D&D (2024) Is it possible to balance the six abilities?

[Yaarel]

The easiest ability system to balance is 0 ability scores.

Everyone seems to start with a +3 anyways, so it's not doing much besides grouping skills.

The abilities are mainly for the purpose of organization. They help communicate an easy to understand character concept, and help navigate what might otherwise be an overwhelming amount of options. The abilities feel useful for the game design.

Still, it helps to be clear-eyed about what exactly abilities are, and what it is they should be doing.

For example, it might be only the class that determines the amount of Hit Points. The Toughness feat is there for a player who wants an unusually tough character. Constitution has no relationship to Death Saves. No active skills. It seems the only essential mechanic is the Fortitude save, which seems easy to merge into a different ability.

 

[Yaarel]

Regarding the effort to balance the six abilities, the DSC-CIW configuration looks promising. Each of the physical abilities − Dexterity (Attack), Strength (Reflex), Constitution (Fortitude) − seem roughly comparable to each other and establish the amount of design space for each other.

The mental abilities are found wanting. As an attack stat, Charisma (DC/Attack) is in decent shape. However, Intelligence and especially Wisdom need more utility in the combat pillar of the game. An earlier post mentions Hearten, Rally, and Bloodthirst for Wisdom. These need finetuning but seem a solid way forward.


Here, Intelligence has the Perception Save versus hiddenness, illusion, or fraud. Intelligence also has the 'trait' of serving as the Ability Check for every sensory or knowledge check, which is at least situationally good in combat. In addition the following offers the potent Tactics trait to help Intelligence contribute in combat.


Tactics
Action Type: Action.
Target: one creature that can communicate with you.
Range: 10 feet per Intelligence, or Touch.

You monitor the ongoing events to coach optimal tactical responses, coordinating the timing and effectiveness of the members of your team. During your Turn, one creature can spend its Reaction either to Move without provoking Opportunity Attacks, or to do an extra Action. Its chosen Action can use your Intelligence instead of its normal ability. If you use Tactics on yourself, you spend your next Reaction, and your Intelligence can replace an other ability. Until the end of your next Long Rest, you can do Tactics a number of times equal to your Intelligence plus Proficiency.

 

[Minigiant]

There was a time when I wanted to standardize magic and tie different types of attacks to different scores via Keywords.

Touch Spells would be Unarmed Attacks. Unarmed attacks are Strength attacks unless you are a Monk. Touch Attacks would be renamed to include the world Touch.
Shocking Touch, Ghoul Touch, Vampire Touch, Burning Touch, Death Touch, Harming Touch

Ray Spells would be Ranged Attacks. Ranged attacks are Dexterity attacks unless you are using a Thrown Weapon. Ray Attacks would be renamed to include the world Ray.

Breath Spells and Weapons would be special attacks. Their DC would be based on the attackers Constitution.
Spit spells would be special attacks. They would be attacks based on Constitution.
Smite spells would be special attacks. They would be attacks based on Charisma.
Gaze spells would be special attacks. They would be attacks based on Wisdom.

In this model, a spell caster would have a huge chunk of spells not based on their main Magic stat.
And you might see odd spellcasters that lean into spells that don't focus on a class's main stat. Like a barbarian priest full of Touch spells and Breath spells.

But your classic elf would be pewwing you down with Rays.