Discussion:Is a starting stat of 30 to much with if all other stats are 8 and no racial abilities are given?

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Greyfox (talk) 13:17, 27 September 2018 (MDT)

Using Marasmusine meter an ability point is worth .5 and the standard ability array is 15,15,15,8,8,8. Then with all 8s you would have 10.5 marasmusine meter points left over or 21 ability points then the racial bonuses can add up to 4.5 or another 9 ability points so if you gave a player those 30 points and nothing else to put where they want would that break the game?

Guy 13:48, 27 September 2018 (MDT)

I'm assuming you're talking about the ability scores 5e player-characters, and using Marasmusine Meter (5e Guideline).

Marasmusine's meter is not definitive. Any race meter one can find is going to have flaws. That said even using it, I'm not sure where you get that increasing any ability score by 1 only amounts to 0.5 on the meter, much less that increasing any ability score by 12 equates to only 6 points.

Unless special conditions apply, a player-character cannot have an ability score above 20. D&D 5th edition was not built for several scores higher than 20, let alone one them being 30 at 1st level.

With 30 in every ability score, you would have at least +10 bonus to every ability check, saving throw, or attack roll ever made with that ability score. That's before counting proficiency or other bonuses. I'll spare a rant about Bounded Accuracy and such things and just say that any character which was allowed to have this would probably be incredibly overpowered compared to anything 5e is designed to accommodate.

P.S. I'm honestly confused, here. It isn't normally even possible to have "all 8s." Are you combining Marasmusine Meter (5e Guideline) with "Variant: Customizing Ability Scores" from the Player's Handbook? Are you asking if a character with an ability score array of "8, 8, 8, 8, 8, and 30" would be overpowered? Or literally "game-breaking" to the point the game could not be played?

Greyfox (talk) 14:06, 27 September 2018 (MDT)

Yes sorry that's a little convoluted I am combining the 2 his meter and the variant ability score rule. I got that .5 is worth one ability point from the part of his guide where he broke down the races on the PHB.he used 2/1 ability increase for a race as a base line and rated the extra point a half elf gets as .5 "Half-Elf (4.5) +1 Ability Score (0.5)" I do understand bounded accuracy and that a starting bonus of +10 is crazy high. My main question is if the trade-off for those points is worth all of a races traits. For example Marasmusine's meter rates dark vision as worth 1 so is dark vision worth 2 ability points? Also thank you for your help I do appreciate your time.

Guy 13:48, 27 September 2018 (MDT)

In my opinion, the trade-off of all race traits for all those points into one ability score is not a balanced trade. The gain from a +10 ability modifier is just way too strong.

Greyfox (talk) 14:36, 27 September 2018 (MDT)

I agree I also missed that as you get closer to 15 on the variant ability scale the points start costing more and more so with the rate they increase you couldn't hit 30 even with no racials and an 8 in every other ability. Thanks again I think I'll let my players have some freedom with whay stat bonuses they can get from races mainly for flavor, but I'll keep the max around 20 for any given stat.