Post/Author/DateTime	Post
oberyn 11-16-04, 10:47 PM	hey everyone i was just wondering what kind of dice or buy you used to create your characters.
Mind Rogue 11-16-04, 11:29 PM	As a DM, I like them to use a point by system (pref. 29), since this ensures that everyone is balanced against each other and the party is not too incredibly overpowered. I've toyed with other ideas, like using the default array, then letting them have an immediate three points to spend as they see fit... get rid of that 8, bump the 15 to an 18, get two 16s, etc. Someone once posted an idea where each ability starts out as a 6, you roll 6 dice and put them down in order, then flip them over and rearrange. He called it nature-nurture and it has a benefit that each character's scores will always average 13 and can never be lower than 8 while still allowing for some randomness. My players tend to prefer to choose to roll. Most of them like the randomness and the possibility for more powerful characters. However, my dice tend not to like me at this point, and they usually roll several hopeless rerolls at a time until I threaten to go to point by or a gen program I wrote, where upon they promptly give me a good character.
Lord_Anthrax 11-17-04, 07:29 AM	I use my own point-buy system. All stats at 10(before racial mods), 32 points to be distributed on a 1-for-1 basis into the stats. Yes, you could have 4 18's. But I use the same method for generating anything that would fall under the Elite array as an enemy, so no worries there.
Mind Rogue 11-17-04, 09:40 AM	I kind of wonder where all of the characters with four 18s or else 4 16s and 2 14s come from, Lord Anthrax. That, and I think you made the exact same post somewhere else. But then again, whoever invented cut and paste should apply to MENSA.
Carpe DM 11-17-04, 02:11 PM	I use what I call the "even set". Basically you get 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, and 8. They can be arranged however the player wants. If someone is dedicated about getting rid of their 8, I will let them trade points 1 for 1 to get rid of it (so they could drop their 12 to a 10, to raise the 8 to a 10, if desired). My group doesn't mind this method a bit. The character has two strong stats, one medium one, two fairly average ones, and one weakness. I've tried numerous dice-rolling methods, but invariably you end up with an imperfect system with those...you will have some characters who get really lucky (my wife rolled a character using the standard 4d6 drop the lowest, right in front of the group, and got no stat lower than 16. No kidding) and end up as powerhouses. You will also have some who end up pretty average (nothing better than 14). Since the system allows for rerolls in most cases, and most DM's are happy enough to let somebody reroll if they are unhappy anyway, I figure there's only two really fair ways to do it. A standard set or a point buy. The weakness of point buy is, of course, that it's easy to powergame with it by giving yourself very high stats in the areas you find most important, by keeping less valued stats down very low. Granted, in the games I run, this would be a bad idea because I would use those low stats quite liberally to give you alot of trouble (let's face it, if you've got a 4 Intelligence, you're about as smart as a box of oatmeal). Still, the set I put above is what we came up with as a good general concept.
FatherNature 11-17-04, 02:22 PM	low power, RULE MONGER games: --I do a quick 3d6 reroll 1's for all stats...and by "RULE MONGER' I mean I have my players roll for just about everything. mid power, "do your own thing" games: --for a "free play" game, I let the players choose between 3d6 reroll 1's & 2's or 4d6, reroll 1's, drop the lowest die. --my brother seems to favor the 1d20 here. high power, "less rolls, more game" games: --here, having a high skill isn't as broken b/c there is less rolling so... 5d6, reroll 1's, drop the two lowest dice. other: --my friend uses an 80 point 1 to 1 point buy...I find it quick and handy. (stats start at 10's and 20 point 1-1 is how I see it...) --I've been thinking of using this, tell me what you think all stats start at 8, roll d10 for each.
Lord_Anthrax 11-18-04, 03:38 AM	I kind of wonder where all of the characters with four 18s or else 4 16s and 2 14s come from, Lord Anthrax. Silly...they come from my imagination, of course. :D
Ahnehnois 11-18-04, 01:15 PM	My system is to have the players delineate stats (between 3-18 starting, with three odds) so that the mod total adds up to a certain number. A point buy, essentially, that's easier to understand. My last campaign was mod total 8.
