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General Tabletop Discussion
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition (A5E)
Synergy Builds Costs/Benefits
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<blockquote data-quote="Pedantic" data-source="post: 8786493" data-attributes="member: 6690965"><p>So I really like synergy feats. They provide a solid way to make a "prestige class" style mixed build character, allow you to feel like your character's career path is building toward something at lower more approachable levels, and allow for some fun customization within the class structure to make multiclassing rewarding and appealing. </p><p></p><p>What I don't love is that I feel like they exacerbate the already painful ASI/feat trade-off. Using the standard array or point buy, a character is essentially committing to a +3 in their primary accuracy stat until 16th level, and won't see 20 until 19th (barring magic items or strongholds which either break the cap or overwrite the whole progression anyway).</p><p></p><p>This leads me to two questions: </p><p></p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Are synergy feats generally worth it? </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">If I want to encourage feats, should I give out ASIs separately, and if so, when?</li> </ol><p>I'm afraid to say I think the answer to the first is no, because the benefits from most synergy feats don't actually help the accuracy issue. You're still risking a lot of spells not working and a lot of attacks missing, and generally wasted/ineffective actions in combat, which is likely to lead to a quietly worse table experience. I've never liked the tension in 5e between "get cool abilities" and "be effective" that ASIs present, and synergy feats make it notably worse by offering even cooler abilities that are more painful to give up. Fundamentally "miss more" isn't a fun or interesting balance point against the abilities feats offer.</p><p></p><p>I'm not too concerned with players just having more abilities, and I feel like multiclassing/build requirements to pull off synergy feats is already a big enough ask, so if I was going to give out ASIs alongside feats, what should the schedule be? I don't know that it necessarily makes sense to give them out alongside feats, though that certainly is an option. Assuming my players prioritize accuracy (something 5e really encourages), and start with a 16 in their primary stat, when should that become an 18 and 20?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Pedantic, post: 8786493, member: 6690965"] So I really like synergy feats. They provide a solid way to make a "prestige class" style mixed build character, allow you to feel like your character's career path is building toward something at lower more approachable levels, and allow for some fun customization within the class structure to make multiclassing rewarding and appealing. What I don't love is that I feel like they exacerbate the already painful ASI/feat trade-off. Using the standard array or point buy, a character is essentially committing to a +3 in their primary accuracy stat until 16th level, and won't see 20 until 19th (barring magic items or strongholds which either break the cap or overwrite the whole progression anyway). This leads me to two questions: [LIST=1] [*]Are synergy feats generally worth it? [*]If I want to encourage feats, should I give out ASIs separately, and if so, when? [/LIST] I'm afraid to say I think the answer to the first is no, because the benefits from most synergy feats don't actually help the accuracy issue. You're still risking a lot of spells not working and a lot of attacks missing, and generally wasted/ineffective actions in combat, which is likely to lead to a quietly worse table experience. I've never liked the tension in 5e between "get cool abilities" and "be effective" that ASIs present, and synergy feats make it notably worse by offering even cooler abilities that are more painful to give up. Fundamentally "miss more" isn't a fun or interesting balance point against the abilities feats offer. I'm not too concerned with players just having more abilities, and I feel like multiclassing/build requirements to pull off synergy feats is already a big enough ask, so if I was going to give out ASIs alongside feats, what should the schedule be? I don't know that it necessarily makes sense to give them out alongside feats, though that certainly is an option. Assuming my players prioritize accuracy (something 5e really encourages), and start with a 16 in their primary stat, when should that become an 18 and 20? [/QUOTE]
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