Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Pacmanyo Apr 24, 2015 12:36:09	Hey everyone,   This is the first time I'm going to play a full-on caster class and I'm not exactly sure how to distribute my AS. I have a few sets that I have come up with and I planned my character up to level 12. I would love to hear what people on this forum think and possibly give me some advice. We are using "Point Buy" rule.   Race: Tiefling (for RP purposes and backstory I can't change my race) Class: Sorcerer Origin: Draconic AS I have currently set would be:   STR: 8 DEX: 15 (16 @ lvl 4) CON: 12 INT: 12 WIS: 10 CHA: 17 (18 @ lvl 4, 20 @ lvl 8) I'm wondering if I should even up DEX and CON to both have 14 and not increase them to get extra HP per level, or stick with 1 more AC and other DEX bonuses but less HP. Or maybe I should dump one more start to 8 to get 16 DEX and 14 CON at the same time and if so what stat could that be - INT or WIS (tho I'm not very fond of that idea) ?   For now I've chosen a path of more DEX over CON since Sorcerer is proficient in CON saving throws and I kinda want my character to be agile (background has acrobatics proficiency).   Thanks in advance.
#2 mellored Apr 24, 2015 12:47:51	Dex and Con are more or less equal for defense overall.  It just depends on what your fighting at the time.     Wis is more importaint the Int.  But don't worry too much about 1 point this way or that way.
#3 Tempest_Stormwind Apr 24, 2015 13:03:45	What are you trying to do? That'll inform our answers.   In general, I wouldn't worry about this quite that much. 5e gives you plenty of opportunity to evolve your scores, and since they cap at 20, there's less incentive to go full-tilt towards maxing out just one (since you will hit the cap pretty soon - as early as level 1 in some rare rolling cases, or by level 8 at latest if you point-buy it to 15 - you'll have lots of opportunities to round things out)   As a system, it's rather forgiving for having "poor" scores, with one potential exception - that's Constitution at low levels, where you're rather fragile (this should only come up as a problem for wizards and sorcerers who don't try to stay out of combat, and who have teammates who don't understand that wizards and sorcerers are squishy). Intelligence is also noteworthy in that it does next to nothing for anyone other than wizards or people playing scholar roles (and even then Expertise from bard or rogue levels can make you very good at the relevant skills).   A great example of this would be your skills. The difference between 16 Dexterity and 14 Dexterity is quite a lot in terms of investment, but only works out to +1 on an ability check. Having proficiency in the relevant skill (say, Acrobatics) is twice as powerful at level 1, and only continues to increase from there.   I'd calm down about this and not be afraid to experiment. (I like planning out characters too, but you really don't need to do so beyond a few rough goals in this edition. It's really friendly to changing yoru mind.) If you must have something that performs a bit better, and you're playing at the lower levels, I'd take your 14 Dex / 14 Con idea. If you need more points from somewhere, pull from Int. If you're playing at the higher levels, you don't need to worry about any of this.   You also didn't report your background except to say it has Acrobatics (which implies either Entertainer or a customized background). You can use that to get the skill and tool proficiencies you want for your concept that don't necessarily reflect your ability scores.       EDIT: I should say that just about everything in 5e will work just fine with the standard array of 15/14/13/12/10/8 (which is built using point buy before adding in racial modifiers). You can get a reasonably effective character of just about any sort by taking that array, making a racial choice, and following the Quick Build suggestions for any class you want. They aren't necessarily bleeding-edge optimal, but they'll be perfectly servicable for a really minor amount of stress.  (If you want, you can tune from there.)   The only "planning ahead" you'll want to consider: If multiclassing is allowed (it's a variant) and you want to go down that route. (Most multiclass characters are about 14-18 levels in one class anyway, with dips filling out the rest.) If feats are allowed (they're a variant) and you want to decide between feats and ability score improvements. (It's rare to find more than two feats, and even that's excessive.) Where to allocte your ability score improvements. They're one of the few things you can't change your mind on as you level up. Your one-time-only class feature choices, such as which subclass, metamagic/fighting style/etc., or so on that you're taking. Most of these are thematic choices. ...That's it! Everything else can be changed more or less freely as you progress (i.e. spells known can be swapped every level), and making a "wrong" choice is either impossible or not a career-ending move.
#4 Pacmanyo Apr 24, 2015 13:18:29	Tempest_Stormwind wrote:
#5 Tempest_Stormwind Apr 24, 2015 13:30:28	Pacmanyo wrote:
#6 Pacmanyo Apr 24, 2015 14:03:37	Tempest_Stormwind wrote:
#7 lall Apr 24, 2015 14:45:01	I would go:   STR 8 DEX 14 CON 14 INT 9  - racial 10 WIS 13 CHA 14 - racial 16   You won't need STR or INT too often. WIS is high enough in case you want to take a level in cleric for shield proficiency, Cure Wounds, and Guidance. If no plans to do that, I would go:   STR 8 DEX 15 CON 14 INT 8  - racial 9 WIS 10 CHA 15 - racial 17
#8 Kentus Apr 25, 2015 3:44:03	Pacmanyo wrote: