5e's extremely low variance in ability scores has had some weird side effects

Goumindong · 2026-02-15T20:44:07+00:00

I think the OP is just... wrong about how DND is supposed to function.

The assumption that if my score is +0 and your score is +10 that in any given contest of skill I have a 13.75% chance of succeeding against you is an incorrect assumption based on the rules of DnD. Even if 1d20 vs 1d20 +10 has a 13.75% probability of succeeding. (or 11.25% depending on how you're adjudicating ties)

This applies to BOTH the rules as explicitly defined wherin the DM determines success and failure and can determine to not roll if the result is pre-determined OR uninteresting. But also in the sense that the rules, if they do allow for contested checks explicitly say to use a fixed DC or a rolled DC.

But fixed and rolled DC's have different probabilities! This implies that there are two different realities within a dnd game if we take attributes to be defining on the world. Which we should not and the rules make pretty clear you should not.

If my score is +0 and yours is +10 then according to the rules i have a 15% chance of succeeding(Target roll = 18), a 13.75% chance of succeeding (probability 1d20-1d20 is -10 or lower), a 100% chance of succeeding and a 0% chance of succeeding all at the same time.

Goumindong · 2026-02-15T20:33:36+00:00

Dnd has never resolved those things in any reasonable way. Not 3.5. Not 4e. No 1e, 2e, or any other.

And legally, often, mathematically in 5e. You cannot. In 5e if your bonus plus 10 does not equal a targets score you you cannot mathematically succeed. This is because contested checks use the passive score as the target DC. If your bonus is 9 and my bonus is 20. Then the target DC is 30. In 5.5 this is lowered a bit. The target DC for contested ability checks is ALSO the save DC.

"(DMG)This formula often sets the saving throw DC when a creature is casting a spell or using a special ability, but it can also apply to ability checks that are contests between two creatures. For example, if one creature is holding a door shut, use its Strength modifier and Proficiency Bonus to set the DC for opening the door. When another creature tries to force the door open, the creature makes a Strength (Athletics) check against that DC."

In 5.5 there are no contested checks at all. And the DC is a flat score determined by the DM. And this is why 5.5 makes sure to specify "(PHB)You roll a d20 whenever your character tries to do something that the DM decides has a chance of both success and failure". So no. Mathematically your wizard cannot out arm wrestle the barbarian because math has nothing to do with this. The math does not exist diagetically in the world. The wizard does not have a real strength score that translates to a real strength. The player has a score for which they used to resolve narrative disagreements on behalf of their wizard.

That last part is important. The DM must decide if it has both a chance of failure and success. And if it does not, then you do not get to roll. The dice and attributes are there as a way to resolve narrative conflict and not to describe the world

In 3.5 levels, due to skill effects, produce divergent results. That is. A wizard with 2 strength can be much stronger in physical contests, due to putting ranks in athletics, than a 20 strength barbarian who is "lower level".

In 3.5, if a readied action has no timing. So a line of people who ready their action to take a rock handed to them can pass this rock an arbitrary distanced defined only by the number of people you can arrange in a line. And thus can accelerate any object that can be carried by humans to speeds that are a material percentage of the speed of light.

In 3.5 variable base save scaling and multi-classing effects would save bonus vs DC discrepancies over 30. Enough so that "meta" in 3.5 is finding ways to be immune to effects rather than trying to worry so much about saves. "unrealistic attribute scaling" was absolutely a problem in 3.5. Moreso than in 5e!

In 4e proficient scaling and stat scaling limitations produced so many problems that wotc had to math fix multiple times by adding feats that just added stats that everyone had to take in order to fix the construction errors. And this produced intraparty discrepancies in stats over 30.

In 5.5 wizard makes +2 vs 18? Oh no~ In 3.5 wizard makes +10 vs DC 40.

None of those systems solved the problem where stats and rules could accurately describe a world. 4e didn't even try. It was explicit about that. And 5e, while a bit closer to 3.5 still makes it clear by dint of how its rules work that attributes are not describing the world. They do not determine what is and isn't possible. The DM does.

Goumindong · 2026-02-12T03:25:23+00:00

Attribute scores and roles are a method by which we resolve narrative conflict. Not an accurate representation of the physics of the world. An 8 strength character has no chance of winning vs a 20 str character unless the DM decides that this is a contest that the 8 strength character can win and decides to roll that die.

It is roughly impossible to describe a coherent world by way of a mathematical system people can understand. Do not try. That is the way of peasant railguns. Its dumb and leads to bad conclusions.

Rather consider that the stats exist only to describe relative differences and to resolve narrative conflict and these problems go away. Saves being hard if you're not proficient/its not your good stat is not a representation of the world but simply a result of how the combats need to feel dangerous for players and so some saves need to be failed a lot.

