I’m not saying that Int isn’t more important to a Wiz or Artificer than it is to a Barbarian, but what I am saying is that when the Barbarian will get as many opportunities to be smart as they will to be strong, if they wish to play a smart Barbarian then it isn’t “wasted” for the Barb to invest in Int. And sooner or later that Wiz will need to traverse a 11-12 foot chasm. Not enough to require fly, but my wouldn’t it be nice to have a Str of 12? The Wiz don’t need Str all like the Barb, but a li’l bit ain’t no bad thing.
Again, I reject your premise that there are any “least important” ability scores whatsoever. They are all only as important as you make them.
When they aren't the 2 most important ability scores.... they are the 4 least important ability scores. I don't understand how that wouldn't be the case....
Really?!? That +1 across the board may be boring, but it’s nothing to sneeze at.
Think about it in these terms...
A feat essentially amounts to the equivalent of +2 ASI, because you can essentially choose that or a feat. So a Human Variant gets the numeric equivalent to +4 ASI (1 feat plus 2 ASI).
The regular Human gets +6 ASI. That's more, right?
The problem is where you put those bonuses matters, a lot. Ask any experienced player if they'd be willing to shave a point off of two of their least valuable stats by one point for a feat. ALL DAY ANY DAY.
I will say that the one thing the +6 human does well is unorthodox multiclasses. I wanted to make a Paladin/Ranger so that A) I could have a fully-armored knight with a dragon and B) I could smite as a Ranger. I only needed 2 levels of Paladin, but this MC requires a 13 in STR, DEX, WIS, and CHA - and I wasn't really prepared to dump CON either. In this case the +1's across the board were the best move. I have never used this option otherwise, but it was helpful for that character.
even then..... If you were to make a build multiclassing that much.... I'm pretty sure having access to any feat over a +1 to 4 of your least important ability scores is better....
In that case, it wasn't. The stat boosts allowed me to still come out with a 16 in STR (the only primary stat for the build) while hitting all the requirements for my classes. The two levels of Paladin bring a lot to what is otherwise a Ranger - more than any feat could. Having decent stats across the board for the purposes of skill checks and saving throws is actually pretty nice too. D&D typically rewards specialists, but I do think there are some exceptions that can still be very effective.
I’m not saying that Int isn’t more important to a Wiz or Artificer than it is to a Barbarian, but what I am saying is that when the Barbarian will get as many opportunities to be smart as they will to be strong, if they wish to play a smart Barbarian then it isn’t “wasted” for the Barb to invest in Int. And sooner or later that Wiz will need to traverse a 11-12 foot chasm. Not enough to require fly, but my wouldn’t it be nice to have a Str of 12? The Wiz don’t need Str all like the Barb, but a li’l bit ain’t no bad thing.
this still wouldn't remove the fact they are still the least important ability scores in comparison to ability scores the class uses outside of regular ability checks (attacks, spell save dc, class features, etc.).
I will say that the one thing the +6 human does well is unorthodox multiclasses. I wanted to make a Paladin/Ranger so that A) I could have a fully-armored knight with a dragon and B) I could smite as a Ranger. I only needed 2 levels of Paladin, but this MC requires a 13 in STR, DEX, WIS, and CHA - and I wasn't really prepared to dump CON either. In this case the +1's across the board were the best move. I have never used this option otherwise, but it was helpful for that character.
In that case, it wasn't. The stat boosts allowed me to still come out with a 16 in STR (the only primary stat for the build) while hitting all the requirements for my classes. The two levels of Paladin bring a lot to what is otherwise a Ranger - more than any feat could. Having decent stats across the board for the purposes of skill checks and saving throws is actually pretty nice too. D&D typically rewards specialists, but I do think there are some exceptions that can still be very effective.
I guess that may be a big difference between us as players.
I like to optimize so even though you want to be an armored drakewarden ranger, there really aren't any circumstances where wanting to be a melee MAD character meshes well with a ranged MAD character... so congrats, you stumped me lol.
If you were going for a damage build (which I assume you want to with access to divine smites) I wouldn't do melee and instead would go ranged. The ability scores would be greatly improved as an added bonus. Cleric would be a surprisingly good option, the only problem is the build I'm envisioning wouldn't have you riding the drake but you would be doing significantly more damage through crossbow expert and being able to improve your odds to hit. (you could also choose kobold to benefit from pack tactics, super cool!!)
In the context of your character though, I would agree with vanilla human being your best option (I wince even saying this because of how spread thin this build is). I'd recommend going 13 in everything but dumping intelligence and raising dex to 14. This leaves your stats as 14/15/14/8/14/14. You can use your ASI to try and do some dmg control to fix the ability scores you need. Maybe you can find a useful half-feat to benefit this build and even out your dex? Otherwise I guess this is what you'd be running with.
Again, I reject your premise that there are any “least important” ability scores whatsoever. They are all only as important as you make them.
When they aren't the 2 most important ability scores.... they are the 4 least important ability scores. I don't understand how that wouldn't be the case....
