I want faster character creation. Also, I’m a monster.

I use what I call the Heroic Array. Basically, the Standard Array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8) with a few bumps: 16, 15, 13, 13, 11, 10.

The numbers are mostly odd so that the first ASI/Feat selection can see a change in bonuses. It's a nice feel at 4th level to see a change in bonuses and as few of my games reach more than 10th level, it doesn't seem to be unbalancing anything... yet. Also, I'm sure someone will notice that there are no Negative Modifier generating Ability Scores. I don't like those. :::shrug:::

I will be the first to agree, though, that this modification is due simply to feel and has no basis in statistics/mathematics/etc.

Charlaquin said:

Yeah, I saw that they all worked out to 27 points and had a 15, 14, and 13 like the standard array. It’s definitely a good idea. I was just saying, i’d personally lean towards fewer 9s and 11s and more 10s, 12s, and 8s.

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I'm working from a few premises which may not be apparent, or even correct. Let me know if you think I'm in error about any of these.

1. Each class has certain abilities that are important, and that the order of importance is given in the class's quick build section.
2. Constitution is important for everyone, so if it isn't specifically called out in the quick build, then it's last in importance.

Also, while ranking is given for each class's important abilities, there is no ranking given for the unimportant abilities, and I don't want to get into telling players where to put their lowest (negative) scores.

Nevertheless, I also wouldn't want to dissuade non-humans from taking certain classes because of multiple negative scores, so maybe something like this would address your concerns:

Hriston said:

	STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
Barbarian / Melee Fighter	15	10	15	10	11	10
Bard	10	14	13	10	10	15
STR Cleric	14	10	13	10	15	10
CON Cleric / Druid	11	10	15	10	15	10
Archery (Finesse) Fighter	10	15	15	10	11	10
Melee Fighter, pre-EK	15	10	13	14	10	10
Archery (Finesse) Fighter, pre-EK / Investigation/pre-AT Rogue	10	15	13	14	10	10
Monk / DEX Ranger	10	15	13	10	14	10
Paladin	15	10	13	10	10	14
STR Ranger	15	13	12	10	13	10
Deception Rogue	10	15	13	10	10	14
Sorcerer / Warlock	11	10	15	10	10	15
CON Wizard	11	10	15	15	10	10
DEX Wizard	10	14	13	15	10	10
CON Wizard, pre-Enchantment	10	10	14	15	10	13
DEX Wizard, pre-Enchantment	10	13	12	15	10	13

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Also, if implementing this, I'd allow any 11 to be exchanged for a 10.

Saelorn said:

Yes. The game is what happens at the table, after everyone meets in the tavern. Character creation is a chore.

The solution is to get rid of unnecessary decision points. All elves are high elves. All fighters are champions (or battle masters, whatever). No feats. No multi-classing. Standardized spell acquisition. You could probably work out some system for distributing ability scores that made sense.

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And it's a bigger pain-point for new players, of which there seem to many thanks to streaming and all the new hype around the game.

I did a very "minimalist" version of chargen (not quite as you said; they could still choose from the different subraces, for instance) and a Session Zero -- presenting what D&D is and how it plays -- and it was a 2-hour affair with 4 or 5 people new to RPGs overall and 1 new to 5E. I put a lot of effort into making it as fun as possible which padded out some of the time, but it also made an otherwise droll thing into something memorable, so that helped...but it was a chore for me to do, and there were definitely parts where it dragged as one or another player agonizes over some (necessarily very important) decision point for their character.

I wonder how much time would've been saved if we did all characters on D&D Beyond? Not all of us are tech-savvy or have a device handy for their character sheet in future sessions, though, so I couldn't rely on that for this group.

Hriston said:

I'm working from a few premises which may not be apparent, or even correct. Let me know if you think I'm in error about any of these.

1. Each class has certain abilities that are important, and that the order of importance is given in the class's quick build section.
2. Constitution is important for everyone, so if it isn't specifically called out in the quick build, then it's last in importance.

Also, while ranking is given for each class's important abilities, there is no ranking given for the unimportant abilities, and I don't want to get into telling players where to put their lowest (negative) scores.

Nevertheless, I also wouldn't want to dissuade non-humans from taking certain classes because of multiple negative scores, so maybe something like this would address your concerns:

Also, if implementing this, I'd allow any 11 to be exchanged for a 10.

Click to expand...

Ahh, I see what you mean. It felt odd to me that none of them had any 8s because I ALWAYS put an 8 in one of my stats for any character, but that makes sense since it’s a fixed set that you wouldn’t want to force anyone to put an 8 in a stat they might not want an 8 in. I’d say, go with these arrays, and allow the player the option of turning any one 10 into an 8 (or 11 to 9) to turn any other 10 into a 12 (or 11 to 13). Although, at a certain point, I wonder if it’s really any easier than just using the standard array and telling the player “Stats X, Y, and Z are the most important for your class.”