D&D 5E Race/Class combinations that were cool but you avoided due to mechanics?

[UngeheuerLich]

Which is why I said there are lies, damn lies and statistics. I mean, on average if you fighter is doing 10 points of damage on a hit going from a 14 strength to 16 is going to increase their average damage (vs that 50% hit target) from 2.75 to 3.575. Less than a point per attack.

Of course there are a lot of other ways to slice it to prove a different point, because statistics can be presented in ways to prove different things depending on what you want to "prove".

No matter if it is 5% more to hit or 10% depending on how you look at it (both valid views depending on what you want to know) In play it is usually the amount of damage you inflict instead of hit probabilities which is more noticeable.
1d8+2 (average 6.5) - > 1d8+3 (average 7.5) is a increase of 2/13 =~ 16%.
The lower the damage die, the more you notice the lower +x. It is also feeling not so great if you roll a 1 with a low static number.

 

[Oofta]

Nice, that we are feeding the fat horse again...
So here we go.
No matter if it is 5% more to hit or 10% depending on how you look at it (both valid views depending on what you want to know) In play it is usually the amount of damage you inflict instead of hit probabilities which is more noticeable.
1d8+2 (average 6.5) - > 1d8+3 (average 7.5) is a increase of 2/13 =~ 16%.
The lower the damage die, the more you notice the lower +x. It is also feeling not so great if you roll a 1 with a low static number.

You do know you can respond and have a different opinion without being insulting, right?

I would be amazed if anybody at a table is going to notice the difference between a fighter with a 14 strength vs a 16 strength. Anyway, I'm done because I really, really don't care that much. PCs are more than just a collection of numbers, D&D is more than just combat.

 

[Todd Roybark]

which is, again, part of the Barbarian's core role.

The role of a class is to provide some structure for a character.

One does not play a Barbarian. One plays Doktor Johanes, a disgraced Fellow of the College of Antiquities at Ravensbluff Collegium.

In Mechanical terms this could be a Variant Human Barbarian with the Prodigy feat and the Sage Background. Doktor Johanes might not be the best academic, but they are good in a fight, and good at surviving traps.

If you don’t intend to make use of your friggin’ Class features then why the heck are you a Barbarian?! That’s just being lame for the sake of being different

I have a high DEX cleric, so does the fact I don't use medium armor, mean I shouldn't play a cleric?
A player might want to take a dip into Barbarian just to gain access to the Advantage on STR saving throws aspect of the Rage ability. The other aspects of the ability are just ribbons, in effect to the player.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

You do know you can respond and have a different opinion without being insulting, right?

I would be amazed if anybody at a table is going to notice the difference between a fighter with a 14 strength vs a 16 strength. Anyway, I'm done because I really, really don't care that much. PCs are more than just a collection of numbers, D&D is more than just combat.

Sorry. That wasn't intended as an insult and I edited it out.
And yes, you are right. Noone will notice, because the fighter player either has duelling fighting style, reducing the percentual difference (I know from experience, when my 14 dex rogue/college of sword bard picked up duelling style an attack without sneak attack stopped feeling that bad), or uses a great weapon which also reduces the perecentual difference. Also it is often not a different player feeling that you don't do a lot but the player themself. Rolling a 1 does not feel good to begin with, if you only get 1+1 or 1+2 it feels like you did nothing.

 

[DND_Reborn]

I will add that if the DM made all the rolls in secret, with one PC getting a +1 attack bonus over another, I doubt any player at the table would be able to figure out which PC got the +1 over the other. This is because ACs vary enough, and the d20 is swingy enough, you really couldn't tell the difference.

The DM might just roll well for the PC without the bonus, so that everyone is convinced that one had the extra +1. Unless you actually tracked it, and for hundreds of rolls, you really just couldn't tell.

 

[Oofta]

Sorry. That wasn't intended as an insult and I edited it out.
And yes, you are right. Noone will notice, because the fighter player either has duelling fighting style, reducing the percentual difference (I know from experience, when my 14 dex rogue/college of sword bard picked up duelling style an attack without sneak attack stopped feeling that bad), or uses a great weapon which also reduces the perecentual difference. Also it is often not a different player feeling that you don't do a lot but the player themself. Rolling a 1 does not feel good to begin with, if you only get 1+1 or 1+2 it feels like you did nothing.

Sorry if I misinterpreted, it's been a long week.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

I actually played this anyway because it was too irresistable, even though mechanically it didn't make much sense.

Goblin Paladin. It was so much fun being this tiny tank!

 

[Warpiglet-7]

The role of a class is to provide some structure for a character.

One does not play a Barbarian. One plays Doktor Johanes, a disgraced Fellow of the College of Antiquities at Ravensbluff Collegium.

In Mechanical terms this could be a Variant Human Barbarian with the Prodigy feat and the Sage Background. Doktor Johanes might not be the best academic, but they are good in a fight, and good at surviving traps.


I have a high DEX cleric, so does the fact I don't use medium armor, mean I shouldn't play a cleric?
A player might want to take a dip into Barbarian just to gain access to the Advantage on STR saving throws aspect of the Rage ability. The other aspects of the ability are just ribbons, in effect to the player.

that is a wild combo! I like it when background, class and ability scores really make something original

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Sorry if I misinterpreted, it's been a long week.

Yeah, for me to... I should stop trying to be funny when I am tired...

 

[Kurotowa]

Of course, the other side of the coin with the whole "How viable are PCs without a racial ASI in their main stat?" question is how is the DM running the game.

Are you rolling for stats, especially if you're using something more generous than 4d6k3? Then those racial ASI may not matter nearly as much as when you're using the standard point buy. Does your DM like to throw softball encounters at the group to let them show off? That puts a lot less pressure on the players to optimize than a DM who's always shooting for "challenging" as a baseline and is willing to let the party lose a boss battle and run with it. Is your DM on the more generous side with powerful or personally tailored magical gear? Then a few weaknesses in base character stats are more easily evened out.

We should all remember that there's no good universal baseline for the D&D play experience.