Unearthed Arcana WOTC still can't get the backgrounds right in the new FR book.

[ECMO3]

Hardly. That is counterbalanced by "If just one D&D player likes the bonuses attached to backgrounds, that's a pretty compelling reason to have it that way."

Not at all. I didn't say it should be that way because someone liked it, I said it should be that way because they wanted to put an ability increase there and there is not a good reason not to. Letting me put an ASI in Dextyerity for my soldier does not stop you from putting in strength for your Soldier.

What you are saying here is that you "like" that others can't build their character as they wish. That is not a compelling reason at all IMO.

If you want it to be unattached, get your DM to detach the bonuses

He already does (and I do when I DM), as I have explained multiple times on this thread. Why do people keep talking about how to DM or how to play the game, when this thread is clearly about WOTC?

. As it currently stands, the bonuses mostly make sense for the backgrounds in question

No they don't. They mostly don't make sense IMO.

 

[ECMO3]

ASI should have been removed entirely. "Here's a few extra points...because."

You have stat buy points. Just raise them if you think its not high enough. The way it is done now is silly.

This is a really good point. ASIs are a throwback to earlier eras when they were tied to races, then that went away, so now what.

Assuming you want to keep the same scale, the right way to do this is just through alternative methods with a higher point buy or a different way of rolling dice

 

[Maxperson]

Not at all. I didn't say it should be that way because someone liked it, I said it should be that way because they wanted to put an ability increase there and there is not a good reason not to. Letting me put an ASI in Dextyerity for my soldier does not stop you from putting in strength for your Soldier.

There is a good reason not to do it your way. Sense. It doesn't make sense for soldier to grant any stat. It makes sense for it to grant strength or constitution. Perhaps dex for those trained as scouts.

What you are saying here is that you "like" that others can't build their character as they wish. That is not a compelling reason at all IMO.

Don't put words in my mouth. I never said that, and in fact I said the opposite. Talk to your DM and make a case for it to be reasonable for you to have a dex bonus. Then you can make your character as you wish.

No they don't. They mostly don't make sense IMO.

Acolyte: Int, Wis, and Cha. All three of those make sense. Priests cloister(int), dispense advice to followers(wis), and preach to get new converts to the religion(cha). Dex, Con, and Str don't make sense at all.

Artisan: Str, Dex, and Int. Int or dex match painting. Dex and Str match sculpting. All three make sense. Wis, Con, and Cha don't make sense at all.

Charlatan: Dex, Con, and Cha. Dex and Cha make perfect sense. Con I don't get. Wisdom would have made more sense, since that's how one reads a mark. Con, Int and Str don't make sense for this one.

Criminal: Dex, Con, and Int. Again, Con is the odd one out. Dex and Int make perfect sense. Cha would have been my pick for third, because that's how social criminals succeed.

I'm going to stop here, because I've made my case. Out of the first 4 backgrounds 10 of the 12 stats chosen make perfect sense, where other stats do not make sense.