D&D General Why I love Point Buy or Array when creating a PC

[Oofta]

I've always disliked rolling for ability scores even back before there was point buy. Back in the day we were always "generous" with our rolls, allowing for adjustments such as subtract from one ability to add to another, etc. If you wanted to play a paladin you didn't bother rolling for charisma, they just had a 17. Once I played Living City (the 2E public play game) I switched to their early point buy system. I could talk about my bad experiences with and my opinion of rolling, but that's another thread.

The main reason I use point buy? Because I think of who my character will be first. It's not even necessarily about class or role in the group, it's who my character is and where they came from. Why is anyone stupid enough to risk their life being an adventurer, what drives them? Greed? Vengeance? Right the worlds wrongs? Along with that a story starts to form. Let's say I want a bit of vengeance along with a bit of interesting backstory and hooks for my DM.

So I start thinking about that and stories about my character start to form before I even know their race. Perhaps I adored my father but he was always away since he was a sailor. Add a twist, he wasn't really a sailor he was a pirate and not just a pirate but he had discovered a book of some ancient evil. So then I add some details to that story. My mother hid dad's true nature from us, I had a sister, fights, dark rituals, running away from home trying to hide but feeling guilty I didn't do more to save mom and sis. All of this could get written up in a paragraph or two, certainly less than a page. But it tells me who my character is, not just what they are.

Then I figure out race and class. The absolute last thing I think about is ability scores. If I want anything to be random I'd start with a random history, perhaps starting with TIBF from 5E or look up a character background generator online. Because the story of the character, where they start, what I initially envision as possible growth and goals (which can change over time) are what help me immerse myself in that character. Part of the fun is seeing the world and responding to it from someone else's perspective.

My process sometimes gets juggled around of course. Either I want to play a descendent of a retired PC or the party needs a wizard. But even then, ability scores are likely the last thing I want to do. First thing is to support the class I chose but also what kind of skill proficiencies I'm going to have and do I envision my PC being an absent-minded professor with high int and low wisdom or a charismatic fighter who's not too bright?

I get to do that with point buy or an array. As an added bonus I'm not going to have stats significantly higher or lower than the rest of the PCs. I get to play the character I want to play.

So that's me. What about other?

 

[payn]

Im an odd ball in that I like point buy because I like building the mechanical side of characters. PF1, for example, is still my favorite system. I like that I can build many different fighters that feel mechanically different. My ideal system would be one in which every class would be MAD and not SAD as modern design has turned to.

Another more important reason for point buy and/or array is to balance out the party. I know many folks dont mind terribly imbalanced parties, and/or just name poorly rolled characters "Trap Fodder", but I find it better to have an average on both sides of the screen.

 

[LordEntrails]

If I making a character in a vacuum, I like rolling because its variable and I can then derive inspiration from the results.

But, I generally don't do that anymore. I'm creating characters with other player with the intent to play in a group. Hence I like all characters (and players) to start out on a level playing field. Arrays and points buys do this, rolling does not,

 

[Clint_L]

Rolling makes character creation more fun. But the built in inequity bothers me, and is a real problem when working with beginners, which I do a lot. For beginners, standard array is the way to go, because they don't know the game well enough to do point buy, and rolling leads to a lot of fudging and a lot of jealousy.

Rolling also inflates ability scores, in my experience, because most tables use one of the methods that produces fairly high average totals, and those players who still roll like crap are generally allowed to try again. Standard array means everyone starts in pretty much the same place, especially if you use the new variant rules for species.

Finally, on those occasions when I do get to play, I am always the "just tell me what role the party needs and I'll play that" person. So I need some control over where my attributes wind up.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Like @Oofta, my characters are always story-first. What world are we in? What starting location? Is there an overarching theme to the campaign? Then based upon those concepts I will create my character that fits in very snugly into that world and situation. Mechanics always come last, because the character story concept can usually facilitate several different class options-- so I will wait to see what other players are playing and then select the class (and sometimes race) to help balance things out.

As far as ability scores? So long as I can assign the numbers to the abilities as I see fit so that they apply to the PC as constituted... I do not care if I roll or point buy to get the actual numbers.

