I understand that an extra Feat is a big deal, but it seems to me that given the attributes changes put everything in line with V. Humans now, that feat isn't a big deal any more since most of the new races have things that are at least that good, but also tend to get another benefit or two as well. Am I missing something?
[RPG] Now that Monsters of the Multiverse is out, are variant Humans still relevant
attributesdnd-5eracesracial-traits
Related Solutions
You're right. It's only base dice, no modifiers.
This probably sounds terrible, however, there is a good reason:
It's more balanced than it seems.
It's hard to tell sometimes; believe me I know. But, until you get more hands-on experience with the game, you have to give the game you're playing a "grace period" where you trust that the designers made the correct decisions, even if it seems like they didn't at first. Every campaign you play or DM is going to be different. If you change players or DM, then the campaign will be completely different. Some of those games, you will have players that built weak casters, and experienced grognards that built martial types. Although it is a roleplaying game, the "player skill" of the game comes in with decision-making during game time, and character building during creation.
That said, if you GM a game and you consistently encounter the same balance issues across encounters, then yeah, you should feel confident that houseruling whatever the issue is will improve your experience.
Your Wizard's spell slots are pretty big.
Bear with me a moment and imagine that the Wizard class is actually Batman. The biggest strength of the Wizard is that they have a tool ready for every situation -- at least, if they're a good Wizard. That's the player-skill-decision-making part. The spells your Wizard picked aren't bad, they just make him very good at things that aren't combat. Your Wizard has a ton of tools for dealing with non-combat situations. Imagine if Batman didn't bring his Batarangs when he went out on a mission. He's still the best detective on the planet, but now he isn't as effective as he would be in a fight. Spells are really, really good at solving specific problems.
That said, given the nature of the encounters you described, you might try throwing your Wizard a bone if you haven't already. D&D is more than just combat, and if you aren't giving your non-combat specialist Wizard any non-combat to specialize in, he'll feel like a useless player. If your player is concerned about his build, then you can allow him to switch out a cantrip, or give him a couple of good AOE scrolls in the next loot pile to scribe.
In addition, cantrips scale at certain levels. It's not immediately, but you can be sure that the cantrip will be a good standby at later levels.
Yes, hybrid races can take options designed for either of their parent races, as well as options designed specifically for their race. It’s one of the reasons half-elves are so potent (many say overpowered) in Pathfinder (half-orcs less so, since the orc and half-orc options aren’t nearly as good as elf or half-elf options).
From the FAQ, we have a rule that hybrid races may freely select from “rules elements” of both parent races:
Half-Elf or Half-Orc: Can a character of either of these races select human racial archetypes (such as from Advanced Race Guide?
Yes. Half-elves and half-orcs may select racial favored class options, archetypes, traits, and so on, as if they were a full member of both races (a half-elf can select elf and human rules elements, a half-orc can select human and orc rules elements).
Edit 9/26/13: This is a reversal of an earlier ruling. This resolves a discrepancy between this FAQ and two Advanced Player's Guide FAQs.
Note that a racial archetype, like ancient lorekeeper, is explicitly listed here. Frustratingly, feats are not explicitly mentioned, but those would certainly be a “rule element” and a fairly similar (as far as prerequisites are concerned) to traits, which are mentioned explicitly, so feats are presumably covered by “and so on.”
Best Answer
The power balance of Variant Human will always depend on the choice of feat.
Variant Human cannot be said to be strong or weak until you’ve made a choice of feat. It is usually referred to as a particularly powerful race because people generally assume one of the good feats will be selected, such as Sharpshooter, Sentinel, Crossbow Expert, Great Weapon Master, or Mobile, to name a few that are typically regarded as very good feats. If you choose an underwhelming feat when you pick Variant Human, then naturally, your racial choice will feel underwhelming. Be honest, have you ever considered selecting Weapon Master as your Variant Human feat?
Monsters of the Multiverse hasn’t changed this. None of the newly revised races are so good that they make Crossbow Expert feel underwhelming in comparison. The good feats are still good, the underwhelming feats are still underwhelming. The diversity of choices provided by Variant Human giving access to a feat means it will always be a relevant option - from the powerful combat options to the interesting thematic choices. It provides access to themes and mechanics no other race can. So it will always be relevant.