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

[BookTenTiger]

I strongly believe only the small races, and MAYBE aarokocra, should have floating bonuses.

It just doesn't make sense that a 250+ pound half-orc would be good at floating!

 

[DND_Reborn]

It just doesn't make sense that a 250+ pound half-orc would be good at floating!

Depends on how much is muscle and how much is fat?

 

[BookTenTiger]

Depends on how much is muscle and how much is fat?

Okay, okay, I can see situational floating bonuses based on material characters are floating in. I can compromise that much!

 

[Micah Sweet]

then, just put that as alternate method by default and be done with it.

You cannot use rolls for AL, so why bother with it as a primary rule for ability scores?

Because Adventurer's League isn't the way the game was ever designed to be played. The one thing I'm sure I would hate as a design direction is to force things to be more like AL.

 

[Horwath]

Because Adventurer's League isn't the way the game was ever designed to be played. The one thing I'm sure I would hate as a design direction is to force things to be more like AL.

game is balanced around default array and point buy.

having 20 and 18 at 1st level breaks game balance.
And it also gives problems for DMs if creating encounter if you have PCs that are spread in power due to imbalance of ability rolls.

 

[Marandahir]

I already was giving everyone the option of taking a free feat or a 1st-level supernatural gift (a la Mythic Odysseys of Theros).

Lots of potential character options to build from there.

Ultimately, the "race" package is a tool to describe your character. It's not a tool to describe the peoples of the worlds. Your character might be like one of the other tribes in the setting, or they might be completely different, or some amalgam descendant (like a half-elf/half-dwarf).

I like the Tasha's toolbox for this.

 

[Micah Sweet]

game is balanced around default array and point buy.

having 20 and 18 at 1st level breaks game balance.
And it also gives problems for DMs if creating encounter if you have PCs that are spread in power due to imbalance of ability rolls.

And if a group has a problem with that, you have point buy or standard array right there. Or you can up your encounters as a DM. Or let people reroll if they accidentally make a farmer. The point is, to many, many people (including those who have heard of our hobby but never engaged in it), rolling dice is an indelible part of making a character. No amount of mathematical persuasion is going to change their minds.

 

[Greenstone.Walker]

I'd remove floating attribute bonuses entirely. A floating bonus is just the same as more points. For exmaple, give everyone 31 points to buy attributes.

If you want to be an elf, cool, you're an elf. You can see in the dark.

 

[clearstream]

I'd remove floating attribute bonuses entirely. A floating bonus is just the same as more points. For exmaple, give everyone 31 points to buy attributes.

If you want to be an elf, cool, you're an elf. You can see in the dark.

Partly, I agree with you - the aim should not be just to blandly slide the modifiers to the right. Rather, I think the right mechanic will add texture to the game. The house rules I am currently playtesting are in this thread.

 

[DND_Reborn]

I'd remove floating attribute bonuses entirely.

You know I thought about this some at work today and I have one exception to this:

If you roll your score in order than granting a +2 and +1 to allow the player to shore up a weakness or if they got a good score where they want it, to increase their focus in that score and be even better.

But, if you are doing point-buy or using a standard array, I would also just bump up the points and the array to reflect the changes. shrug