Alternat stats [Archive] - Wizards Community

Alternat stats [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Aminar
04-13-05, 11:17 PM I'm trying to find another way of rolling dice with more of a variance. It's always fun to have some low stats, and some High. i have been thinking 2d12 take the highest, and 2d6 take the highest. any other suggestions.
lostone
04-14-05, 08:31 AM How about instead of rolling dice you do a low point buy. Stats start at 8 and if you want one or two stats decently high you will suffer in the others.
Ilium
04-14-05, 09:18 AM 1d20. Anything above 18 becomes 18, anything below 3 becomes 3. Now that's variance. :D

I'm half-kidding, but to make this more reasonable you could agree with your DM that the end result has to be between, say, a 25 point and 32 point buy. Then let the dice fall where they may.
Aminar
04-14-05, 11:10 AM I dislike point buy. It makes everyone even yes, but it requires too much min-maxing. Besides rolling is more fun. The d20 thing was suggested bit it makes 3( a mostly unplayable number) and 18 the most common numbers.
Ilium
04-14-05, 11:42 AM I dislike point buy. It makes everyone even yes, but it requires too much min-maxing. Besides rolling is more fun. The d20 thing was suggested bit it makes 3( a mostly unplayable number) and 18 the most common numbers.

Well I did say I was half-kiddingl :)

You could do 1d12+6. Very random, but gives you a minimum of 7.
Xeviat-DM
04-14-05, 09:44 PM For the longest time, I used 32 point buy, but now I do 4d6 drop the lowest 5 times, and give all players an automatic 18. It makes for fun characters (characters the players think are very powerful) without greatly distorting the game.
Aurotuli
04-15-05, 10:14 PM I had a GM a while back that had us all roll 3d6 18 times, placing the first six in one column, the second six in another column, etc. Then we could choose which column we wanted. Catch was, if we died or got a cohort, we had to choose from the remaining two columns. We never had to use the third column, though, we just rerolled another three columns. Half the time he wouldn't even have us choose from the remaining two columns. Cohorts were often NPCs he had rolled up himself, and often by the time a character died the player had lost the sheet with the column on it. The one time he decided to keep the sheet, he lost it by the first character death. :D

Typically, I use either 32 pt buy or 4d6, drop the lowest, seven times (drop the lowest) - whichever each of the PCs want. You would think they would like the rolling method best, but there have been enough times where average or (once) even low ability characters have resulted that some prefer the 32 pt buy. Personally that's my choice, but occasionally I'll roll just for variety's sake.
Neodymium
04-15-05, 10:45 PM Well I did say I was half-kiddingl :)

You could do 1d12+6. Very random, but gives you a minimum of 7.

This is my new favorite.
Nor'Morgwae
04-16-05, 06:40 PM In my games I've been using 3d6 six times then you get 10 points to put wherever you want, but no more than 4 or 5 in a single stat. Just a couple of notes, the 3d6 x6 needs to add up to at least a total mod of 0 before you add points. This makes low scores a lot more common than 4d6 drop lowest and stll allows characters to have a couple high stats. It's worked out well so far.
jaerad
04-16-05, 07:45 PM Well I did say I was half-kiddingl :)

You could do 1d12+6. Very random, but gives you a minimum of 7.

Hmmmmm. I like that. I normally h8 rolling because you have a low probability of getting an 18, but this method yeilds all values 7-18 equally likely. Also has an avg around 13, which is good. Hmmm. Was going to use a 30pt buy, but this sounds funner.

Well. Hmm. I still don't really like rolling because it unbalances the group. When everyone has the same pool to work with, you get min/maxing but you don't have anyone feeling bad 'cause their rolls were lower.

:thinking: :thinking: :thinking:
krichaiushii
04-16-05, 08:09 PM What about rolling 3d6 6 times, and placing them in the order rolled?

It makes for some VERY interesting characters.

Alternately, if your entire group is mature enough to handle it, simply picking numerical scores that fit your character concept can work. But there is obviously no rolling involved.

Another method might be that everyone rolls 4d6 drop the lowest 6 times. Each person picks one score from his/her 6, then passes the remaining scores to the left (or right), where another score is picked. This continues until ALL scores are assigned.

Of course, this necessitates that all potential players meet for a PC-development session. It has the nice bonus of the "always high roller" balancing out with the "always low roller".
jaerad
04-16-05, 08:29 PM What about rolling 3d6 6 times, and placing them in the order rolled?

