It seems to me that the most logical place to put the stat bonuses from character creation are in class choice, not background.
Who cares what you did growing up - if you spent the last 5 years studying to be a wizard you're going to get a boost to your intelligence. Or if you spent however long it took learning how to be proficient in every martial and simple weapon then you'd likely get a bonus to your strength (or dex depending on where you focused your studies). Similarly, it would be super odd if cleric or druid training did not increase your wisdom. It makes sense. Even for warlocks it makes sense to put the stat bonus in class - the first gift from their patron being a boost to their charisma.
The way I would do it is this:
You can increase certain stats, determined by your class, by 3 points. You can put one point in each stat, or increase one stat by 2 and one stat by 1.
This would be my breakdown (open to suggestions on this);
Artificer: Int, Dex, Con
Barbarian: Str, Dex, Con
Bard: Cha, Dex, Con
Cleric: Wis, Dex, Con
Druid: Wis, Dex, Con
Fighter: Str, Dex, Con
Monk: Dex, Wis, Con
Paladin: Str, Cha, Con
Ranger: Str, Dex, Con
Rogue: Dex, Cha, Int
Sorcerer: Cha, Dex, Con
Warlock: Cha, Dex, Con
Wizard: Int, Dex, Con
Apart from making sense, it solves a couple of problems;
1. You don't have to worry about a players story choice (race/background) reducing their game effectiveness
2. No more bio-existentialism.
3. It works with all methods of stat generation (standard array, point buy, rolling)
4. Makes it difficult for new players to inadvertently make choices in character creation that substantially reduce their game effectiveness
5. The stat bonus still feels meaningful
(Plus people can still easily have low scores in their primary stats if they want)
What do you think?
Who cares what you did growing up - if you spent the last 5 years studying to be a wizard you're going to get a boost to your intelligence. Or if you spent however long it took learning how to be proficient in every martial and simple weapon then you'd likely get a bonus to your strength (or dex depending on where you focused your studies). Similarly, it would be super odd if cleric or druid training did not increase your wisdom. It makes sense. Even for warlocks it makes sense to put the stat bonus in class - the first gift from their patron being a boost to their charisma.
The way I would do it is this:
You can increase certain stats, determined by your class, by 3 points. You can put one point in each stat, or increase one stat by 2 and one stat by 1.
This would be my breakdown (open to suggestions on this);
Artificer: Int, Dex, Con
Barbarian: Str, Dex, Con
Bard: Cha, Dex, Con
Cleric: Wis, Dex, Con
Druid: Wis, Dex, Con
Fighter: Str, Dex, Con
Monk: Dex, Wis, Con
Paladin: Str, Cha, Con
Ranger: Str, Dex, Con
Rogue: Dex, Cha, Int
Sorcerer: Cha, Dex, Con
Warlock: Cha, Dex, Con
Wizard: Int, Dex, Con
Apart from making sense, it solves a couple of problems;
1. You don't have to worry about a players story choice (race/background) reducing their game effectiveness
2. No more bio-existentialism.
3. It works with all methods of stat generation (standard array, point buy, rolling)
4. Makes it difficult for new players to inadvertently make choices in character creation that substantially reduce their game effectiveness
5. The stat bonus still feels meaningful
(Plus people can still easily have low scores in their primary stats if they want)
What do you think?
