D&D 5E Alternative to Ability Score Increases

[Chris_Nightwing]

I am still puzzled by the option to spend a feat to increase an ability score - I don't see how you can balance a +1 when the nature of that +1 changes according to whether you have an odd or even ability score. If you start with a 16, then it will cost you 4 feats to achieve your maximum potential, but if you start with a 17, it will cost you only 3. So is +2 to hit, damage, some skill checks and some class features as good as 3 feats, or 4? It gets worse if you decide to stop at 18, where the disparity is between 1 or 2 feats.

So, I thought an easier option might be to offer simple, straightforward increases that don't involve your ability scores. When I think of simple games like Descent or Runebound, your options to increase your power are really just more of X or more of Y - and there's no funny system that makes some increases useless until later. So how about, instead of a fully-fleshed out feat, you pick one of the following:

- +1 to hit (could be split into melee, ranged, magic)
- +2 damage (could also be split)
- +1 to saving throws
- +1 to your AC
- +2 initiative
- +1 HP per level
- +1 to the DC of your spells
- weapon proficiency
- armour or shield proficiency
- gain a spell slot (level 1 the first time, 2 the second, and so on, pick a spellcaster to mimic for how your preparation works)
- gain or improve a number of skills

There might be some more simple options I've forgotten. To prevent excessive abuse I wouldn't allow the numerical feats to be chosen twice until level 11+. Each of these options gives you a simple mechanical boost, whilst allowing you to specialise your character to some degree, or to customise them outside of their usual paradigm. A straight-up fighter will probably grab the to-hit bonus, damage, then perhaps initiative or AC depending on the role they play in combat. A spellcaster will be looking at increased DCs, or additional spell slots. If you want to multiclass-lite, you can grab a weapon or armour proficiency you want, or start casting spells.

These very basic feats are deliberately flavourless, designed to be a quick choice that shows your character's improvement or broadening. I think they work better than ability score increases. Thoughts?

 

[Li Shenron]

I like the idea of spell slots because it allows some mild multiclassing, as long as it also comes with a single known spell. It might not be necessary to require all feats spent in this way to get you spells from the same class, maybe you can take a feat to cast one spell as a Cleric and another to cast one spell as a Wizard. I'm not sure if the numeration of slots should restart or not.

It's ok also for saving throws but if it applies to all 6 saves, I'd restrict the bonus vs spells & magic items only, not everything.

I would avoid the bonus to hit (to keep bounded accuracy enforced), the bonus to damage (plenty enough damage in the game) and the spells DC (currently already higher than ST).

I am undecided about the AC (for bounded accuracy) and the proficiency (depends on how many weapons with 1 feat).

 

[MortalPlague]

If my character gained +1 to strength, it feels like that informs his character in some way. I feel that way less about gaining a +1 to hit, or a +2 to damage.

Also, I think a '+1 to hit' feat would inevitably end up being a feat tax.

Gaining spell slots or skills is a very interesting possibility, though. I notice you worded it so that a non-caster character could gain spells, which is equally interesting (though potentially troublesome).

 

[Chris_Nightwing]

I'm aware that +1 to hit is a pretty good choice - but I assume under this system that you would never increase your ability scores from where they start, hence you need some way to improve factors that abliity scores modify, which includes to-hit, damage, spell DCs and so on.

Obviously if you're not a caster and pick up a spell slot it ought to come with a known spell, or short list of known spells, but that would depend on what caster you want to imitate.

For saving throws, I figured a bonus to a single save was weak, but a bonus to all saves might be too strong - I guess you could split it into physical/mental abilities, or physical/magical effects.

I'm pitching the power of these based on the 4E multiclass feats, which were often an excellent choice whether you cared to multiclass or not.

 

[Kobold Stew]

The proposals you present range from things that are already being accomplished by feats (or close enough)

- +2 initiative
- +1 HP per level
- weapon proficiency
- armour or shield proficiency
- gain or improve a number of skills

to things that seem way more powerful than the (very powerful) +1 to an ability

- +1 to hit (could be split into melee, ranged, magic)
- +2 damage (could also be split)
- +1 to saving throws
- +1 to your AC
- +1 to the DC of your spells
- gain a spell slot (level 1 the first time, 2 the second, and so on, pick a spellcaster to mimic for how your preparation works)

I can imagine ways that this second set could be implemented, but as it is, they become the must-have choice.

I do like the spellcaster option, however: but I recognize it's one I would want to use a lot; which probably means there's something wrong with it as well.

 

[Chris_Nightwing]

to things that seem way more powerful than the (very powerful) +1 to an ability

Very powerful compared to +1 to an ability? At it's best, +1 to an ability gives you +1 to hit, +1 damage, +1 initiative, +1 to a series of skills and +1 AC, or sometimes +1 to spell save DCs.

I'm aware that +1 to hit appears to be a must have ability, but then, won't +1 to your primary attack ability be a must have? All I'm doing is splitting the bonuses you achieve with +1 ability score into separate components.

The spell slot option is hard to gauge without knowing how often one gets feats, but I think spending 9 feats to get a top level spell will leave you fairly mediocre in other aspects, and weaker than a straight spellcaster - but again, this could be limited to only 5th or 6th level (I forget which levels you only get 1 spell slot for as a straight caster).

 

[Kobold Stew]

Fair enough -- but a spellcaster needs the ability bonus in order to up the DC of the spells. It encourages edge-case builds. Perhaps it is balanced, but it feels off.

I actually like the spell option, and expect something like this to make it into the rules eventually. Even a prereq: level 3; any 1st level spell, 1/day. That's something I suspect I'd want my characters regularly to have. but it's a Fun choice, and that's part of it as well.

 

[keterys]

In the long term, you get multiple feats and ability score bumps, so your primary ability score _will_ be a 20. So it's really pretty immaterial whether the feat gives you the odd or even score this go around, because you already had whether the +1 at level 4 gave you an odd or even.

If anything, think of it as system self-correcting for one player who started with all odd scores being advantaged over one who started with all odd.

 

[Bluenose]

In the long term, you get multiple feats and ability score bumps, so your primary ability score _will_ be a 20. So it's really pretty immaterial whether the feat gives you the odd or even score this go around, because you already had whether the +1 at level 4 gave you an odd or even.

If anything, think of it as system self-correcting for one player who started with all odd scores being advantaged over one who started with all odd.

According to some of Mearls' tweets, ability score bumps are probably going from the game. If you want to bump a score, you'll need to spend a feat.

 

[CAFRedblade]

I was just pondering that if, as Mearls has said, upcoming feats will be equivalent to +1 ability scores, that may be an option for me to replace the ability score increases at certain levels with additional feats. Will be interesting to see how this plays out.
This would make my life as DM easier so I can reduce the ability mods to Race + Class at character creation.