D&D 4E The 4e human racial package: what we know

[Puggins]

Okay, so we have a couple of interesting tidbits:

* Humans definitely get a bonus feat. The poor schmuck human cleric used it on what looks to be a terrible racial feat (human perseverance) that will hopefully scale or be a prerequisite for a much better feat. I'm betting other races have their own crappy feats too.

* I'm betting humans get +2 to any one ability. The human cleric had 36 points, and (surprise!) an 18 wis. Take s off that and you have 30 points, which is what the warlock started with. Either humans have +2 wis (unlikely) or they have a +2 flex bonus.

* The cleric starts with 5 skills. The two defenders start with 4. The wizard and warlock have 4, the ranger and the rogue each have 6. Sure, leaders might get 5, but I think it's also likely that humans get a bonus skill.

Did R&C confirm either of the two last points.

 

[jaelis]

What makes you say that human perseverance stinks? Bonuses to saves seem like a pretty big deal. The human also looks like he has a +1 bonus to reflex, fort, and will defenses, too. That might come from the feat too, though it might also be a human thing.

 

[~Johnny~]

R&C did not confirm any human crunch, but I think you've got it figured out. There's no way human perseverence is an automatic bonus feat for humans, right? That doesn't seem to be the way racial features are set up in 4e.

 

[Puggins]

What makes you say that human perseverance stinks? Bonuses to saves seem like a pretty big deal. The human also looks like he has a +1 bonus to reflex, fort, and will defenses, too. That might come from the feat too, though it might also be a human thing.

If Human Perseverance also gave +1 to all defenses, then it'd be a very good feat. Otherwise... sorry, +1 to just saving throws, when you already have a 55% success chance? It'd be a "meh" feat for me, unless all feats were on the level of the dodge feat in 3.5e.

 

[keterys]

Bonuses to saves are very nice.

Humans and half-elves appear to get a bonus power. In the half-elves case, he took it from a different class, the wizard... dunno if the human cleric could have done that.

 

[Dragonbait]

Didn't they say that the feats would be toned down from 3E? If so, that feat the human took is probably a darn good one.

 

[FourthBear]

I definitely think that a +1 to saving throws in 4e is worth quite a lot. From all appearances, you'll be making saves every round that you're affected by a duration effect. Further, failed saves will determine if many effects not only linger, but progress and get worse (petrification, death effects and the like). It also sounds as though you'll be making saves after you drop to zero hit points to determine if you recover or die. It seems to me like you'll be making a whole lot of saves for very important things in 4e, especially since you roll the save over and save in many of these resolutions, rather than just once. Those +5%s seem like they would add up in effect over the lifetime of a character.

 

[WyzardWhately]

It looks to me like you'll be rolling a lot of saves in this game. A +1 to all of them would be pretty good. Especially if the "get worse/don't get worse" checks you make when in negative HP is considered a save for these purposes.

 

[Atlatl Jones]

* I'm betting humans get +2 to any one ability. The human cleric had 36 points, and (surprise!) an 18 wis. Take s off that and you have 30 points, which is what the warlock started with. Either humans have +2 wis (unlikely) or they have a +2 flex bonus.

All the characters are built with 28 points, except for a couple where the guy making them admitted that he miscalculated and gave them 29 points. I'm guessing that humans +2 to two abilities, probably to one physical and one mental ability of choice. If the human cleric has +2 wisdom and +2 to another ability, he comes out to 28 points.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I've heard you get a feat every level, although some people have suggested every other.

Still, it makes sense to tone down feats a bit if you get 'em all the time.

Besides, I agree, having played a few sessions, that +1 saves is very, very useful.

Try failing a "stunned" save with a roll of a 9... which I've done. It sure would have been nice to have +1 saves and get to ACT the next turn!

Fitz