D&D (2024) Should all races/lineages have +2/+1/+1 ASI?

[Horwath]

Like current half-elves, +2/+1/+1 or alternatively +1/+1/+1/+1/+1/+0, as +2 to highest stat is worth more than +1 to two stats.
And maybe be default human choice or anyone that feels that way.
Also by not giving +1 to 6th ability, it gives option in point buy/array for having an 8 as a choice penatly. 9 is just begging to be raised to 10 with some half feat.


Why this suggestion?

It would give less room to "special" racial traits, be easier to balance, and lessen the forum chatter on how race is too influential to character design.


Also, culture can be a single addition in character creation outside biological traits:
Pick one skill, pick total of 4 languages, tools or weapons that you are proficient.


Then you can have:

1. Ability boost: +2/+1/+1 or +1 to 5 abilities
2. Biological traits:
darkvision,
speed(bonus speed or other speed movements as climb, swim, fly or burrow),
Innate spellcasting,
resistances and advantages vs various damage or conditions,
skills that could be biological: Athletics, Acrobatics, Perception, Insight, with maybe an Expertise if those if there is room for it: Possible Elves with proficiency+expertise in Perception.
Natural armor,
Natural attacks, includes possible poison or elemental added damage,
Bonus HPs,
Etc....

3.
Culture:
one skill,
4 tools, languages or weapons of choice

4.
Background:
2 skills tied to background
tool or language tied to it

5.
Feat, whatever options are final for 1st level choice.

6.
1st level class features


Or you can merge 3&4&5 to single entry of 1 feat, 3 skills and 5 tools, languages or weapons.

Then you get biological traits, class traits and customize your character traits.

 

[Emberashh]

I believe a better option to be moving towards a MAD design and giving races extra dice to roll on their base stats.

That way you can depict biological advantages better and make race selection more interesting for most player types, as you can set up the races to support different mixes.

 

[Frozen_Heart]

With bounded accuracy, I feel +2 or -2 is far too much for a species bonus. Likewise, the way 5e is designed means that unless you have at least a 16 or 17 in your primary score at level 1, you're going to be missing most of the time. Which isn't fun for anyone. So for 5e, then nope I don't think species stat bonuses should be a thing.

In some theoretical future 6e, which maybe has bounded accuracy and also doesn't expect starting scores to be quite so high, then yeah I'd like to see each species get a single +1 and a single -1.

 

[Horwath]

I believe a better option to be moving towards a MAD design and giving races extra dice to roll on their base stats.

That way you can depict biological advantages better and make race selection more interesting for most player types, as you can set up the races to support different mixes.

I believe that rolling for stats/abilities is going more and more into optional rule.
array/point buy will probably default ability score generation with rolling as an optional rule.

 

[Horwath]

With bounded accuracy, I feel +2 or -2 is far too much for a species bonus. Likewise, the way 5e is designed means that unless you have at least a 16 or 17 in your primary score at level 1, you're going to be missing most of the time. Which isn't fun for anyone. So for 5e, then nope I don't think species stat bonuses should be a thing.

In some theoretical future 6e, which maybe has bounded accuracy and also doesn't expect starting scores to be quite so high, then yeah I'd like to see each species get a single +1 and a single -1.

If combat was based only on proficiency bonus and ability scores are only for ability checks then I have nothing against every race having fixed +2/1 bonuses and fixed -2/-1 penalties..

 

[aco175]

We could just get rid of the bonuses altogether. Maybe leave a +2 or +1/+1 for humans since they do not get all the other traits. a 14 in ones highest stat should not mean the PC sucks.

 

[Horwath]

We could just get rid of the bonuses altogether. Maybe leave a +2 or +1/+1 for humans since they do not get all the other traits. a 14 in ones highest stat should not mean the PC sucks.

I agree with that also. remove any ASI from creation process.

make default array: 16,16,14,12,12,10

 

[cranberry]

We could just get rid of the bonuses altogether. Maybe leave a +2 or +1/+1 for humans since they do not get all the other traits. a 14 in ones highest stat should not mean the PC sucks.

I like that idea! That would be a step in the right direction for slowing down the zero to hero effect.

It would be a hard sell, but it's the right way to go.

 

[NaturalZero]

I think it's about time we just phase out math bonuses for race and just design them around flavorful features.

In both 4e and 5e, I've seen groups move from coded racial ASIs toward floating ones and it always leads to an explosion of diverse racial picks during PC generation. When races give math bonuses a lot of people, even "roleplayers", just look for the race with the best math for their class. Getting rid of this makes it much more about flavor and roleplay instead of playing the math game.

 

[Frozen_Heart]

I agree with that also. remove any ASI from creation process.

make default array: 16,16,14,12,12,10

I'd hate that as the default array. I like characters having actual weaknesses. I enjoy the 'zero to hero' story arc. Not the 'demigod to actual god' story arc.

One of the main reasons I hate standard array and point buy is that you can't go below an 8. (I still use SA and PB, as rolling is cursed).