Doesn't this help both power-gaming and role-playing? If I wanted to play a goblin shaman (druid), roleplaying how I became disillusioned with goblin society, realizing that goblins that are out of balance with the world, VGtM Goblins (+2 Dex, +1 Con) punishes this. Like, okay, I could play with 14 Wis. But that will just make me less mechanically effective in game which will be less fun.
Thats pure power gaming. A role player would not care that his goblin shaman would only have 14 Wis. Rather he would see this as part of his character and role.
But what if the character I want to play has a higher Wis than 14? My character idea is an extremely wise goblin, not a decently wise goblin. Why should I be limited by an arbitrary rule which says that it's impossible for a level 1 goblin to have 16 Wis?
I'd draw a distinction between "ensuring your character has their main stat at 16" and the more extreme versions of power-gaming (e.g., taking a level in multiple classes purely for the mechanical bonuses, choosing a race for the racial traits that combo well with your class, etc).
The former ensures that your character will be as effective as other players' characters, whereas the latter takes you above-and-beyond effectiveness to possibly overpowered compared to the rest of your party.
Last edited by mrfuji3; 16/02/2105:57 PM. Reason: added last line