It makes for some VERY interesting characters.

Alternately, if your entire group is mature enough to handle it, simply picking numerical scores that fit your character concept can work. But there is obviously no rolling involved.

Another method might be that everyone rolls 4d6 drop the lowest 6 times. Each person picks one score from his/her 6, then passes the remaining scores to the left (or right), where another score is picked. This continues until ALL scores are assigned.

Of course, this necessitates that all potential players meet for a PC-development session. It has the nice bonus of the "always high roller" balancing out with the "always low roller".

It does not however balance the MAD player who gets to pick earlier and takes more of the good scores.

Bah, rolling straight into stats sucks. You pick your concept AFTER you roll. I don't like that. I'd rather play the character that I want to play, not the one that I got stuck with.

Isn't picking your own scores what PB is all about? It just puts a cap on it, which you would probably impose in your set up anyways.
Eliza_Stormwhisper
04-16-05, 09:35 PM For a one campaign, I let my players use the super-elite array: 18, 16, 16, 15, 14, 13, 13 (I have the seventh stat, comeliness). It was a brutal campaign and very difficult, so they needed powerful characters.

Needless to say, they never finished it.

To add to what's already been said, I like the d12+6 rolling. That sounds fun.
krichaiushii
04-16-05, 10:00 PM It does not however balance the MAD player who gets to pick earlier and takes more of the good scores.

Bah, rolling straight into stats sucks. You pick your concept AFTER you roll. I don't like that. I'd rather play the character that I want to play, not the one that I got stuck with.

Isn't picking your own scores what PB is all about? It just puts a cap on it, which you would probably impose in your set up anyways.

Which is why I personally use and prefer point buy (normally 28 point).

But as the OP was looking for ideas, I provided some. Whether or not they are workable is for the OP to decide.
HailSpork
04-16-05, 11:05 PM For a one campaign, I let my players use the super-elite array: 18, 16, 16, 15, 14, 13, 13 (I have the seventh stat, comeliness). It was a brutal campaign and very difficult, so they needed powerful characters.

Needless to say, they never finished it.

To add to what's already been said, I like the d12+6 rolling. That sounds fun.
I do something similar. It's a little overpowered, but I let them roll twice with 4d6 drop lowest die (all four dice the same means +2). In addition to their two rolls, they get an array of 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8. It insures that even the unluckiest roller will have a decent set of attributes.
Ilium
04-18-05, 08:24 AM Which is why I personally use and prefer point buy (normally 28 point).

But as the OP was looking for ideas, I provided some. Whether or not they are workable is for the OP to decide.

Same here. I hate rolling stats. It's one of the reasons I stopped playing D&D in favor of point-buy games like HERO and GURPS for a long time. Now that D&D allows point stat buys, skill selection and feats I can actually create the character that fits my concept. So I'm back. :)
HailSpork
04-18-05, 05:07 PM What do you mean "now"?
I don't know about the rest of you, but I've been playing point buy since 2nd ed.
Ilium
04-19-05, 08:40 AM What do you mean "now"?
I don't know about the rest of you, but I've been playing point buy since 2nd ed.

Yes I had seen point-buy systems for stats but it still didn't have the kind of character customization you now have with feats and skills and being able to freely multi-class.

</hijack>
Ricky
04-19-05, 09:52 AM Another method might be that everyone rolls 4d6 drop the lowest 6 times. Each person picks one score from his/her 6, then passes the remaining scores to the left (or right), where another score is picked. This continues until ALL scores are assigned.

Dude, that's awesome. It's a booster draft for D&D stats. That's great. :)
Sonn Athion
04-19-05, 09:18 PM Over all I must say krichaiushii has an interesting idea... I like the "D&D Stat Draft" :D

I've tried doing the "roll 3d6 six times and play them in order" thing and its an interesting way to go. Great Challenge

Point buy is great for GURPS, Shadow Run, White Wolf...ect.. But for D&D Rolling em up is where its at.

I also agree with the mentioned comment about players creating their own stats to suit the character. Works out great with advanced players because they'll work up an entire backstory behind each stat.

Rolling D12+7 isn't my cup of tea... I like haveing 18s.. but I also like my 6s and 4s.. Adds Character..
Sonn Athion
04-19-05, 09:21 PM I think this was mentioned before but..

