Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 sirkaikillah11 Mar 02, 2015 20:49:20	What options as DM do you allow for generating abilty scores.   St top 3 dice out of 4d6   standard array   point buy   Would you alllow all three in the same campaign?   That it was I decided, each player could decide how to generate scores. Most chose to roll for abilities. I had two players choose point buy and one chose standard array.Rolling for those stats is the only chance a first level pc to get scores of 18. But some players don't like the randomness in character creation. So far balance has not been a serious issue. Out of a dozen only one player isn't happy with his stats, he rolled them a power gamer. Funny thing he has better abilities than the player who chose point buy. But is it a serious issue for the player, no. He shows up every week to play and enjoys his pc.
#2 AaronOfBarbaria Mar 02, 2015 21:49:29	I allow those three, plus dozens of others (any from any D&D book ever published, plus just picking out whatever scores you want) - my only requirement for the players is that they have a character they will enjoy playing.
#3 Archon007 Mar 02, 2015 21:53:33	Point buy the only equal way to create characters. Standard array is point buy, just a repurchased package.
#4 sirkaikillah11 Mar 02, 2015 22:52:15	AaronOfBarbaria wrote:
#5 DungeonKeeper86 Mar 02, 2015 22:57:58	Either point buy or array for me since I really dislike randomness in character creation/advancement. I think point buy is suited for more experienced players who want the option to tweak their characters exactly how they want, and array works better for newer players cause it make their lives much simpler or just for a faster character creation.
#6 FrogReaver Mar 02, 2015 23:40:34	I typically dislike games that allow stat rolling.     However, some stat rolling systems for D&D are okay.  Some basic features I like in stat rolling systems. 1.  Any rolling system that guarantees at least a single 15 is okay.  There are multiple ways to do this.   2.  DM rolls a few stat arrays (maybe 3 or 4) that can be picked between for all the players at his table.  Any stat arrays he rolls that he feels are too strong can be tossed out.  Same if he rolls any he feels are too weak.   2B.  To give variation between character stat arrays the DM may have players roll a couple of stats each and then roll a few different arrays of 4.  The players must use the 2 values they rolled but can pick any array that the DM rolled for the remaining stats.  Of course any arrays the DM feels are too weak or too strong can be rerolled.  (This can also be modified to have player roll 3 dice and dm roll stat arrays of 3 and so on...)   3.  Systems that start with a basic array and then allow players to gamble on each array value to try and increase it a few points.  Depending on if they win or lose the gamble they either gain stat points or lose stat points on the array value they gambled on.  Example:  basic stat array 15 14 13 12 10 8.  Players gambles on the 15.  He rolles a d4.  On a 1 he increases that stat by 1.  On a 2 he increases the stat by 2.  However on a 3 he decreases the stat by 1 and on a 4 he decreases the stat by 2.  This allows randomness and helps by keeping stats from being spread to far apart.  (I would institute a cap that +2 is the most that can be wagered on any stat)   4.  Any of these methods can be combined with each other as well.   I would say option 2B and 3 are my favorite stat rolling system.  Gives a nice bit of randomness and consistency between the players stats.
(Reply to #4) AaronOfBarbaria	sirkaikillah11 wrote:
#8 alienux Mar 03, 2015 5:13:10	I prefer rolling for stats, and that's generally what my players do. We acctually enjoy the randomness of if and find it fun and challenging to overcome any low ability scores with good situation thinking.   However, I also find that the roll 4 drop lowest method usually still ends up with good stats more often than not, so none of us have ever really had bad scores using this method anyway. In my experience, it generally produces better scores much more often than the old BECMI roll 3d6 and go with it method.
#9 akr71 Mar 03, 2015 11:39:19	Generally its roll 4, keep 3 for my groups.  One of the players chose to go with the array, but everyone seems to like the unique/random nature of the rolling.   With my kids, I was a little generous and went with roll 4 keep 3, and twice they could roll 5 keep 2.
#10 Ranthalan Mar 03, 2015 8:44:39	I let my players roll, and if they don't like the roll they can point buy.  I haven't calculated the odds, but I suspect rolling is more likely to produce worse scores than point buy.  Of the 6 characters in my campaign, 2 kept their rolls.  The first was only very slightly better than a point buy but had an 8.  The other, a 10yo with his first ever character rolled: 17, 15, 15, 13, 11.  I suspect future characters may disappoint him.
#11 Coredump00 Mar 03, 2015 9:14:35	I used to allow 4d6 keep three,  create 7 numbers keep 6.   But I think I will change that.  I will likely go with a harsher than normal system and boost the ASI progression.   Current plan is to allow +3 per ASI, but no more than +2 on any one stat.(perhaps the other +1 is DM assigned...)  Taking a feat means you still get +1 to a stat.   It means new PCs have stats closer to standard folks, but they get a lot better over time.
