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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Variant Attribute System (2020)



Moxxmix
2020-06-08, 03:54 PM
I worked on this idea last year (thread: https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?589101-Variant-attribute-system-%97-remove-Con-and-Wis ), but have come across threads that made me think about it again. Even with a fresh try, I'm coming to similar conclusions, though with a few refinements. It's different enough to be a new iteration on the idea.

Previously I split up physical skills between Body and Agility. I'm inclined to a slight change, where body coordination (Acrobatics) is handled fully by Body, rather than be part of Agility. That means I'm going back to Dexterity as a name because of its more specific focus. I'll probably keep most of the original stat names as well.

While the idea of a Spirit stat to handle all magic is one possible approach, I think I'm going to back off from that. I don't think it helps as much as I want it to, within the confines of D&D.

The split of having every stat affect some type of to-hit, I think I'll drop as well. It adds unneeded complexity.

I think the changes here help reduce the overwhelming value of Dex, and disperse the value of the mental stats enough to keep any one of them from taking over.



A quick look at skill categories:

Body
- Swimming, climbing, dancing, running, balancing, jumping, leaping, tumbling, endurance, stealth

Hands
- Reaction speed, sleight of hand, pickpocketing, rope use, picking locks, painting, calligraphy, forgery, various tool usage

Logic
- Memory, lore (various), investigation, etiquette, puzzles, traps

Will
- Attentiveness, awareness, perception, insight, belief, concentration

Charisma
- Persuasiveness, intimidation, deceit, performance, animal handling



So, the Body stat covers all full-body activity: normal athletics and endurance, as well as acrobatics and stealth. The Hands stat covers any skills that require fine control of your hands: pickpocketing, sleight of hand, picking locks, forgery, painting, calligraphy, etc, as well as general reaction speed.

There is no Constitution stat, as that gets rolled into Body.

Body will be the damage modifier for all physical weapons. Hands (Dex) is the to-hit modifier for all physical weapons.

On the mental side of things, we have Logic (Int), Will (Wis), and Charisma (Cha). Much of their skill association is the same as default, but there are some changes.

Int adds handling traps (finding and disarming) and social etiquette (ie: knowing how to behave in social settings, which is not the same as being charismatic). And animal handling was moved from Wis to Cha.


For magic stuff, the attack bonus for magical attacks is Int, while the save DC for spells is determined by Cha. Meanwhile, Concentration is a Wis check. Splitting up these ideas in a similar manner to the Body/Dex split I think will keep any one of them from being overpowered, and provide a motivation for not focusing exclusively on one stat.


For saving throws, most physical saves now fall under Body, instead of Dex. Most mental saves will continue to fall under Will/Wis. Basically, two strong saves, and three niche saves.


Summarizing attributes and skills (mostly using the original stat names):


Bod

Athletics (climbing, jumping, swimming, grappling) [physical activity where there is an 'opponent' that you struggle against]
Acrobatics (balancing, tumbling, dancing, parkour) [physical activity focused on controlling your own body]
Endurance (running, holding breath, continuous actions)
Stealth (hiding, moving silently)
Some tools (eg: blacksmithing)

Dex

Sleight of hand (pickpocketing, hiding objects, misdirection)
Rope use
Handicrafts
Some tools (eg: thieves' tools for lockpicking, calligraphy, forgery, etc)

Int

Arcana
History
Nature
Religion
Some tools (eg: Herbalism, Alchemy, etc)
Investigation
Traps
Etiquette
Streetwise

Wis

Concentration (not sure whether to keep it as a proficiency, or roll it back into the save)
Insight
Perception
Medicine (actual medical treatment)
Survival (tracking, navigation, sheltering, etc)

Cha

Animal Handling
Deception
Intimidation
Performance
Persuasion





Body: Adds to physical damage (excluding mechanical weapons), adds to HP
Dex: Adds to physical attack rolls, adds to AC and initiative
Int: Adds to magical attack rolls
Cha: Determines magical DCs
Wis: Concentration checks

Spells that add your spellcasting modifier to their damage or effect continue to use the same stat.


Saving throws:

Body: Most physical effects
Wis: Most mental effects



Misc comparison issues:

Dex adds to AC and initiative, but no longer the main physical save or stealth. It adds to attack rolls, so physical fighters will want it regardless. This means dumping dex and using heavy armor isn't a useful strategy in itself, since you still need dex for the attack rolls. Overall favors medium armor, since focus is split between Body and Dex, and thus Dex will often be mid-range.

Monk's unarmored defense (Dex+Wis) is still mostly the same. Barbarian's unarmored defense (Dex+Con) means stats they are already raising both contribute to AC. There's no contest between Str and Con splitting focus for all non-casters. This may give a slight edge compared to before, but by pushing more skills into those attributes, I think it helps balance out the many social skills available in the mental stats.

5 attributes means you basically just don't have the 8 dump stat in the standard array, which means everyone should at least be on par with the average commoner in any given stat.

Casters will have a focus split between Int, Wis, and Cha, instead of only needing one of those stats. Int affects attack rolls, while Cha affects save DCs, and Wis maintains Concentration. It's possible to skimp on either Int or Cha if you only focus on one type of spell, but I don't see that as a problem.

Casters are not required to focus on a physical stat to handle Concentration checks, which I don't think is a problem, since they're splitting their stat needs up in different ways.

Int is much less of a dump stat, since any caster may find it useful to have. It also provides some useful social skills (etiquette and streetwise), so you don't have all social interaction skills entirely lumped into a single stat (Cha).