D&D 5E Possible Changes to Rebalance the Ability Scores

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

1. Add both STR and CON for min requirements for wearing ALL armor.
Con could be 2 pts lower than STR.

I.E.
leather armor could be; STR 10+, CON 8+,
Full plate; STR 16+, CON 14+,
Shields; light(buckler); STR 12+, CON 10+, medium(standard); STR 14+, CON 12+, tower; STR 16+, CON 14+,
Etc...

2. Add INT in addition to DEX for initiative.

3. Add Extra skill, tools & language proficiency equal to int bonus(max +3).
I.E; 18 int would give 3 extra skills, 3 extra tools and 3 extra languages.

4. You can be attuned to 2 items or your CHA bonus. whatever is higher.

5. add extra expertise to skills and tools equal to half int bonus(round down), that is 1 expertise for 14+ int, 2 expertise for 18+ int,

Thanks for your suggestions! While I may not agree with some of them, I appreciate you sharing them.

I agree with the first point, and do share your wish for having more types of shield (I would only add 3, which you listed).

I would personally also allow for Wisdom as an option for Initiative instead of just INT and DEX.

One extra skill, tool, and language seems like too much of a benefit for just a +1 bonus to Intelligence. I would personally have you choose an amount of skills, tools, or languages equal to you Intelligence modifier.

I'm not sure about the attunement being tied to Charisma, but I would like it to be tied to proficiency bonus or something like that, but that wouldn't really effect the ability scores.

Free expertise seems a bit too much, but I could see something else like that helping balance Intelligence in later editions.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

I really think the problem comes from Dexterity actually being two different abilities smooshed together: Agility (speed, balance, etc.) - that would be your Dex saves, your stealth, your balance, your AC bonus; and Dexterity (hand-eye coordination - ranged attack bonus).

however we are talking about sticking with the 6 abilities, so how about this:

Bows should use your Strength bonus, not your Dexterity. It's mainly upper body strength that makes someone more effective with the big bows, after all.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

For Intelligence I deal with it in my game by making a lot more Investigation checks, and fewer Perception checks, since the line between them is rather thin.

I also make picking locks and disabling traps Intelligence + Thieves Tools, rather than Dexterity + Thieves Tools. For me dealing with a complex mechanism is as much your knowledge of your mechanism with how well you move your fingers around.

 

[Horwath]

Thanks for your suggestions! While I may not agree with some of them, I appreciate you sharing them.

I agree with the first point, and do share your wish for having more types of shield (I would only add 3, which you listed).

I would personally also allow for Wisdom as an option for Initiative instead of just INT and DEX.

One extra skill, tool, and language seems like too much of a benefit for just a +1 bonus to Intelligence. I would personally have you choose an amount of skills, tools, or languages equal to you Intelligence modifier.

I'm not sure about the attunement being tied to Charisma, but I would like it to be tied to proficiency bonus or something like that, but that wouldn't really effect the ability scores.

Free expertise seems a bit too much, but I could see something else like that helping balance Intelligence in later editions.

Maybe int bonus for all 3 is too much.
Skill or tool&language might be more balanced.
And you must stagger choices, pick skill then tool&language then skill again(if you have +3 bonus)

getting one expertise for 14 int is not much, and would reward investment in ability that has like 3 saves based on and useful for one class as primary ability.

Charisma as attunement is your force of personality vs. force of the magic in items.

 

[Horwath]

I really think the problem comes from Dexterity actually being two different abilities smooshed together: Agility (speed, balance, etc.) - that would be your Dex saves, your stealth, your balance, your AC bonus; and Dexterity (hand-eye coordination - ranged attack bonus).

however we are talking about sticking with the 6 abilities, so how about this:

Bows should use your Strength bonus, not your Dexterity. It's mainly upper body strength that makes someone more effective with the big bows, after all.

as attack and damage is tied to same ability in 5E, I would not change that.

But I would rank BASE damage of bows depending on users STR.

I.E.
1d4 STR 6+
1d6 STR 8+
1d8 STR 12+
1d10 STR 16+
1d12 STR 20+
2d6 STR 22+

having less STR than minimum will result with disadvantage on attack rolls and deal only minimum damage.

 

[Lanefan]

To balance the stats a bit (mostly reducing the dominance of Dexterity):

--- Take all melee-combat offense (to hit, damage, etc.) away from Dex and give it to Str. No more finesse.

--- Take initiative away from Dex and don't put it anywhere. No more init modifiers.

--- Put some Str requirements on heavy armour and weapons; also, put hard limits on what Dex heavy armour will allow one to function as.

To make all the stats a bit more relevant, particularly when a stat is an odd number: bring back roll-under mechanics on a widespread basis.

 

[Horwath]

To balance the stats a bit (mostly reducing the dominance of Dexterity):

--- Take all melee-combat offense (to hit, damage, etc.) away from Dex and give it to Str. No more finesse.

--- Take initiative away from Dex and don't put it anywhere. No more init modifiers.

--- Put some Str requirements on heavy armour and weapons; also, put hard limits on what Dex heavy armour will allow one to function as.

To make all the stats a bit more relevant, particularly when a stat is an odd number: bring back roll-under mechanics on a widespread basis.

Or just remove Con and merge its mechaics into STR, then we will see how many finesse characters will dump STR

 

[Dormammu]

I always had the feeling 5E was trying to downplay the system mastery elements of 3-4E. Are you sure Wizards cares whether stats are balanced? This observation is mostly in the context of the OP’s suggestion that the next edition must “fix” stats.

 

[Li Shenron]

Way too many changes.

If you think Dexterity is the clear winner and Intelligence the clear loser, start by removing Dex bonus from something important and replace it with Int bonus. Initiative is a good start but I think AC is even more dramatic.

 

[Aldarc]

I think that it's helpful to look at how other games have addressed similar issues.

* PF2, for example, links Initiative with Perception as the default, but also allows for other skills to be used in lieu of Perception based upon what the PCs may have been doing at the time: e.g., Stealth, Survival, Deception, Persuasion, etc.

* The AGE System links bonus damage for Ranged Combat to the Perception attribute as a factor of aiming.

I would also consider decoupling Initiative from Dexterity entirely and instead simply have it be linked with the character's Proficiency bonus: this is to say, it's linked to the character's overall experience as an adventure rather than any of their six attributes.

But I would not necessarily make too many drastic changes until you know how a smaller set of major changes work together.