I’m not saying that Int isn’t more important to a Wiz or Artificer than it is to a Barbarian, but what I am saying is that when the Barbarian will get as many opportunities to be smart as they will to be strong, if they wish to play a smart Barbarian then it isn’t “wasted” for the Barb to invest in Int. And sooner or later that Wiz will need to traverse a 11-12 foot chasm. Not enough to require fly, but my wouldn’t it be nice to have a Str of 12? The Wiz don’t need Str all like the Barb, but a li’l bit ain’t no bad thing.
this still wouldn't remove the fact they are still the least important ability scores in comparison to ability scores the class uses outside of regular ability checks (attacks, spell save dc, class features, etc.).
When you only see combat 1 session out of 4, but also see the other situations 4 sessions out of 4, then Attacks and Spell Save DC are less important and the other situations are more so. If you cannot understand that then I have nothing more to say to you on the subject. 🤷♂️ Combat is the boring part of D&D for some tables.
Again, I reject your premise that there are any “least important” ability scores whatsoever. They are all only as important as you make them.
When they aren't the 2 most important ability scores.... they are the 4 least important ability scores. I don't understand how that wouldn't be the case....
I’m not saying that Int isn’t more important to a Wiz or Artificer than it is to a Barbarian, but what I am saying is that when the Barbarian will get as many opportunities to be smart as they will to be strong, if they wish to play a smart Barbarian then it isn’t “wasted” for the Barb to invest in Int. And sooner or later that Wiz will need to traverse a 11-12 foot chasm. Not enough to require fly, but my wouldn’t it be nice to have a Str of 12? The Wiz don’t need Str all like the Barb, but a li’l bit ain’t no bad thing.
this still wouldn't remove the fact they are still the least important ability scores in comparison to ability scores the class uses outside of regular ability checks (attacks, spell save dc, class features, etc.).
When you only see combat 1 session out of 4, but also see the other situations 4 sessions out of 4, then Attacks and Spell Save DC are less important and the other situations are more so. If you cannot understand that then I have nothing more to say to you on the subject. 🤷♂️ Combat is the boring part of D&D for some tables.
It shouldn't matter how combat-heavy or roleplay-heavy a table is. You put the two +1 in your most important abilities. The other 4 abilities would be your least important.
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I’m not saying that Int isn’t more important to a Wiz or Artificer than it is to a Barbarian, but what I am saying is that when the Barbarian will get as many opportunities to be smart as they will to be strong, if they wish to play a smart Barbarian then it isn’t “wasted” for the Barb to invest in Int. And sooner or later that Wiz will need to traverse a 11-12 foot chasm. Not enough to require fly, but my wouldn’t it be nice to have a Str of 12? The Wiz don’t need Str all like the Barb, but a li’l bit ain’t no bad thing.
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When they aren't the 2 most important ability scores.... they are the 4 least important ability scores. I don't understand how that wouldn't be the case....
In that case, it wasn't. The stat boosts allowed me to still come out with a 16 in STR (the only primary stat for the build) while hitting all the requirements for my classes. The two levels of Paladin bring a lot to what is otherwise a Ranger - more than any feat could. Having decent stats across the board for the purposes of skill checks and saving throws is actually pretty nice too. D&D typically rewards specialists, but I do think there are some exceptions that can still be very effective.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
this still wouldn't remove the fact they are still the least important ability scores in comparison to ability scores the class uses outside of regular ability checks (attacks, spell save dc, class features, etc.).
I guess that may be a big difference between us as players.
I like to optimize so even though you want to be an armored drakewarden ranger, there really aren't any circumstances where wanting to be a melee MAD character meshes well with a ranged MAD character... so congrats, you stumped me lol.
If you were going for a damage build (which I assume you want to with access to divine smites) I wouldn't do melee and instead would go ranged. The ability scores would be greatly improved as an added bonus. Cleric would be a surprisingly good option, the only problem is the build I'm envisioning wouldn't have you riding the drake but you would be doing significantly more damage through crossbow expert and being able to improve your odds to hit. (you could also choose kobold to benefit from pack tactics, super cool!!)
In the context of your character though, I would agree with vanilla human being your best option (I wince even saying this because of how spread thin this build is). I'd recommend going 13 in everything but dumping intelligence and raising dex to 14. This leaves your stats as 14/15/14/8/14/14. You can use your ASI to try and do some dmg control to fix the ability scores you need. Maybe you can find a useful half-feat to benefit this build and even out your dex? Otherwise I guess this is what you'd be running with.
When you only see combat 1 session out of 4, but also see the other situations 4 sessions out of 4, then Attacks and Spell Save DC are less important and the other situations are more so. If you cannot understand that then I have nothing more to say to you on the subject. 🤷♂️ Combat is the boring part of D&D for some tables.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
It shouldn't matter how combat-heavy or roleplay-heavy a table is. You put the two +1 in your most important abilities. The other 4 abilities would be your least important.