Level Up (A5E) Where to put ability bonuses during character creation

[Morrus]

If you’re familiar with Pathfinder 2e, they’ve a system whereby your Ancestry, Background, and Class each give a Bonus to Stats.

Yep, it's a mini life path system. I'm a big fan of life-path systems (as anybody who's read WOIN can attest!)

 

[palikhov]

Yep, it's a mini life path system. I'm a big fan of life-path systems (as anybody who's read WOIN can attest!)

I thinked about different variations of humans for only-human setting and used Culture (Nomadic, Civilized etc), Region (mountains, jungle etc), Ethnicity (illuskan from illusk, chondathan from chondath etc) + Professional Training + Background + Heroic Backstory as elements for choosing initial abilities bonuses, traits and proficiencies .

 

[CapnZapp]

A life-path system is only worth it's salt if you can end up dead before character generation is finished!

 

[CubicsRube]

Yep, it's a mini life path system. I'm a big fan of life-path systems (as anybody who's read WOIN can attest!)

It's not a real life path system unless you can die in chargen!

/grumble

 

[CubicsRube]

A life-path system is only worth it's salt if you can end up dead before character generation is finished!

Dammit! Ninja'd!

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Half Orc player characters are stronger on average (in the 5E rules). That doesn't speak to the other 3M half orcs who aren't player characters.

I firmly believe that PCs are heroes and don't represent the population. I know that's a game style choice (Call of Cthulhu certainly doesn't assume that). But I generally assume if there's a story about you, you're not the norm.

The character creation rules are are creating protagonists, not extras.

If that were true in 5e D&D, the books would actually say it, instead of talking about Half-Orcs in general for the entirety of the section on Half-Orcs.

 

[Xeviat]

Class is a good solution.
it allow to choose culture, race, background more freely.

I vote "Other: Class" as a good place for it. Then racial stats can just make the character unique, and not pigen hole them into specific classes.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

I vote "Other: Class" as a good place for it. Then racial stats can just make the character unique, and not pigen hole them into specific classes.

Coming up with racial stats that don't work better when doing some things compared to others is going to be rather tricky though. Off the top of my head, I can't think of many in the current 5E races that appear to meet your criteria.

 

[Stalker0]

Monsters in the existing books and adventures assume the existing point buy average. If the game lowers that average, it affects the playability of those monsters and adventures. This is more than one iota, at least.

Technically rolling is still the default method of character generation, point buy and arrays are "optional". Therefore, assumed ability scores should not be a factor of monster design.

 

[Undrave]

Technically rolling is still the default method of character generation, point buy and arrays are "optional". Therefore, assumed ability scores should not be a factor of monster design.

Array is as default as rolling, the same way you can take average or roll for HP. It’s only point buy that’s presented as optional.