Characters roll 18d6 and then place them as they see fit.. (obviously with no more than 3 dice to a stat)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Aminar 04-13-05, 11:17 PM	I'm trying to find another way of rolling dice with more of a variance. It's always fun to have some low stats, and some High. i have been thinking 2d12 take the highest, and 2d6 take the highest. any other suggestions.
lostone 04-14-05, 08:31 AM	How about instead of rolling dice you do a low point buy. Stats start at 8 and if you want one or two stats decently high you will suffer in the others.
Ilium 04-14-05, 09:18 AM	1d20. Anything above 18 becomes 18, anything below 3 becomes 3. Now that's variance. :D I'm half-kidding, but to make this more reasonable you could agree with your DM that the end result has to be between, say, a 25 point and 32 point buy. Then let the dice fall where they may.
Aminar 04-14-05, 11:10 AM	I dislike point buy. It makes everyone even yes, but it requires too much min-maxing. Besides rolling is more fun. The d20 thing was suggested bit it makes 3( a mostly unplayable number) and 18 the most common numbers.
Ilium 04-14-05, 11:42 AM	I dislike point buy. It makes everyone even yes, but it requires too much min-maxing. Besides rolling is more fun. The d20 thing was suggested bit it makes 3( a mostly unplayable number) and 18 the most common numbers. Well I did say I was half-kiddingl :) You could do 1d12+6. Very random, but gives you a minimum of 7.
Xeviat-DM 04-14-05, 09:44 PM	For the longest time, I used 32 point buy, but now I do 4d6 drop the lowest 5 times, and give all players an automatic 18. It makes for fun characters (characters the players think are very powerful) without greatly distorting the game.
Aurotuli 04-15-05, 10:14 PM	I had a GM a while back that had us all roll 3d6 18 times, placing the first six in one column, the second six in another column, etc. Then we could choose which column we wanted. Catch was, if we died or got a cohort, we had to choose from the remaining two columns. We never had to use the third column, though, we just rerolled another three columns. Half the time he wouldn't even have us choose from the remaining two columns. Cohorts were often NPCs he had rolled up himself, and often by the time a character died the player had lost the sheet with the column on it. The one time he decided to keep the sheet, he lost it by the first character death. :D Typically, I use either 32 pt buy or 4d6, drop the lowest, seven times (drop the lowest) - whichever each of the PCs want. You would think they would like the rolling method best, but there have been enough times where average or (once) even low ability characters have resulted that some prefer the 32 pt buy. Personally that's my choice, but occasionally I'll roll just for variety's sake.
Neodymium 04-15-05, 10:45 PM	Well I did say I was half-kiddingl :) You could do 1d12+6. Very random, but gives you a minimum of 7. This is my new favorite.
Nor'Morgwae 04-16-05, 06:40 PM	In my games I've been using 3d6 six times then you get 10 points to put wherever you want, but no more than 4 or 5 in a single stat. Just a couple of notes, the 3d6 x6 needs to add up to at least a total mod of 0 before you add points. This makes low scores a lot more common than 4d6 drop lowest and stll allows characters to have a couple high stats. It's worked out well so far.
jaerad 04-16-05, 07:45 PM	Well I did say I was half-kiddingl :) You could do 1d12+6. Very random, but gives you a minimum of 7. Hmmmmm. I like that. I normally h8 rolling because you have a low probability of getting an 18, but this method yeilds all values 7-18 equally likely. Also has an avg around 13, which is good. Hmmm. Was going to use a 30pt buy, but this sounds funner. Well. Hmm. I still don't really like rolling because it unbalances the group. When everyone has the same pool to work with, you get min/maxing but you don't have anyone feeling bad 'cause their rolls were lower. :thinking: :thinking: :thinking:
krichaiushii 04-16-05, 08:09 PM	What about rolling 3d6 6 times, and placing them in the order rolled? It makes for some VERY interesting characters. Alternately, if your entire group is mature enough to handle it, simply picking numerical scores that fit your character concept can work. But there is obviously no rolling involved. Another method might be that everyone rolls 4d6 drop the lowest 6 times. Each person picks one score from his/her 6, then passes the remaining scores to the left (or right), where another score is picked. This continues until ALL scores are assigned. Of course, this necessitates that all potential players meet for a PC-development session. It has the nice bonus of the "always high roller" balancing out with the "always low roller".