Dunelord 11-20-04, 03:22 PM	I just let players pick there stats. You would be surprised at how low most of them go.
krichaiushii 11-20-04, 03:36 PM	28 point buy to keep party members equal. Notable NPCs (good and bad) will be either 25 or 28 points, with the rest of the world looking at 22 or 25.
foolkiller_rj 11-21-04, 01:04 AM	I use the point buy as stated in the DMG, but I change the number of points depending on the power of the campaign. All PCs and NPCs are made using some variety of these points: Feeble: 5 points Incompotent: 10 points Typical: 15 points Competent: 20 points Exceptional: 25 Superior: 30 points Remarkable: 35 points Incredible: 40 points Amazing: 45 points Legendary: 50 points shopkeeper type NPCs are made with Typical stats, professional soldiers and the like with Competent stats, PCs usually with Exceptional to Remarkable stats, BBEG with Incredible stats and truly huge NPCs (like Elminster, or Aragorn or Hercules) with the Legendary array. I am in the midst of developing a CR equiv for these arrays, but haven't yet. Still, the system has worked well so far.
MageofMyth 11-24-04, 05:46 PM	I use a method all my own. I hand four players one d6 each and hold a box over there heads have them each roll the die into the box. I reroll any ones, once. Then I write down the stat. Then we do it again. When we have enough stats for one character I give the stats to the party, they may place them how they want them, and races may change them. I do this so that I don’t get one person with really high stats, and one with really low stats. I once had a player roll 3 characters in a row and only roll a 12 once, the rest were below 10.
ClothedUpon 11-28-04, 07:06 PM	I'm getting ready to DM a new campaign using a variation of the elite array for PC's and major NPC's. All stats start at 8 and cannot be lower than 8. Then, distribute 24 points among the stats as desired. This totals 72 points. It allows for variation among characters without making them too weak or too strong. For average NPC's all scores start at 8 and then 15 points are distributed. Above average... I haven't decided, yet.
Thelon Fairblade 11-29-04, 10:32 AM	I have players who like to roll, and players who like point-buy. So I am letting each player choose one of the following: 1) 30-pt buy 2) roll 4d6, drop lowest; may reroll ONCE if total is less than 72. If don't like second roll, you get the Elite Array (total is 71).
Salamandyr 11-29-04, 08:48 PM	I'm thinking of a system, the next time I run something, to eliminate the dump stat idea from the game. Player picks 4 stats and uses point buy to get his stats. Then he rolls 4d6 for one and 3d6 for the other. I figure this would provide a little randomness, while still making sure the player had good scores in his importants skills. I hate the idea of every fighter having an 8 Cha, and this way-he can roll 3d6 and maybe get a wider variation, without tremendously increasing the power of his character.
ClothedUpon 11-30-04, 01:51 AM	I'm going from memory, here... but, there's another method that I just remembered using a lot in AD&D that could be used in 3.5. It's from the AD&D Unearthed Arcana. Roll 9d6 for 1st stat. Roll 8d6 for 2nd stat. Roll 7d6 for 3rd stat. Roll 6d6 for 4th stat. Roll 5d6 for 5th stat. Roll 4d6 for 6th stat. Keep only the top 3 dice for each roll. Arrange as desired. The AD&D Unearthed Arcana had the variations arranged by class. Fighters always used 9d6 for Strength, etc... I think this could be used in 3.5, too, if a DM wanted to decide that certain classes used specific variations of this. It usually makes for very powerful characters as far as abilities are concerned. Especially if all 1's are re-rolled.
Massawyrm 11-30-04, 05:35 AM	The method I like to use is a little wonky. Roll 24d6 and drop the lowest 6. Create 6 stats using the dice you've rolled. This allows the players to craft the stats themselves while keeping the much beloved randomness most players desire. While this does have the potential of making some very powerful characters (I've seen 2 18's and a 17) it can also make mediocre to weak characters as well. If you choose to use this method, I highly recommend having any player playing a construct or undead (a character with no Con, or if in some weird extreme circimstance a non existant other stat) roll 4 less dice and deduct one less die from the total (ie 20 Dice, drop the lowest 5). Otherwise said player will make that stat out of his three lowest dice, only to then drop that stat.
Kyy'Dakh 11-30-04, 09:07 AM	One method I sometimes use: Take an 8, roll all other stats, ignoring results less than 10. For min/maxers, you may want to apply the rule in a way that they can't put the 8 in a dump stat.