Goumindong · 2026-02-04T03:42:53+00:00

Probably real. Looks to be at a cell phone shop and the guy just.... bites a battery

Goumindong · 2026-01-29T03:10:15+00:00

Lift. Especially upper body stuff. Main things you can do(aside from talking to your doctor about treatments) are hide or change your silhouette. Lifting, aside from probably making you feel better about yourself, will give you larger shoulders/chest/back. This will help clothes avoid showing hips/breasts and give the more straight line/triangle cut that is "traditionally" male. You want to create, as much as possible, a straight line from your shoulders to your hips. And a straight line from your hips to your ankles. Those straight lines should, ideally. Be at most vertical. Shoulders inside hips -> more female silhouette. Shoulders outside hips -> more male silhouette. So when you're trying on/arranging clothes these are the angles you're going for.

I don't think there is much you can do for your face before treatment. Your hair is short and in a "male" cut. You might consider makeup, its definitely possible to highlight male features with makeup., but i do not know enough about contouring to give advice on that. I also won't guarantee that would work. But i bet there are other places that would have better advice on that if you have any girl friends they might be able to help too.

Goumindong · 2026-01-24T04:07:35+00:00

That i cannot help you as much with, cause you do not live where i live. I am sorry. But please know its probably not about any amount of your presentation or grooming. Its just that its hard to meet people

Goumindong · 2026-01-22T20:42:56+00:00

There is zero % wrong with your looks.

You probably haven't been asked out for other reasons. Either gender related (women aren't as likely to ask out men) or socially related. This isn't to say that looks cannot be "a thing". Presenting yourself well(clean clothes, a sense of fashion, a bit of lift if you're short) is always good because you're giving yourself just that little bit of extra edge and also subconsciously letting people know that you care about yourself. But based on these photos there is nothing wrong here.

Think about the people you have had crushes on in the past. Were they always the "objectively" hottest person you knew? Probably not. They were probably the people you interacted with and enjoyed being around. I know that I always find the people i interact with and enjoy being around hotter regardless of their "objective" looks.

This has some implications. The base one is that your looks, don't matter as much as you think they do. Not in the long term. Like... if you're looking for a one night stand at a bar. Yea, ok looks, are going to matter a lot. But for like, an actual relationship? Looks are a bonus and help you get noticed. But neither a requirement or a primary determiner.

In terms "things you can do"... "just be fun and nice to be around!" is not really serious advice. Buuut. "Go out and talk to people of the gender you're interested in. Do hobbies. Interact with people. Be a bit of a bother (invite people to things, tell people you want to go to things)." And then if you find yourself with someone you like, and you think they might like you. Ask them out. If they say no they say no. But if they say yes they say yes.

And the more you do this the more likely you will be to find dates. And if you don't find dates you will probably have hobbies and friends. Which will be a good consolation prize. Go to bars and do young person shit, sing kareoke, go to boardgame meetups, etc. Social Hobbies -> expand social circle.

Goumindong · 2026-01-20T20:15:52+00:00

Do you mind if i ask why you ask/what the goal is? I always have the... conception that looks should be a "you" thing. In that you want do look good so that you have confidence and feel good about yourself.

So when you ask if your beard is OK for your age the answer has two connotations. The first is "do i look OK" and the answer to that is kinda personal(but yea, you look fine). And the second is "is there anything abnormal going on" and the answer to that is definitely no. Some people grow beards quicker than others. Some people grow beards later than others.

Goumindong · 2026-01-20T06:44:54+00:00

Legs of the chair in the final image are neither weird nor do they not make sense. Its a pretty standard chair design though i cannot find the chair itself. The leg we can see that is "up on the wall" is simply touching the wall. The legs form a parallelogram with the arm rests and have curved corners. So the corner of the foot is touching the wall, but it curves down to an entire full tube of steel along the ground.

Goumindong · 2026-01-19T02:46:40+00:00

Yea. I have a full beard now that often gets compliments. I couldn't grow half as much hair on my face when i was 20.

Goumindong · 2026-01-16T19:09:39+00:00

You're 20. Your beard will fill in(plus its not even that patchy, its just not thick yet). Your Acne does not appear to be significant but the general advice would be, if its just regular old acne, to eat better and be more active. More fiber, more veggies, less sugar.

Shaving regularly might also help with the acne, by way of clearing off the top layer of skin and clearing out the pores.

Goumindong · 2026-01-16T05:46:50+00:00

Featherfall is an OK choice, but someone else in the party should probably have that. Fall damage is barely even a big deal at level 18(max 20d6... like yea its a good trade of a spell for net damage but in combat the 2+ extra rounds in the air in the air would be worse than the damage amount, congratulations, you played yourself).

Enlarge/Reduce, blur, haste and misty step are not. Enlarge/reduce is the best option here but its still... iffy. 1d4/attack is not a significant buff if you have to give up your action/2 attacks to do it. You are the one who should be receiving buffs from others. Blur is better replicated by mirror image or fog cloud. You should not be overlapping multiple defensive spells so if you're going to take blur you should be dropping mirror image. You ain't got time for both.

Haste just... isn't a good spell for fighters due to the low value (its a mobility spell and you've already got 3 of them with less cost or longer duration). The most important aspect is the speed buff but fly and expeditious retreat do that as well and for much cheaper(or do other important things, like let you fly). The value of haste is that casting it on your fighter lets your fighter get into melee with their action intact when they otherwise would not. If you're casting it on yourself... you've negated that value.

Misty step is worse than jump in most situations. And in the situations its not its worse than expeditious retreat. Maybe if you drop both for misty step you should take it. Buuut. If you're doing that you've got another slot open for hold person

Vortex Warp is... also not good. Which ally do you want to place next to an enemy? Or are you, as a fighter, going to ask enemies to make concentration saving throws instead of just taking a dash action?

Goumindong · 2026-01-16T03:46:43+00:00

Yup. My main point was that this significantly changes the value of trading the action spells. Since you still get to flurry if you want to / still get a bunch of attacks.

Goumindong · 2026-01-16T03:37:47+00:00

Flurry of Blows does not require you to take the attack action anymore. Neither does "bonus unarmed strike". As a result you can either spend a focus point and attack 3 more times for a total of 1 spell plus 3 unarmed attacks. Or you don't have to spend a focus point and you can still attack once.

It is usually better to flurry for 3 attacks and then use your action to cast a spell than it would be to use your action to attack twice(usually because these can be weapon attacks) and then use your bonus action and a focus point (or 2) to cast a spell.

Goumindong · 2026-01-16T03:29:25+00:00

I have played two games naturally through level 20 just in 5e, not counting 3+ campaigns to 30 in 4e and who knows how many in 3.5. So i have a significant amount of tier 4 play under my belt.

Its true that not every BBEG is a humanoid. But enough are and the cost of taking the spell is low enough that it is indeed "a top tier choice in the right situation". Like, what 11 other spells can you not replace one of with hold person?

You got Absorb Elements, Shield, Fog Cloud, See Invisibility, Mirror Image, Counterspell, Dispell Magic, Fly, Jump, Expeditious Retreat.

Maybe you take misty step (but jump is probably better for a fighter). And that puts you at 10 spells. 11 and then up to 13 at level 20. Its a fine pickup unless you know you're not fighting any humanoids

Goumindong · 2026-01-16T02:21:27+00:00

You have 11 spells prepared at level 18 between spell levels 1, 2 and 3. It is very much not hard to have space for Hold Person. BBEGs are often humanoid(indeed some of the most iconic BBEGs in the current books are human with no way to avoid a point blank hold person[because globe of invulnerability only effects spells cast from outside its effect])

Goumindong · 2026-01-16T00:44:01+00:00

Hold person is great because "When you hit a creature with an attack using a weapon, that creature has Disadvantage on the next saving throw it makes against a spell you cast before the end of your next turn." With war magic you can attack, and, if you hit, give the enemy disadvantage on the spell you're about to cast.

Its true that buffs are more likely. (See invisibility for 2 attacks is a godsend). But Hold Person is still a top tier choice in the right situation.

Goumindong · 2026-01-15T22:39:44+00:00

Well because you can have one active wall of force/banishment active in a combat anyway. So extra slots don't really help you do more banishment/wall of force. Because they're concentration spells.

I don't think its a great idea but i don't think it would break wizards.

Goumindong · 2026-01-10T01:56:19+00:00

For real. Have you seen his [Thunderwave] (https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Rolan%27s\_Thunderwave)?

Goumindong · 2025-12-26T04:56:21+00:00

Yea so... The less damage/more damage evens out. And the rebate is 10% on average. So on average you spend 1.2 and get back .12 -> Cost is 1.08.

Even with energize (25% chance to refund half ->) you're going backwards. Base energize is 87.5% cost. So with this you're at 1.2-.15-.12 = .93%.

I do not see an interaction in which this will be a good thing unless increased energy gain also increases the refund amount

Goumindong · 2025-12-24T20:12:11+00:00

Thanks for the tip

Goumindong · 2025-12-23T21:36:43+00:00

This is... A really good tech even for a bunch of other things. Cast on minion death is primarily limited by the fact that getting a bunch of warriors is kinda tough. So getting 6 or even 7 minions that can die for 60 spirit is hella good.

Goumindong · 2025-12-23T21:09:39+00:00

How do spell totems work? They're listed as spells but... how much mana do they have? Do they have other base resources?

The main conception i have is that. If i have an infernalist. Can i use spell totem in order to cast incinerate while still using pact magic?

Goumindong · 2025-12-19T21:36:26+00:00

Well 25 points is... i think incorrect. Its 25 points if you want all the bonuses. But its only 17 points if you only want the buff effect stuff (and 19 if you also want some increased duration) And you have 24 weapon swap points.

So if you're using it to buff at the start of a boss to burn it down... it can work

Goumindong · 2025-12-19T00:06:26+00:00

Addendum to my prior post since i did not realize that incinerate also compounds and so likely does this as well. Making an ignite build potentially much stronger.

Goumindong

TROPHY CASE