jaerad 04-16-05, 08:29 PM	What about rolling 3d6 6 times, and placing them in the order rolled? It makes for some VERY interesting characters. Alternately, if your entire group is mature enough to handle it, simply picking numerical scores that fit your character concept can work. But there is obviously no rolling involved. Another method might be that everyone rolls 4d6 drop the lowest 6 times. Each person picks one score from his/her 6, then passes the remaining scores to the left (or right), where another score is picked. This continues until ALL scores are assigned. Of course, this necessitates that all potential players meet for a PC-development session. It has the nice bonus of the "always high roller" balancing out with the "always low roller". It does not however balance the MAD player who gets to pick earlier and takes more of the good scores. Bah, rolling straight into stats sucks. You pick your concept AFTER you roll. I don't like that. I'd rather play the character that I want to play, not the one that I got stuck with. Isn't picking your own scores what PB is all about? It just puts a cap on it, which you would probably impose in your set up anyways.
Eliza_Stormwhisper 04-16-05, 09:35 PM	For a one campaign, I let my players use the super-elite array: 18, 16, 16, 15, 14, 13, 13 (I have the seventh stat, comeliness). It was a brutal campaign and very difficult, so they needed powerful characters. Needless to say, they never finished it. To add to what's already been said, I like the d12+6 rolling. That sounds fun.
krichaiushii 04-16-05, 10:00 PM	It does not however balance the MAD player who gets to pick earlier and takes more of the good scores. Bah, rolling straight into stats sucks. You pick your concept AFTER you roll. I don't like that. I'd rather play the character that I want to play, not the one that I got stuck with. Isn't picking your own scores what PB is all about? It just puts a cap on it, which you would probably impose in your set up anyways. Which is why I personally use and prefer point buy (normally 28 point). But as the OP was looking for ideas, I provided some. Whether or not they are workable is for the OP to decide.
HailSpork 04-16-05, 11:05 PM	For a one campaign, I let my players use the super-elite array: 18, 16, 16, 15, 14, 13, 13 (I have the seventh stat, comeliness). It was a brutal campaign and very difficult, so they needed powerful characters. Needless to say, they never finished it. To add to what's already been said, I like the d12+6 rolling. That sounds fun. I do something similar. It's a little overpowered, but I let them roll twice with 4d6 drop lowest die (all four dice the same means +2). In addition to their two rolls, they get an array of 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8. It insures that even the unluckiest roller will have a decent set of attributes.
Ilium 04-18-05, 08:24 AM	Which is why I personally use and prefer point buy (normally 28 point). But as the OP was looking for ideas, I provided some. Whether or not they are workable is for the OP to decide. Same here. I hate rolling stats. It's one of the reasons I stopped playing D&D in favor of point-buy games like HERO and GURPS for a long time. Now that D&D allows point stat buys, skill selection and feats I can actually create the character that fits my concept. So I'm back. :)
HailSpork 04-18-05, 05:07 PM	What do you mean "now"? I don't know about the rest of you, but I've been playing point buy since 2nd ed.
Ilium 04-19-05, 08:40 AM	What do you mean "now"? I don't know about the rest of you, but I've been playing point buy since 2nd ed. Yes I had seen point-buy systems for stats but it still didn't have the kind of character customization you now have with feats and skills and being able to freely multi-class. </hijack>
Ricky 04-19-05, 09:52 AM	Another method might be that everyone rolls 4d6 drop the lowest 6 times. Each person picks one score from his/her 6, then passes the remaining scores to the left (or right), where another score is picked. This continues until ALL scores are assigned. Dude, that's awesome. It's a booster draft for D&D stats. That's great. :)
Sonn Athion 04-19-05, 09:18 PM	Over all I must say krichaiushii has an interesting idea... I like the "D&D Stat Draft" :D I've tried doing the "roll 3d6 six times and play them in order" thing and its an interesting way to go. Great Challenge Point buy is great for GURPS, Shadow Run, White Wolf...ect.. But for D&D Rolling em up is where its at. I also agree with the mentioned comment about players creating their own stats to suit the character. Works out great with advanced players because they'll work up an entire backstory behind each stat. Rolling D12+7 isn't my cup of tea... I like haveing 18s.. but I also like my 6s and 4s.. Adds Character..
Sonn Athion 04-19-05, 09:21 PM	I think this was mentioned before but.. Characters roll 18d6 and then place them as they see fit.. (obviously with no more than 3 dice to a stat)