Ellena 11-30-04, 09:16 AM	I use an old 2e gen system. I set all stats to 14 then the player can add and subtract from them at will. Obviously this method makes for very strong characters (and a few people will make 18 str 18 dex 18 con 12 int 10 wis 8 cha fighters), but I've rarely received any complaints. ;>
He Who Shall Not Be Named 12-04-04, 01:48 AM	I'm a fan of my group's 34-36 point buy. At the beginning of any campaign, we decide whether you get 34 or 36 points, then it works like NWN (everything at 8, buy points 1:1 up to 14, 15-16 is 2:1, 17-18 is 3:1, can't go higher than 18). Makes balanced chars... with the 36 points, you could have every stat at 14. Of course no one does that... :) Though I like the idea of rolling one set of stats for the whole group, MageofMyth. The problem with rolling stats is one char is more powerful than all the others. But, if they all have the same set... no whining from the PCs. Well, at least in that department... :D Just my two cents...
Norseman 12-04-04, 03:13 AM	I let my players use the D&D Character Generator Demo on my computer. They're allowed to roll only 25 times. Any more than that, and I'll roll one more time and whatever comes up is what they get.
riceisnice 12-04-04, 03:26 PM	25 point buy.
Thomar_of_Uointer 12-04-04, 07:07 PM	18 16 14 12 10 8 in any order the player wants. But important NPCs start with much higher stats.
starfire311 12-06-04, 04:29 PM	generally 28-32 point-buy, but I am willing to try just about any method that will assure balance within the group.
Dragonspirit 12-06-04, 06:26 PM	I give a choice. Either 28pt buy Or a 32pt value array (16,15,14,13,10,9). Rolling is just terrible. You get party disparity and either overpowered or underpowered characters. And I frankly do not see an upside.
evangelion1010 12-06-04, 08:26 PM	The group i just made a character was 5d6, 8 times, re-roll 1's. Everyone gets at least 1 18, though the DM can choose which roll to turn into an 18. Arrange as needed. My stats were 18, 17, 14, 14, 14, 13. I was probably 6 points off the best character, and everyone else was fairly close to me. I personally like it, as some characters depend heavily on certain stats. It also allows the DM to be brutal on us at will.
trodaimionn 12-29-04, 01:12 AM	For my PC's it's 4D6, reroll 1's and 2's, roll six times. If they truly hate their lowest score they can reroll that but they must accept that new roll. This makes for character with strong and average abilities, and this is the method that everyone likes the most. For my NPC's I use the stat buy system in the DMG where the average meanie starts off as competent, and every 5 levels goes up one stat level, so that at 6th they are exceptional, 11th superior, etc.
philnicau 12-29-04, 02:58 AM	we use a system adapted from D20 Modern the stats are set you get 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8. and can allocate them as you please, but you must use these stats no trading off in anyway.
Ut-Napishtim 12-29-04, 03:06 AM	Man, some of you guys are really generous. I have my players roll 3d6 seven times and then arrange the six highest as they desire. They can also 'purchase' up to five additional rolls at 500xp/ea. so since they usually start at 2nd level they usually roll 3d6 seven times and have 1,000 xp. They can roll 3d6 nine times and have 0 xp, or they can even roll 3d6 twelve times (taking the six highest results) and start with -1,500 xp, etc. I'm going to start offering a 25 point buy as an alternative as well.
Shadowbane 12-29-04, 10:36 PM	I use 4d6 reroll 1s keep best 3. Or I like the 32 point buy 17/18 only cost 2 points for each.
Good & Evil 12-29-04, 10:59 PM	My players have one of 3 options: 1) default array of 15 14 14 12 10 10 2) point buy: 28 points 3) Roll 4d6, drop the lowest. If highest stat in set is 13, player has the option of re-rolling entire set. Player also has the option of re-rolling their lowest stat; however; whatever you roll, you keep. (suddenly that 8 dind't look that bad compared to a 5 :D ) *Option 3 is the only one they must do in front of the Dm.
