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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kobold Stew" data-source="post: 9331889" data-attributes="member: 23484">I understand this position, and agree that some redundant abilities are not fun. At the same time, I don't want every single ability a character gets needs to be always useful, and part of the elegance of the system, in my view, the possibility of overlap adds pressure to be creative. Dwarves having armor proficiency is a good example: it means that every dwarf look a bit like a fighter, even though the ability is redundant for Dwarf fighters. There are, however, other aspects of dwarfdom that do compliment a fighter (such as the extra hit points), and someone choosing to take a dwarf fighter knows that when they take it. In any case, this has been taken away in the One playtests, where the option for any character to take a feat (Lightly Armored, which gives proficiency in Light and Medium armors and Shield).More interesting for me is the Goblin example: I think it's okay for goblins to have an ability that overlaps with Rogues, because that tells me something about the world: that goblins are generally sneaky but they don't specialize as thieves -- they are fighters, casters, whatever. But they tend not to become rogues. Those that do get cunning action, which is a benefit, just not as great a one as it is for other species. In this case, design shapes the story being told, and that is a win. What I don't think should be possible is the subbing-out so that everything is always useful. The clearest example of this is the rule in Tasha's about substituting a tool for a racial weapon proficiency in 2024. With that rule, every Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin, and Ranger who is a Dwarf or Elf can take four additional tool proficiencies (3 for a Drow), and that, in my view, is cheesy, even for something as low-powered as a tool proficiency. Again, I am glad that this workaround is being eliminated in 2024, given what we've seen in the playtest.All that's to say: I think redundancy is not necessarily bad, but it looks like the new material will avoid it because some people clearly do feel as you do.</blockquote>

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