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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 4731029" data-attributes="member: 82106">Interesting question Capn. I think the Ranger is a bit of a different case than the others. For one thing there are more "dual use" powers, like Twin Strike for Rangers. Since the two Ranger builds are also REALLY distinct in how they operate this worked out good for that class, they can use the same power and yet really it produces significantly different characters based on the same mechanics. If the same thing had been done with say the paladin, then you would basically have 2 paladins that played exactly the same, but just had different names for their primary stat.And that really is my objection to Sadrik's solution. It will certainly "fix" the equalization between the classes. The problem is it will do so at the cost of all differentiation between them. Maybe not all, they will have different MC opportunities and there will still be some slight distinctions in the powers from attribute bonuses in the effect blocks. They'll also qualify for some different feats. My guess is one or the other option will simply be superior enough that the other option will virtually cease to exist.My other objection is basically the aesthetic objection. There should be more to a stat than just a name. Strong characters hit hard. Dexterous characters are quick. Intelligent characters are well, intelligent. If you just make the stats into interchangeable plug-in numbers, then what do they actually mean? It could work fine in a game mechanics sense, but I think it erodes player's sense of what their character is. They become more of a 'bag of numbers' than they are now.The other part of what Sadrik has been complaining about, the 'twinning' of stat pairs based on defenses is a rather unfortunate consequence of the three defenses. Given that the three defenses are so deeply embedded in the game mechanics, they are just not going away anytime soon. How could it be solved? The only way I can see would be to let a player decide at character creation which stats contribute to which defense. This at least could be fluffed as different styles of training. Maybe each defense has a fixed 'primary' stat, Con for FORT, DEX for REF, and WIS for WILL. Then the player could decide "well, I'll pair STR together with DEX for reflex, my character has learned to use power to make him fast", etc. I don't have any idea what the implications are for balance between the classes and races, but it would work in a broad sense and it offends my sensibilities less than the "modular power stats" idea. I suspect only a few combinations would prove really beneficial, probably pretty much determined by what class you want to be when considering primary and secondary stats and for other dump type stats the choice is likely to be mostly arbitrary (does the fighter care if int and cha were to be reversed for defenses calculations? I doubt it).There is another nice advantage of switchable defenses stats, it just plain doesn't have any consequences for existing characters. They simply go on about their lives as they are now, and neither gain or lose anything.</blockquote>

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