Ra-Tiel 12-30-04, 03:06 PM	Hello there. I've come up with several methods for randomly generating ability scores, but alas, none has every seen the action (because currently I don't dm). Use, correct, interpret, or rip them apart as you want: a) Roll 5d10. Add highest and lowest result together. Repeat 5 times. Generates scores from 2 to 20, with 11 as average result. b) Roll 18d6. Each die with 4 or higher equals 1 ability point in that stat. Repeat 6 times. Generates scores from 0 to 18, with 9 as average result. c) Roll 1d4,1d6,1d8. Add results. Repeat 6 times. Generates scores from 3 to 18, with 9 as average result. d) Like c), but with minimum equal to half the maximum for each die. Repeat only 5 times. Generates scores from 9 to 18, with still 9 as average result. e) Roll 1d12+6. Repeat 5 times. Generates scores from 7 to 18, with 12 as average result. (This is in my opinion the best of the various "1dx+y" methods. Alternatively you could use 1d10+8, 1d8+10, 1d6+12 or 1d4+14, but 1d12+6 gets an average result of 12, and not 13, 15, or even 16 like the other methods mentioned). Enjoy (and think about) them!
Mordin 12-30-04, 05:00 PM	4d6 re-role one's keep the three highest or for those people who for some reason cant roll decent stats buy on 28.
Edymnion 12-30-04, 05:49 PM	Player's Pick: 4d6 Drop Lowest 2d6+6 30 Point Buy Once a method has been picked, thats the one you have to use. If you decide you want to roll, then you haved waved the option for using Point Buy. Mathematically, they are all identical.
Darion Fenix 12-30-04, 06:06 PM	1d4+1d6+1d8 has an average of 10.5 but actually generates an 18 at a 1:192 chance instead of a 1:216 chance with 3d6...interesting. An average character generated with 4d6 drop one method is the same as a 28 point buy character. 30 points is mathematically higher but as any experienced player knows 4d6 typically gets you better stats than 28 points. 2d6+6 is overpowered with a 1:36 chance of getting an 18 and an impossibility of anything lower than a 7 and it has a clean average of 13 in all stats compared to the other methods that get you 13/13/13/13/12/12 or 12.66 average.
Ra-Tiel 12-30-04, 06:42 PM	@Darion Fenix Oh... thanks for correcting me. 1d4+1d6+1d6 indeed gives an average of 10.5. My fault. And method d) gives a minimum of 9 with an average of 10.5.
MadBlue 12-30-04, 11:57 PM	All ability scores start at 6. The player gets a pool of "pre-rolled die rolls" (1,1,2,2,3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6), and can allot two "rolls" to each ability score. Essentially, each ability score could be generated with 2d6+6, but it gives the players more freedom to set their ability scores, and they all start off on an equal footing. When characters level up, they get 1/2 HD+1 for hit points, rather than rolling. It tends to benefit Wizards/Sorcerers more than those with larger hit die, but so far nobody's complained. I just don't feel that hit points should be rolled for, since a good HD is as much a class feature as BAB, Saves, Skills or special abilities (especially in 3e, where multiclassing is much more open than previous editions, and players may just take one or two levels in another class). You don't roll 1d8 to see how many skill points a Rogue gets per level, so why roll 1d10 to see how many hit points a Fighter gets? MadBlue
Cune 12-31-04, 10:23 AM	25 Point Buy.
Kursk 01-01-05, 01:37 PM	4D6 drop lowest, arrange as desired...
Tuneless Bard 01-04-05, 08:58 AM	4D6 drop lowest, arrange as desired... This one is crazy....who ever thought to do it like that? :P I deffinatly dont like the point buy system...ability scores should be mostly random...but the problem with most rolling methods is that people roll i million times looking for an 18...so I just give it to them... 18, 7, and four other stats rolled randomly via 4d6 method...
Minister_for_Moral_Truth 01-04-05, 09:39 PM	4d6 drop lowest, minimum highest stat 13 and net positive or re-roll all. I'm a simple creature, and I like a bit of variation.
Paradisio 01-05-05, 01:41 AM	Point buy seems a bit complicated and underpowered, at least as far as I understand it. And it takes my players long enough to make characters without having an exponentially increasing point buy for stats. I prefer rolling 5d6 drop lowest or stat array.
James Wildspell 01-10-05, 07:17 PM	what I plan on is: All players get 80 points to allocate to any score they wish. Minimum score is 10, maximum score is 18. Apply racial modifiers after this distribution Although I do not like those 8s and 20s some characters will end up with, I will make the characters pay for the players foolishness. They will regret those 8s, and might find the 20s don't make that much of a difference. :D