 

[MNblockhead]

Standard array, I find, is not very satisfying and I find most people I play with feel the same. Point buy is my favorite method of character generation in 5e. But I still have a soft spot for old-school rolling for stats. Starting with a character concept or letting the character evolve from random rolls can both be fun. But when I use rolling for stats, I like to combine that with a DCC-style level-zero character funnel. In my current campaign, each player rolled up four level-zero characters using rules from an Adventurer's League module. Then from the characters that survived the first session, classes were assigned.

If my next campaign is 5e I'll ask the players to do point buy, but if they feel strongly about rolling for stats, I'm not not going to draw a line in the sand over it.

 

[The Soloist]

I recall a 4e player who insisted on rolling when the rest of the group used point buy. He agreed to live with the results. He said he was a role player, not an optimizer. He rolled slightly below average. He did fine until PCs reached level 5. Then he started complaining his character's abilities were not on par with the others and wanted to raise two abilities. Looking at how he played during the game, I knew that he secretly hoped to roll very high but lost his gamble. I said no, you did this to yourself, live with it as you agreed. He left the group not long after. So much for 'role-playing' your character despite the rolls.

I vastly prefer point buy.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

I get to play the character I want to play.

I think this may be my true ultimate reason, even if I don't consciously think it.

Many pro-rolling folks speak of "discovering" etc. their characters via dice. I don't need dice for that. Character ideas evolve on their own in my head. New bits fall into place and rearrange the parts already present. Inconsistent elements get pushed out, even if that means being a little sub-optimal or giving up something powerful in order to be what the character needs to be. I have no dearth of inspiration; in fact I have far, far too much of it, way more character ideas than I could ever realistically play in a decade.

Point buy is like choosing your palette when painting. Once in a while, an artist might take on a randomized palette (or one suggested by an outsider) as an interesting artistic challenge, but otherwise, the whole point of making art is to make your vision come alive, and you should use what you need to make that happen—while keeping in mind that a profligate palette is not a virtue in many cases.

I don't need dice to introduce me to a character. I can dream one up at a moment's notice, and I have easily half a dozen I could rattle off right now that I yearn to play and see how they would grow and change and how the core concept would shift and adapt to a specific setting and group. I neither need nor want randomness to screw me over so that my characters can have believable, grounded character flaws.

Instead, I need paints and brushes and canvas to bring an idea to life, and then set it loose, to learn what new things it becomes. Because just as no DM plan survives contact with the players, no character concept survives contact with the campaign totally unscathed. It is in that crucible that I "discover" my characters, not the blind caprice of (p)RNGs.

Or, if you prefer a more humorous presentation...the story of Slap-Happy Jack, "Class Clown."

 

[EzekielRaiden]

I recall a 4e player who insisted on rolling when the rest of the group used point buy. He agreed to live with the results. He said he was a role player, not an optimizer. He rolled slightly below average. He did fine until PCs reached level 5. Then he started complaining his character's abilities were not on par with the others and wanted to raise two abilities. Looking at how he played during the game, I knew that he secretly hoped to roll very high but lost his gamble. I said no, you did this to yourself, live with it as you agreed. He left the group not long after. So much for 'role-playing' your character despite the rolls.

I vastly prefer point buy.

Yeah, it's kind of frustrating that there is this insincerity from a small portion of folks that ask for randomness. As you say, for them it's making a gamble, not seeking inspiration or the other (fully valid) reasons for choosing randomness. That is sort of a grim benefit of PB. It doesn't really let you be insincere about your motives; you are necessarily playing with your cards face up, as it were.

 

[Oofta]

Yeah, it's kind of frustrating that there is this insincerity from a small portion of folks that ask for randomness. As you say, for them it's making a gamble, not seeking inspiration or the other (fully valid) reasons for choosing randomness. That is sort of a grim benefit of PB. It doesn't really let you be insincere about your motives; you are necessarily playing with your cards face up, as it were.

There are a ton of ways to randomize, you can roll for just about everything if you want. Roll for race, backgrounds, bonds, flaws. Use a standard array or make your own and randomly assign.

However, we've had that discussion before, and I'd rather keep this "Why I like point buy or array"