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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Chris_Nightwing" data-source="post: 5995624" data-attributes="member: 882">I have two suggestions that I think will help the game hit that sweet spot in deadliness, and also clean up something I can see already being a problem.Base HitpointsThe previous playtest used Con score + max HD for initial HP, followed by rolled HD slightly modified by Con for each additional level. The current version uses Con mod + max HD for initial HP, followed by Con mod + rolled HD for each additional level.The former is quite deadly - it is easy to have a Wizard with just 4HP who will go down in one hit. It does differentiate the classes, however. The latter was a bit soft, it's hard to kill a Wizard with 14HP, and it didn't differentiate the classes very much at low level.So my solution is adjust our thinking a little bit. Every character has a race, and a background tells you about their life before they became an adventurer, so before you become a Wizard do you have just Con mod HP? Clearly not, that doesn't work. Con score, yes, but that is high and too dominant at low levels. So how about we assign each character a default number of HP? Let's say, 6HP:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A first level character gets 6 + Con mod + rolled HD (or average) HP.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Each level thereafter a character gets rolled HD (no Con mod, that makes it overshadow HD again, and besides it goes into healing).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Example - a starting Wizard with 11 Con gets 6+1d4 or 8 HP. Enough to take a hit!</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Example - a starting Fighter with 14 Con gets 6+1d10+2 or 13 HP. Enough to take two hits!</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Con makes a difference, but not too much, and HD remain important.</li> </ul>Now, if you like you can adjust this base number for the different races. Throw dwarves a +1, Elves a -1. Default commoners of these races would have 6/5/4 HP, Dwarf, Human, Elf. Heck, do the same for the lowest level monsters - default goblins get 3, nothing more until they become an archer, or shaman.Base Attack Modifiers3E had variable progression in base attack bonuses which led to large disparities.4E had fixed progression with some starting differences.5E has so far aimed somewhere in between - there are differences at 1st level, and some variable progression from what we've seen.I think that they need to recommit to their aim of flattened math. Currently it looks like the Fighter is getting +1 with weapons every 4 levels, the Rogue +1 every 5 levels, the Cleric, who knows. This will lead to a maximum disparity of maybe 3 between a 20th level Fighter and 20th level Cleric (not accounting for abilities). Between 1st and 20th level the Fighter will go from +ability+3 to +ability+2 or 3 from ability increase+8+magic, which is about +1 every 2 levels. Hey, it's a reduction from 4E and 3E, but to me, they could go flatter. I say ability increase and magic should be the only ways to improve. At least make improvement regular between classes.But either way, the intial differences could be fixed up a bit. For starters, I see that even Wizards get +2 with weapons, yet the Fighter gets nothing with magic, despite being able to get spells through various means. I suggest:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Every class gets a magic attack bonus.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">At 1st level you basically divide +4 between weapons and magic</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Example: Fighter gets +1 Magic +3 Weapons</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Example: Wizard gets +3 Magic +1 Weapons</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Example: Cleric gets +2/+2</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Example: Rogue gets +2/+2 for some use magic device goodness.</li> </ul>Let me know what you think, especially with regards to attack bonus advancement - regular or irregular or no thank you?</blockquote>

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