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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Esker" data-source="post: 7887745" data-attributes="member: 6966824">Another thought: replace racial bonuses with a fungible point pool (six for standard +2/+1 races) and "more favorable prices" for their key stats.For example, the base price to raise a stat up to 13 is 1 point per point; 14 to 16 costs 2 points each; 17 to 19 is 3 points. If your race would normally get +X in a stat, instead the price jump boundaries move up by that amount: elves can raise DEX up to 15 (instead of 13) for just one point per point, and to 18 (instead of 16) for two. High elves can raise INT from 13 to 14 for just one point, but 14 to 15 still costs 2; etc.So, as a high elf rogue, I could if I wanted to get DEX to 15 for 7 points, to 18 for another 6, spending 13 of my 33 total points. I could then get CON to 14 for a total of 7 (I'm now up to 20). INT to 14 costs me 6, and I have 7 left over, which is just enough to get WIS to 14, leaving STR and CHA at 8. So I get 18/14/14/14/8/8.Or I could even sacrifice some INT and/or WIS to start with 19 DEX, perhaps to set myself up for a half-feat at level 4.On the other hand, it would cost a half-orc rogue 17 points to buy DEX to 18, but only 6 to get CON to 14, leaving them with 10. Maybe they spend 6 on STR, which with their racial "discount" gets them to 14 leaving them with 12 WIS, 8 INT and 8 CHA. They wind up with the same DEX, CON and CHA as the elf, but swap STR and INT, and slightly lower WIS, for a line of 18/14/14/12/8/8. Slightly lower stats overall as a result of picking a race that doesn't line up as naturally with what the class prioritizes, but the net deficits are in places where it's less glaring than the main stats.So now, every race has the same starting cap of +4 in a stat, which can be obtained by anybody; but if it's not one of their race's prime stats they pay a premium that gets reflected in lower off-stats. So you still have an incentive to align your race with your class, but the difference isn't as stark as being behind in your main stat. That seems a more even trade when weighted against another cool racial feature you want.</blockquote>

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