D&D 5E Races with floating bonuses: Designing from scratch

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I'd remove racial ASI but go with a race-as-classes instead!

Class: Elf
Archetype: Bladesinger, High Mage, Wood Warden, Arcane Archer, Tempest

Class: Dwarf
Archetype: Dwarven Defender, Runepriest, Cavern Strider, Battlerager, Vault breaker

Class: Halfling
Archetype: Hurler, Sheriff, Burglar, Dog Rider, Chaplain of Arvoreen

etc etc

I have a feeling like that about 90% of new players aren't going to be happy with that.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

I have a feeling like that about 90% of new players aren't going to be happy with that.

I'd guess its probably closer to 99.9% of all people

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I'd guess its probably closer to 99.9% of all people

I mean, we just got a system that lets you be just as good a wizard as an orc as you could be as a gnome. There's no way the community would accept that.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

I mean, we just got a system that lets you be just as good a wizard as an orc as you could be as a gnome.

And both of them are inferior wizards compared to dwarves or custom lineage!

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

And both of them are inferior wizards compared to dwarves or custom lineage!

Which is why I'm not using that system and am instead going to do this:

Move it mostly to background and class. Everyone gets a total of +3 to their Ability Scores at level one, one from their race (based on their races/subraces boosts, which they choose), one from their background (Soldiers can choose a +1 to STR or CON, Scholars can choose a +1 to INT or WIS, etc), and one from their class (Wizards get a +1 to INT, Fighters get a +1 to DEX or STR, etc).

This should satisfy everyone. Race still matters, but your background and profession matters more.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

I mean, we just got a system that lets you be just as good a wizard as an orc as you could be as a gnome. There's no way the community would accept that.

Who's to say that in this potential system there's no half-orc archetypes that is as good a spellcaster than the gnomes' caster archetype?

The half-orc could have a Stormsinger or Rage Mage archetype that could be on par with the gnome's Mist Caller or Phantasmagorist.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Who's to say that in this potential system there's no half-orc archetypes that is as good a spellcaster than the gnomes' caster archetype?

The half-orc could have a Stormsinger or Rage Mage archetype that could be on par with the gnome's Mist Caller or Phantasmagorist.

I didn't say that they wouldn't be as good at their roles as the other classes, but I don't think that the community in general would like restricting classes to race.

 

[tetrasodium]

I didn't say that they wouldn't be as good at their roles as the other classes, but I don't think that the community in general would like restricting classes to race.

I'm going to agree with this. I remember playing old versions where you were an elf/dwarf/etc& it felt very constrained. Splitting it to race/class was a big improvement

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

I didn't say that they wouldn't be as good at their roles as the other classes, but I don't think that the community in general would like restricting classes to race.

Quite right. The idea of class-as-race as been abandonned quickly after Basic D&D for a reason.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Quite right. The idea of class-as-race as been abandonned quickly after Basic D&D for a reason.

An additional reason is that whenever you make a new race, you have to make a whole new class and subclass.