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<blockquote data-quote="Jack Daniel" data-source="post: 5549665" data-attributes="member: 694"><p>As mentioned by several people above, there's a standard counter-argument to the idea that random stats aren't fair: namely, before the players pick up the dice, everybody has the same <em>chance</em> to roll well or poorly. The outcomes may not be even, but the chances are perfectly fair. If everybody takes this attitude to character generation (and it does require a different perspective than we usually see in more modern games, which tend to be driven by stat modifiers and by the primacy of the character), the imbalance that results from high scoring vs. mediocre scoring characters is more acceptable.</p><p></p><p>It comes down to the old debate between character generation vs. character creation. Point buys are for character creation... and, surprise of surprises, they lead to min/maxed characters. Since there are usually only a few ways you can optimize a character, they also lead to pretty standard fare, plain vanilla characters. Rolled stats lead to surprises -- and disappointments, especially if you use the "ironman" method of 3d6 in order, but that's part of the charm. When you roll your stats, you get to be surprised. When you roll your stats in order, you even get to be surprised by what class you'll be playing.</p><p></p><p>Now, the table of ability modifiers does matter here. I wouldn't particularly want to use rolled stats in 3rd edition, where every two points of ability score translate into a point of modifier. But AD&D (where scores ranging from 7 to 14 usually don't do anything) or OD&D (where the modifiers are just all-around smaller, ranging from 1 to 3 depending on the particular version)? It's much less of a big deal. Outlier scores that actually come with a bonus or penalty are just plain rare anyway. The point is, blanket statements about dice vs. points are meaningless without context. You need to know game, edition, and maybe even campaign and DM first.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jack Daniel, post: 5549665, member: 694"] As mentioned by several people above, there's a standard counter-argument to the idea that random stats aren't fair: namely, before the players pick up the dice, everybody has the same [i]chance[/i] to roll well or poorly. The outcomes may not be even, but the chances are perfectly fair. If everybody takes this attitude to character generation (and it does require a different perspective than we usually see in more modern games, which tend to be driven by stat modifiers and by the primacy of the character), the imbalance that results from high scoring vs. mediocre scoring characters is more acceptable. It comes down to the old debate between character generation vs. character creation. Point buys are for character creation... and, surprise of surprises, they lead to min/maxed characters. Since there are usually only a few ways you can optimize a character, they also lead to pretty standard fare, plain vanilla characters. Rolled stats lead to surprises -- and disappointments, especially if you use the "ironman" method of 3d6 in order, but that's part of the charm. When you roll your stats, you get to be surprised. When you roll your stats in order, you even get to be surprised by what class you'll be playing. Now, the table of ability modifiers does matter here. I wouldn't particularly want to use rolled stats in 3rd edition, where every two points of ability score translate into a point of modifier. But AD&D (where scores ranging from 7 to 14 usually don't do anything) or OD&D (where the modifiers are just all-around smaller, ranging from 1 to 3 depending on the particular version)? It's much less of a big deal. Outlier scores that actually come with a bonus or penalty are just plain rare anyway. The point is, blanket statements about dice vs. points are meaningless without context. You need to know game, edition, and maybe even campaign and DM first. [/QUOTE]
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