#12 FrankD20 Mar 03, 2015 11:05:48	My groups roll 4d6, can re-roll a single 1, and keep the best 3....do it 6 times and arrange how they want.  If they don't get at least a 14, or have multiple 8 or lower, I allow them to re-roll the whole characters...like it was mentioned above, I just want them to come out with a character they are interested in playing.
#13 slumgum Mar 03, 2015 11:53:09	I really like rolling for stats.  We have done 3d6 rolled 12 times and keep the 6 you want (this leads to characters that have like 12s in everything it seems, kinda boring.  The preferred method is 4d6 drop one rolled 6 times.  This lead a recent character of mine having 6 STR (Impossible with point buy/stat array) and it's just great to roleplay it.    I found when I did point buys/stat rolls I became obsessed with having optimal characters, often letting my stats determine race (If I want to play a Wizard and get +3 mod I have to play as elf, human or gnome, if I want to be a druid and get +3 WIS mod I have to be an elf or dwarf).  And it was fun designing optimal characters for awhile, but ultimately it got boring.
#14 BeaumontSebos Mar 03, 2015 13:02:15	I allow all three, but rolling has to be done in my presence.   The campaign I'm currently running is ove the Internet, so I only allowed array or point buy.
#15 RedSiegfried Mar 03, 2015 13:15:39	I "allow" any method for generating ability scores that the rest of the group is okay with.  Usually this means we just agree to stick to the book but we've used all sorts of methods and yes, people in our games have just outright picked their ability scores too.    My only caveat to players is the same common-sensical words of wisdom I use for anything in a game where you sit around a table with a bunch of people and talk to each other for hours.  They've been named after a certain actor who played a certain young man on a certain science fiction TV series ...
#16 RedSiegfried Mar 03, 2015 13:24:13	sirkaikillah11 wrote:
#17 CCS Mar 03, 2015 13:36:25	I allow all 3. Almost everyone I've ever played with has chosen to roll....
#18 sirkaikillah11 Mar 03, 2015 15:04:08	AaronOfBarbaria wrote:
#19 sirkaikillah11 Mar 03, 2015 15:12:05	RedSiegfried wrote:
#20 Enevhar_Aldarion Mar 03, 2015 19:02:12	Any system that prevents players from making characters with stats lower than 8 works for me, as I hate poor stats and the way some people overplay them. One of the more recent ones I have used and like is 6+2d6, for a range of 8-18. I have also tried 8+1d10 and 6+3d4, but those seem too awkward. The point-buy is good in 5th Ed, but I still prefer that players at least have a chance of getting a natural 18.
#21 FrogReaver Mar 03, 2015 22:44:32	IMO:  the reason players prefer to roll stats is because they know they will not have to keep "bad" stats if they roll them.  Virtually every DM here has confessed that they will allow a remedy in such a situation, either a reroll or reverting to standard point buy.     When players that would otherwise take point buy see other players getting to reroll bad stats it takes all incentive away from trying to use the point buy for your stats.
(Reply to #21) AaronOfBarbaria	FrogReaver wrote:
(Reply to #21) Ranthalan	FrogReaver wrote:
#24 MechaPilot Mar 04, 2015 11:07:32	I use the following system:   Each player rolls a total of 24 d6s (4d6 * 6 attributes). The lowst six of the 24 dice results are dropped (this is instead of the usual drop the one lowest d6 for each stat). The player assigns the remaining d6 results to her stats in whatever arrangement she pleases. If at the end of this process the player wishes, she can opt to use a standard array instead.   I'm generous when it comes to ability scores because bad scores are more likely to result in situations that I feel, as both a DM and a player, aren't very fun: the biggest one, naturally, is PC death due to random factors (I have no problem killing a PC who refuses to yield to common sense or does something suicidal in an attempt to be a hero), but option restriction by failing to meet attribute prereqs is another one.  By contrast, high ability scores (especially with a cap in place) aren't likely to break things in a way that requires more of a fixative than simply throwing in an extra monster or two.
(Reply to #23) FrogReaver	Ranthalan wrote:
#26 Greenstone.Walker Mar 04, 2015 14:46:38	I vaguely remember an option from 2nd ed where you rolled 7d6 and added them to stats with all stats starting at 8. You had to add the entire d6 roll, however, you couldn't split.   Has anyone tried this? How well did it work out?
(Reply to #25) Coredump00	FrogReaver wrote: