[RPG] Is a custom race with an armour bonus based on two ability score modifiers imbalanced

balancednd-5ehomebrewraces

I'm rolling my own races in D&D 5th Edition. As part of that I was thinking of introducing a racial trait modeled after the Monk's Unarmored Defense trait (with no shield bonus).

The race is naturally resistant to damage due to hardiness and the toughness of their rocky skin, so I figured instead of a bonus* I'd just give them the option of going armorless like a monk — without having to be a monk.

So their AC would be 10 + mod1 + mod2 .

I was thinking STR and CON for the modifiers (and prohibiting shields, per the Monk, though I'm not sure about that yet). The race also has resistance to fire, and +2 CON as a racial ability score bonus.

How does this compare to what the monk class can achieve over the 1–20 level span? Is this going to be unbalanced?

My main thought on abuse centers around the standard DEX build: DEX often increases your AC in a lot of situations. CON increases your HP. If I introduce a race that can increase both AC and HP with a single attribute, I fear that will be way more attractive than I want it to be.

* A bonus to AC would be easily abused by players because a generic bonus would stack with a lot of other AC bonuses. I don't want tanks to suddenly have a obvious must-pick race.

Best Answer

This is really strong, at least for certain builds. Anyone who wanted to focus on Str anyway is likely to end up playing this race.

Firstly, Barbarians. Barbarians are currently one of the most MAD classes in 5e, needing good Str, good Con, and at least reasonable Dex. Your race would allow them to dump Dex and just focus on Str and Con.

Secondly, Druids. This is probably the worst case - your proposed race gives a Moon Druid an incredible boost to their Wild Shape forms. Str and Con are the strong points, and AC is the weak point, of most beasts, especially the ones Druids like to Wild Shape into.

Next, Fighters. This is the least problematic, since a Fighter could already afford to focus solely on Str and Con, but it does mean they end up with a better AC than they otherwise would have.

Oddly enough, it also enables Str-based Monk and Rogue builds. This isn't really a problem though, since in many ways Dex is inherently stronger than Str anyway.

Comparing it to Monk isn't really that useful, since they're essentially the same, but anyway:

  • Level 1: Typical Monk has 16 Dex and 16 Wis, giving them an AC of 16. A Barbarian of your proposed race has 17 Con and 15 Str, giving them an AC of 15, or 17 with a shield.

  • Level 4: Typical Monk has 18 Dex and 16 Wis, giving them an AC of 17. A Barbarian of your proposed race has 18 Con and 16 Str, giving them an AC of 17, or 19 with a shield.

  • Level 8: Typical Monk has 20 Dex and 16 Wis, giving them an AC of 18. A Barbarian of your proposed race has 18 Con and 18 Str, giving them an AC of 18, or 20 with a shield.

  • Level 12: Typical Monk has 20 Dex and 18 Wis, giving them an AC of 19. A Barbarian of your proposed race has 18 Con and 20 Str, giving them an AC of 19, or 21 with a shield.

  • Level 16: Typical Monk has 20 Dex and 20 Wis, giving them an AC of 20. A Barbarian of your proposed race has 20 Con and 20 Str, giving them an AC of 20, or 22 with a shield.

Your proposed race can always have a better AC than a Monk of the same level if they choose, despite the inherent weakness of starting with +2 in a single stat rather than +1 in two stats.

You're right that basing it off Dex and Con would be even stronger, but only because Dex is inherently stronger than Str. Your footnote about bonuses, however, is less accurate. A minor bonus to AC, while good for everyone, is hardly a game-changer. Your proposed feature, on the other hand, can form the foundation of a build. It replaces a core feature of the Barbarian or Monk, and is effectively completely free, especially since your proposed race has fire resistance on top of it.