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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Spatzimaus" data-source="post: 3179669" data-attributes="member: 3051">The thing about STR is, it's in the same category as INT: if you can only have one good stat (say, in the "roll six sets and then assign to whichever stats you want" method), it can still be the core of a powerful character.  (Clerics still need a bit of CHA for turning and STR to carry plate armor around; Sorcerers need at least a moderate INT, if only to get their needed skills...)Take Barbarians, for instance.  With a d12 hit die and a good base Fort save, you don't really NEED a high CON (especially since rage boosts it).  With anything heavier than the lightest armors and without using ranged weapons, what does a really high DEX give you?  (initiative and Reflex saves, sure.)  But pump that STR up, and you can still be a huge asset to the group.  It doesn't matter how crappy his other stats are, you do NOT ignore a raging Barbarian with a magic belt who can get his STR up over 30.  (18 base, 5 increases, 8 more for rage, 6 for the belt = 37 total before including racial bonuses.)Better yet, take Rangers.  With 6 skill points per level, a -2 INT doesn't really hurt much.  They don't need CHA.  WIS wasn't penalized.  They've got good Fort AND Reflex saves.  If they go for the dual-wielding weapon path, a high STR really helps offset the inherent -2 attack penalty.  So, in my experience, Half-Orcs make fantastic melee-oriented Rangers, which is why we switched that to be their Favored Class and gave a few minor sense boosts.This is made worse by the fact that so many people (including some I play with) always seem to ignore the encumbrance rules.  They'll have a STR 8 Cleric carrying plate armor, a backpack full of all the standard adventuring gear, several weapons, assorted loot, etc., and it STILL won't occur to them that they're going to be encumbered. One of the things I liked about the Temple of Elemental Evil videogame was that it didn't compromise on this; most of the recruitable characters in the game had below-average STR, and it really, really hurt.I'll agree that DEX has been undervalued.  A race with a +DEX bonus should have to give up something significant (i.e., not CHA).  It's primarily defensive (outside of archers), and a character who can't actually Do Unto Others isn't worth much no matter how hard he is to hit.  But, it's a stat EVERY class could use at least a little of.Anyway, I'd put DEX and CON into one category (Everyone Wants a Bit), and the other four stats into a second (Most People Don't Want It, But One Class Needs ONLY It).  Just ask yourself: if someone suggested an ECL 0 race with a +2 INT bonus, would you be content balancing it with -2 to one other stat?  I wouldn't, because that race would, by default, be the ideal for Wizards and Psions.  Even a DEX or CON penalty wouldn't be enough, IMO.So, while I'm okay trading a plus in DEX for a minus in CON (or vice versa), any boost to STR, INT, WIS, or CHA should really require decreasing two other stats.  Of course, that's not quite the design philosophy WotC seems to use, but at least it explains why I don't have a problem with the Half-Orc's stats.(Incidentally, Half-Orcs also make great Clerics; they don't suffer in WIS or CON, after all.)</blockquote>

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