D&D (2024) Need for a New Variant Not-Feat Feat Rule in OneDnD?

[Minigiant]

With Feats, Epic Boons, and Multiclassing possibly being "core" to the base One D&D game and there being a high variance of preferred power level of different groups in the 50 years of D&D,

should one or more new optional layer variant rules be added as an official way to power up and power down PCs and monsters in the core books as a replacement for the possibly unvarianted variants?

Flaws or Corruptions to weaken characters.
Deeds or Blessings to strengthen characters.
Traits to do a little of both.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

I think that the best method of adjusting the power of your game to your preferred level is literally the character level band in which you run it.

Possibly also the point-buy budget characters are created from, allowing only ASI feats to be taken, or flat-out changing the rate at which you gain feats.

Adding additional flaws or boons does not tend to change the power level much unless the characters get a lot of them, and they have potential issues in obscuring the rest of the character if they are significantly numerous or powerful.

 

[Minigiant]

I think that the best method of adjusting the power of your game to your preferred level is literally the character level band in which you run it.

Possibly also the point-buy budget characters are created from, allowing only ASI feats to be taken, or flat-out changing the rate at which you gain feats.

Adding additional flaws or boons does not tend to change the power level much unless the characters get a lot of them, and they have potential issues in obscuring the rest of the character if they are significantly numerous or powerful.

My point is some people's preference don't even match the power scale within 5e's 1-20.

Some people want things more fantastical superheroic than Base 5e.

Whereas other might want a starting point that is more gritty than it.

 

[DEFCON 1]

I don't think it matters either way.

If you are a DM and find whatever the default D&D experience to be is not to your liking... there is nothing wrong with adding or subtracting to your own game from a list of features to do so. And if you doing that, there is no difference whether those features are listed in any of the books as baseline or variant.

Did it matter that Multiclassing was listed as an Optional rule in the 2014 book? Not at all. Because those who didn't want to use it didn't, and those that did want to use it did. And did it matter that the rulebook had each Skill connected to a default and set Ability Score? Not at all. Because those who were okay with it played that way... and those who wanted to use the Alternate Ability Score variant rule did so. Where the rule was listed had no impact on the DM when they put their game together.

 

[tetrasodium]

With Feats, Epic Boons, and Multiclassing possibly being "core" to the base One D&D game and there being a high variance of preferred power level of different groups in the 50 years of D&D,

should one or more new optional layer variant rules be added as an official way to power up and power down PCs and monsters in the core books as a replacement for the possibly unvarianted variants?

Flaws or Corruptions to weaken characters.
Deeds or Blessings to strengthen characters.
Traits to do a little of both.

Yes there should be. Specifically in the form of different sized point buy pools. If the current filtered from the entire list weapon proficiency & spell selection rather than a bunch of specific edge cases remains it would allow drop in replacements as a secondary more encompassing option to fit specific setting needs.

 

[Minigiant]

If you are a DM and find whatever the default D&D experience to be is not to your liking... there is nothing wrong with adding or subtracting to your own game from a list of features to do so. And if you doing that, there is no difference whether those features are listed in any of the books as baseline or variant.

Adding and substraction pure homebrewed class features is more work than applying a variant rule that was designed by WOTC and analyzed by the aggregate of playtesters of the online D&D community.

That's the point of official variants.

With official variants, you have me and every one in forum telling you Trait X is OP before Session Zero whereas your homebrew untested Trait X just busts your game open.

 

[gametaku]

According to what Crawford said in the Unearthed Arcana: Expert Classes it seems that only the first level feat and ability score increase feat are non-optional. So, that's one variant that's mostly unchanged from the 2014 version.

 

[Minigiant]

According to what Crawford said in the Unearthed Arcana: Expert Classes it seems that only the first level feat and ability score increase feat are non-optional. So, that's one variant that's mostly unchanged from the 2014 version.

More of my question was about having another lever or three to further customize PCs and NPCs both up and down the power level and effect level to match group wishes.

Although 1st level feats are nonoptional, higher level feats and multiclassing are being changed to align with the base curve of the base OneDNDfeel.

In 5e, feats were not carefully designed at first as they were seen as optional. Same with multiclassing. This had the unintended effect of allowing group to par down or jack up power via feat ban lists or alterations using the community collective experience.

A new lever would allow fans who prefer "Anime D&D" past level 10 and those who like 20 levels of "Gritty D&D" to run on the same skeleton while both no forcing each others' heavy preferences on the other group and using each other's intelligence.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Adding and substraction pure homebrewed class features is more work than applying a variant rule that was designed by WOTC and analyzed by the aggregate of playtesters of the online D&D community.

That's the point of official variants.

With official variants, you have me and every one in forum telling you Trait X is OP before Session Zero whereas your homebrew untested Trait X just busts your game open.

Eh 5e is hard to bust open.

You might anime your game all to hell, by giving the level 1 Eldritch Knight the sword Caliburn that you homebrewed as an artifact, but it’s still really easy to account for as DM, and I’ve 100% seen brand new DMs do it.

 

[Lojaan]

Doesn't the DMG already have a bunch of alt rules for this sort of thing?