CharlieIV's page

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So:
4 RP for STR & DEX
3 RP for CON & WIS
2 RP for INT & CHA

I agree that pricing all ability score increases at 4 RP per +2 seems incorrect.

All ability scores are not equal: If I were to concede any stat as being more powerful than the rest, it would be STR (and mostly only at low levels, before casters explode in power level). Consider that none of the core races grant a fixed bonus to STR and the only way to get a +2 STR with core races is to use the human modifiers, which are currently more expensive per +2.

But really, it's not that physical stats are better than mental ones or vice versa, it's that each class tends to have a 'primary' stat, so increasing the ability score bonus which is highest should cost more than boosting one that is lower. Consider the point difference between 'Standard' ability scores and 'Flexible' ones: this suggests it is worth a mere 2 RP to eliminate a -2 penalty. Conversely, I've seen enough posts about broken races that it seems clear that stacking multiple boosts to the same ability score should be more expensive than 4 RP each.

One possible pricing alternative:
Let's use 4 RP for one +2 to an ability score as a baseline. This base should be a minimum of 4 RP for the following reason: one bonus feat is worth 4 RP; +2 DEX grants +1 AC (which is on par with a feat) and sometimes +1 to hit, depending on your weapon of choice and other feat selection; +2 STR grants +1 to hit (on par with a feat) and also +1 damage (on par with half a feat), but as I said above, STR is pretty powerful. Thus +2 ability bonuses are at least as powerful as a feat.

1. Offer a discount of 1 RP to raise a race's 3rd and 4th highest scores, or 2 RP to raise one of a race's lowest two ability score modifiers. Most characters with point-buy ability scores cannot afford more than a few high stats, so bonuses to additional stats aren't worth as much [in terms of character creation point-buy differences] as they are with the first stat. These discounts would make eliminating the initial -2 penalty to go from 'standard' to 'flexible' still be worth 2 RP since it is increasing the lowest score.

2. Stacking ability score bonuses to create modifiers larger than +2 should become progressively more expensive. I suggest that for the highest two stats (btw I keep saying 2 because enough builds--clerics, magus,etc--want at least two stats high), stacking extra +2 bonuses should cost an extra +2RP for each purchase beyond 12: i.e. 4 RP to raise to +2, 6 RP [net 10 RP] to raise to +4, 8 RP [net 18 RP] to raise to +6, etc. For the rest, only increase the price by +1RP per additional increase and also apply the discount described in (1). More high stats are still good, they just don't have as significant an impact as the highest bonus did in terms of the overall power level of an optimally-classed member of the race.

Ability Score Traits:
This being said, I would re-price the ability score traits to be consistent with the ability score bonus pricing. Sure, the human +2 to anything could still be worth more due to flexibility. Let's say it's still worth 6 RP, with all ability bonus traits costing the difference. 'Standard' is worth 4+4-2=6RP, so it still costs 0 RP beyond the human baseline. 'Flexible' is worth 4+4=8 so still 2 RP more than the human baseline.

3. Penalties: With regard to price adjustments for ability score penalties, -2 penalties are worth 2 RP back, per the above pricing, but when considering overall power level, there needs to be diminishing returns to prevent 'broken' races.

I think the 'weakness' modifiers (+2, +2, -4) could still be worth -1 RP (as compared to the human baseline) based on diminishing returns--the -4 in a dump stat isn't really that bad; it just means you can't dump that stat quite as much without giving the character an Achilles heel. Similarly, the current pricing for 'mixed weakness' and 'greater weakness' could be consistent with diminishing returns.

When pricing choices like 'paragon' and 'greater paragon' that grant +4 bonuses, consider what it would cost to obtain that +4 by choosing an alternative trait with +2 and then buying 'advanced[ability]' later on. The best you could hope for is -3 [by picking greater weakness] +6 [to raise the +2 to a 4] = 3 RP total. This is the cheapest anything with a +4 should cost.