Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Xeviat" data-source="post: 8089374" data-attributes="member: 57494">All the talk about moving ability score bonuses around in the Race/Lineage system, and issues of minmaxing, has got me thinking. What if we removed offensive power from ability scores?Here me out, this is going to get weird. So, when you compare PC math using point buy to the CR scale in the DMG, it strongly looks like the game assumes you're starting with a 16 in your primary offense stat and increasing at 4th and 8th and then probably getting +1/+2/+3 weapons at some point. This is based on looking at the PC proficiency plus ability scale compared to the monster AC scale. Monster attack to player AC is similar.This means if you start below 16 or you don't raise your offensive stat to 20, you may feel a little more misses than ideal. 5% here and there isn't much, but there's also player perception going here.Tying offense to ability scores also makes it difficult to balance the ability scores. Intelligence and Charisma mean a lot less to people who don't have class abilities tied to them.So what if we removed ability scores to offense entirely? What if your offensive oomph just came from your class level. A level 8 rogue is a great combatant because they're a level 8 rogue, not specifically because they're agile.How would this work? Well, we already have a scaling proficiency bonus. Proficiency bonus goes from 2 to 6 instead of 2-3 to 5, so the scaling is really similar. Prof scales at 5, 9, 13, 17, so slotting in another scale at the midpoints (3, 7, 11, 15, 19), at somewhere in there, is possible. This would definitely not be for 5E proper, but maybe something that could be thought of for 6E or a fully variant system.So what about ability scores differentiating characters? Won't this make everyone the same? Well, first of all, having fighters use Str or Dex for offense doesn't create varied characters, people still push for those stats to be high. What if, instead, we had feat/talent trees tied to the different ability scores (like 3rd edition feats, but build them up) so that an Intelligent fighter would play differently than a Strong fighter?Now, what about spell casters? The caster classes are really tied to their primary ability score. An unintelligent Wizard might feel weird, but maybe they just tried harder, or maybe they figured things out on their own and they do them in their own way. A level 10 wizard is a good wizard, whether or not they're hyper intelligent or not.Just a thought that could make the game more balanced, make builds more interesting and fun to put together, vary characters more, and make it easier for new players by removing trap builds and making more race/class combos work.What do you think?</blockquote>

Verification