PC Creation: Pointbuy or Roll?

[Crothian]

Sure, but a serious failure of any of those rolls can ruin the fun of playing a character just as surely as rolling poorly for ability scores can?

Do people believe that ability scores are linked to the fun of playing a character?

 

[Psion]

I hate the fiddliness, dump-statting, and cookie-cutter assembly-line artificial-feeling nature of point buy characters. I appreciate that randomness can create some inequity, but I think the correct solution to this is to limit the range of the randomness, not buy into the weaknesses of point-buy systems.

That said, I see no real point in randomizing HP, so normally assign all characters average rolls for HP.

 

[Aus_Snow]

I appreciate that randomness can create some inequity, but I think the correct solution to this is to limit the range of the randomness, not buy into the weaknesses of point-buy systems.

So, what limits do you think should be imposed / what limits do you impose upon randomness in ability score generation?

At what point would/do these limits become "weaknesses"?

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Sure, but a serious failure of any of those rolls can ruin the fun of playing a character just as surely as rolling poorly for ability scores can... And since you are rolling those checks so much more often, you have a lot more chances for failure.

What's the advantage of point buying a perfectly balanced character, if an unlucky roll of the dice during the game will render him dead or debilitated for life?

You could have fun until you die, or you could suck until you die. I'm going with the more fun option.

Characters with low stats are also more likely to fail an important roll.

 

[Pbartender]

Do people believe that ability scores are linked to the fun of playing a character?

Yes, apparently, many do.

 

[Thorin Stoutfoot]

I give players a choice...

4d6 drop lowest standard (rerolls as per PHB rules) or 25 point buy (in case you really suck at rolling or believe the dice have it in for you)

In practice, about 2/3rds of the players roll, and the last 3rd point buy, which is good. (It would have sucked if nobody picked one or the other)

 

[sniffles]

I can't choose. I'm accustomed to rolling for stats in D&D because that's just what my group has always done and no one has shown any interest in trying point-buy. But I've played other systems that use point-buy, and I figure that if I can handle Hero system point-buy then D&D shouldn't be too hard. If someone decides to use point-buy someday I'd be willing to give it a try.

Edit: I do believe that ability scores are linked to the fun of playing a character. But I don't necessarily mean good ability scores, which I think is what your are implying, Crothian. It can be a lot of fun to play a character with low ability scores, under the right circumstances. If I'm going to play a heroic type, though, I want ability scores in the higher range.

 

[messy]

call me vanilla, but i'll take the balance and customization of point-buy over the randomness and luck of rolling.

messy

 

[Psion]

So, what limits do you think should be imposed / what limits do you impose upon randomness in ability score generation?

I put caps and minimums on ability scores (below the min, reroll), and since I picked up Green Ronin's Advanced GMs Guide to use the method where you allocate your dice then roll. (Not roll-then-sort.)

At what point would/do these limits become "weaknesses"?

Not sure I understand the question. Or are you just trying to say "well, your method sucks too"? If so, I can only say that it satisfies my desires for how the characters look.

 

[TheGM]

I think there is a valid use for Point-Buy in a remote game where you can't trust one or more players, but I'm a rolled stat guy myself.

To make sure the characters aren't too whacky, I have players reroll 1s.
To insure that they can play the class they want without major handicaps, I have them arrange in the order they like.

Simple, effective, and more random than "I crunched the numbers and this is the best way to 'optimize' my character." - something that is 100% powergaming, IMO, and leads to "flat" PCs "this is my fighter. I used Point buy. He is the same as my last fighter. I used Point Buy...

Don.