Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Faolyn" data-source="post: 8200178" data-attributes="member: 6915329">Oh for Pete's sake... I am not saying that halflings as a race are as strong as or stronger than orcs as a race. I'm saying that there's no logical reason why you can't have one halfling, out of the thousands or millions of halflings in any given world, who's as strong as an orc when they start out. I'm reminding you that, according to the PH, the PCs are supposed to be extraordinary people.I'm saying that players should have the opportunity to create the character they want. If you don't think a strong halfling is logical, then you can just put your ASI in any other stat. But the fact that you don't think a strong halfling is logical should have no bearing on whether or not I want to make a strong halfling--and a floating ASI allows for both of us to make the character we want. I'm saying that having a floating ASI makes the game simpler. Having a racial ASI doesn't point you to a specific class and doesn't allow for a quick build, which some people here have claimed. You get a +2 Dex? Fine. Now, are you going to play a Dex-based warrior-type, a rogue, a monk, or a bladelock? See? It's not a quick build; instead, you nearly as many options as before. But with a floating ASI, you don't have to worry about where the bonus goes; it goes where you want it to. The only way it becomes more complicated is if you are incapable of coming up with an idea without the books telling you want to do.I am saying that attributes are about 90% abstract anyway, so it shouldn't matter if one is higher than another. After all, a halfling with 16 Dex and an orc with 16 Strength have the same damage bonus. Literally the only time that attributes aren't abstract is when it comes to encumbrance. And "strong" races come with Powerful Build, and Small races can't use heavy weapons. I am saying that having a floating ASI makes the game more fun, because you don't have to worry about a "bad" build if you are concerned about your stats. Instead, you can play the character you want to play. If you had your heart on playing a Strength-based warrior or a very Intelligent wizard, and you also wanted to play a halfling, you can without feeling like you're wasting a bonus on a stat you don't need. It means you can play a clumsy or inept halfling, if you want to. It also means you can play a typically Dexterous halfling because you're just a typical halfling. Or you can put your ASI in Constitution, or Wisdom, or Charisma, because it supports your character's backstory. That's why the floating ASI is good. You can use it to bump up any of your stats, not just one.I am saying that giving races static bonuses and penalties does nothing more than lump them all into dull stereotypes. Halflings, orcs, dwarfs, elves should be treated as individuals, not forced into a brainless stereotype of "all halflings are weak but agile," or "all orcs are dumb but strong," or "all dwarfs are hardy but gruff," or all elves are "dexterous but fragile."</blockquote>

Verification