D&D (2024) Should classes have primary ability scores?

[BrokenTwin]

Ah, yeah, it does, and for a while I thought it was a great system. Then I realized in addition to how horribly formatted the rulebook was, there were some facets of the system that weren't what they presented themselves as.

It is, and will likely always be, my complex d20 fantasy heartbreaker. There's so much about that system that I love, but I doubt I will ever play it, and if I do, I probably won't like it, haha.

 

[James Gasik]

Well, my main gripes include how utterly pointless gold ended up being, despite the robust system for how much you start with and can keep each session, and how terrible the crafting system was- when we started, my friend wanted to be a crafter, and the guy running the game went on this whole spiel of what he could do eventually.

By level 5, we discovered he'd used all his feats to get some random enchantments that cost the same amount of renown as if he'd just purchased them to make, and he wasn't even allowed to use bonus renown to craft them.

 

[Undrave]

Personally I'd love to see it more like 4e where every class did have a MAIN ability score but also had a secondary ability score it wanted but that one wasn't always the same (the Warlord had STR as a primary, with the choice of INT, CHA, WIS or even a balanced INT/CHA set up as secondary). I think it makes classes feel more solid if they have a clear 'path of less resistance' in their design. The secondary ability is where I want to see more flexibility, but more importantly: I want to see it be REWARDING to build your Fighter with good WIS or INT or CHA, because as it stands it's relatively pointless outside the Eldtrich Knight.

 

[Undrave]

If the ability scores aren't tied to a MAJOR aspect of your character (Iike class) then why do we even have ability scores to begin with, ya know?

 

[payn]

If the ability scores aren't tied to a MAJOR aspect of your character (Iike class) then why do we even have ability scores to begin with, ya know?

Skills, reactions, per day currency, saves, etc... the possibilities are endless.

 

[tetrasodium]

I'd also like to see dump stats matter more. Let's face it +0 or - 1 with a Stat that a character is likely to do their best to never use is hardly going to matter on the rare edge case where Alice can't just step back & say "Bob this is your area" or whatever. Minus three or four though and it really hits home to change into Alice saying "woah this is an area I must be kept clear of, how can we make sure that happens?" "


Well doesn't everyone have a dump Stat?... No...its entirely possible to dropa pcs primary Stat a point or two and seriously bring up a dump Stat or two... Just nobody does that because there is no meaningful opportunity cost to taking thrm for more power elsewhere

 

[Dausuul]

If the ability scores aren't tied to a MAJOR aspect of your character (Iike class) then why do we even have ability scores to begin with, ya know?

Because they were in OD&D and now we're stuck with them.

 

[Amrûnril]

If the ability scores aren't tied to a MAJOR aspect of your character (Iike class) then why do we even have ability scores to begin with, ya know?

I would say if ability scores tied to class in a deterministic sense, that gives them less reason to exist. If every effective Rogue has high DEX, then the benefits of high DEX feel like they're a built in part of playing a Rogue, rather than something distinctive. If ability scores are tied to class in a more flexible way or are independent of class, then they gain a lot more value as way of differentiating characters.

The current non-magic archetypes are:

*Brawny Guy.
*Agile Guy.

It really is striking how few nonmagical ways there are for mental stats to be useful in combat. Changing this could be a major benefit of a more flexible ability system

 

[cbwjm]

I think that ability scores should be somewhat tied to class, but to an extent, the ability to change them in some cases would be good.

I also wish that there was some flexibility in Dndbeyond to change the caster stat. I had an idea for a bard, a detective type character that used intelligence instead of charisma and, while you can adjust each individual spell DC, it would be much easier to adjust the caster stat and have this all automatically calculated.

 

[payn]

I think that ability scores should be somewhat tied to class, but to an extent, the ability to change them in some cases would be good.

I also wish that there was some flexibility in Dndbeyond to change the caster stat. I had an idea for a bard, a detective type character that used intelligence instead of charisma and, while you can adjust each individual spell DC, it would be much easier to adjust the caster stat and have this all automatically calculated.

Its stuff like this that made PF1 archetypes so money.