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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Smeelbo" data-source="post: 4719833" data-attributes="member: 81898">PHB+2 rewards specialists (20) over generalists (16)After looking over the new feats in PHB+2, my new concern is that these feats greatly favor specialists (characters with a starting score of 20 in their attack), and generalists (those with a starting 16). Prior to these new feats, one could reasonably argue that the specialist paid for his higher attack bonus with his much narrower stats, and so his defenses would suffer significantly, whereas the generalist had overall better stats and more solid defenses. However, the new attack and defense feats greatly favor the specialist.  Since offense is clearly better than defense, the specialist gains more from taking Expertise, and can cover his supposed weakness by taking the defense feats.  It is not symmetrical, because improving already decent defenses is not as good as improving an already great offense. Thus the generalist falls further behind the specialist. The specialist can adequately mimic the main advantage of the generalist, better defenses, but the generalist attempt to mimic the specialist fails.  The generalists sole hope is the significance of his higher secondary stats, which, by the trends we are seeing towards single stat classes, appears to be a fool's bet. In my opinion, if 4E cannot withstand 16s, it has failed.  If only starting 18s and 20s need apply, that a lot of the "choice" and "flexibility" that have been sold to us is little more than snake oil. It may well be.  But it makes me sad. Smeelbo</blockquote>

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