D&D 5E Taking Inherent Bonuses to the Next Level

[WalterKovacs]

I am working on a system overhaul where I do the exact same thing. First I fixed the feat tax. Then removed dependance on magical items, as I didn't like how magical weapons are a requirement for an adventurer (just like in 3.x). It wasn't a big leap to also remove bonuses to ability scores (and at the same time also fix the growing gap between some NADs).

I haven't looked into damage yet, as I would like to keep that part of the system (feats that enable more damage, for example), but I will keep your solution in mind

If you are going to try this, keep in mind that while some strikers bonus damage doesn't rely directly on their secondary stat (ranger, rogue, etc) others do (sorceror, slayer, vampire, etc) so many of the various riders in class features and powers need to increase by 1 at 8, 14, 21 and 28 [approximately], and there are a number of stat prerequisites for feats, etc.

 

[Geffor]

Something else to ponder on when switching to inherent bonuses rather than magic weapons is the critical damage bonus. Often, XD6 where X is the enhancement bonus of the weapon.

This can be a gratifying chunk of damage, particularly for characters that crit often. Even when it's only a 1 in 20 occurence, extra dice can really enhance the smugness factor of rolling that 20

 

[Hawke]

I am working on a system overhaul where I do the exact same thing. First I fixed the feat tax. Then removed dependance on magical items, as I didn't like how magical weapons are a requirement for an adventurer (just like in 3.x). It wasn't a big leap to also remove bonuses to ability scores (and at the same time also fix the growing gap between some NADs).

I haven't looked into damage yet, as I would like to keep that part of the system (feats that enable more damage, for example), but I will keep your solution in mind

Keep us posted what you come up with, especially any playtesting.

I've been wary about affects on Strikers, I sort of feel we may have to adjust the numbers for each striker class. I might just come to that though when people pick their classes rather than spending the time looking at all.

 

[Neubert]

If you are going to try this, keep in mind that while some strikers bonus damage doesn't rely directly on their secondary stat (ranger, rogue, etc) others do (sorceror, slayer, vampire, etc) so many of the various riders in class features and powers need to increase by 1 at 8, 14, 21 and 28 [approximately], and there are a number of stat prerequisites for feats, etc.

Thanks! I haven't looked into all the classes and how they are affected yet, but I think I will fix it on a class by class basis afterwards (so have a scaling bonus to damage).
It is a larger overhaul of the system though. Right now I am fixing the most immediate "problems", but one thing I would like to do is reduce the amount of tracking of conditions and bonuses (especially those pesky +1-to-a-single-ally-on-their-next-attack-against-a-specific-target). That probably means going through all powers. Ouch.

Keep us posted what you come up with, especially any playtesting.

I've been wary about affects on Strikers, I sort of feel we may have to adjust the numbers for each striker class. I might just come to that though when people pick their classes rather than spending the time looking at all.

Unfortunately I am sorely lacking a group at the moment. Doesn't stop me from tinkering, but no playtests yet.