Wow, do I hate rolling for stats!

[GMforPowergamers]

I have seen both end of the spectrome...

1) 3.5 Bane the CG half drow ranger with a 8 Int, 13 Wis, and 6 cha was one of the best character's my roommate ever played...and becuse of his great rp we had moments where when he was counting on his hand another player (IC the wizard) jaw droped and said "am I alone in being terrafied we are listening to someone who hit 9 and ran out of fingers"

2) 2e Dale the human fighter with 9 str, 5 dex, 7con, 3 Int, 7 wis, and 18 cha (3d6 place as you get them)...was also fun, but not as many memorable meoments

then we had

1)my wizard/cleric/mystic thurge who was suppose to be a nerd and a loser but really smart and a little wise... BUT the DM ruled roll 4d6 drop the lowest rearrange as you see fit, but only 6 rolls infront of everyone... my 15 Str, 16 Dex, 15 Con, 18 Int, 18 Wis, 15 Cha made me want to cry...

2) 2e the wizard that died at character creation when his con was -2 hp per level, and the DM made him roll 1st level hp, and he rolled 1 on his d4

3) and the final straw for my group, my first 4e game, the warlord was a 14 pt character, the wizard and rouge where 18 pt characters, the swordmage and ranger where so far off the charts we stoped counting... the swordmage had 3 18's


all in all for every great story I have for rolling stats (I have a half orc bard in 3e story that is real funny) I have 5 for bad stories..

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

I agree with GMforPowergamers that there are very cool stories that come from random-rolls, like my 2e Fighter with a 9 Strength and 17 Wis.. that carried a greatsword and intimidated the hell out of everyone who didn't see him try to draw it... He was a ton of fun until we had a Ranger join the party and I got out-voted as to wilderness adventuring
Seems beasts don't get intimidated so well!


But for each of those stories, there are so many sad ones. You need the right player, in the right frame of mind, and an ability to absorb a wider fluctation in PC power levels. 3x and 4e have a narrower power margin, so its harder to deal with. I haven't used random rolls since 3.5 because of that issue.

My favorite 2e method for stat generation was to give a pool of 26 dice that the player could assign before rolling to a stat. Then they rolled and picked the best 3 for each stat. This let them guide the character slightly while still risking the randomness of the dice.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

Gotcha. Then I'll just offer sympathy.

Thank you! Sometimes a dude just wants a sympathetic grip on the shoulder, you know?


Jeff

P.S. And a shot of bourbon. And a super-model girlfriend. (Holding another shot of bourbon.)

 

[Jeff Wilder]

BTW, somebody upthread suggested a hybrid system of giving an 18 and a 16, and rolling 3d6, in order, for everything else. I like that concept a lot, and I suggested a variant to a potential Pathfinder GM:

A 17 and a 15, placed as desired, then 4d6, 3d6, 3d6, and 3d6 assigned (before rolling).

So my tiefling sorcerer would be:

S - 3d6 (10)
D - 15
C - 4d6 (16)
I - 3d6 (15)
W - 3d6 (14)
Ch - 17

 

[LostSoul]

I've been playing 4E for a while with a random system, rolling 3d6 in order, then changing one stat to 16 (and anything lower than 8 you can raise to 8). There have been 13 or so PCs in the game, so I've seen some good rolls and some poor ones.

Anyway, rolling for stats or point-buy are two ways to approach character creation, and you should use whichever one works best in your game.

 

[Nifft]

Rolling stats: "Remember, kids! Rolling high the first time is the same as rolling higher every single time in the future!"

Tiefling sorcerer, Chelish ex-pat, LG charmer. My mistake was in setting my heart on a concept. (I was sorta surprised that we'd be rolling stats.) I can scrap the concept, of course, and build something less interesting to me (but slightly stronger), but that also dampens my enthusiasm.

Make him a Tiefling Warlock instead. (Warlocks don't need any stats, and can be quite good socially even with just a +2 Charisma bonus.)

"Some people were born to greatness, those lucky bastards. Zzzap! Others had greatness thrust upon them, and they're also lucky bastards. Zzzap! Me? I was born plain as oatmeal, and I had to steal every ounce of this power that I'm using to kill you. Zzzap! Zzzap! Congratulations, punk: you've just been defeated by oatmeal."

Cheers, -- N

 

[ggroy]

BTW, somebody upthread suggested a hybrid system of giving an 18 and a 16, and rolling 3d6, in order, for everything else. I like that concept a lot, and I suggested a variant to a potential Pathfinder GM:

IIRC, the other variant player stat generation method in the recent Gamma World using the 4E D&D ruleset, did something like:

- assigning 20 to a primary stat
- rolling 3d6 each for all the other stats.

This variant could be used for a character class which is dependent on only one primary stat for all the combat powers, such as the 4E Essentials rogue/thief.

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

P.S. And a shot of bourbon. And a super-model girlfriend. (Holding another shot of bourbon.)

Well, here's hoping!

And dude, I totally feel your angst. Rolling sucks, especially when you're playing a retro clone where luckier players get even further ahead because of prime requisite XP bonuses. (And when I say 'you,' I mean me.)

So, other than sympathy, I can offer three words of advice: Go. Kami. Kazi. I'm waiting for my opportunity to sacrifice myself for the group. And then reroll. And if I reroll badly, I'll make a low Int wizard or something.

 

[scourger]

Naw, I like rolling for stats. But, it needs some 3e-type controls so that if your overall modifiers aren't positive or your highest stat is a 13, then you get to re-roll. So, not a true roll 3d6 in order method but not a pure point buy either.

I really like the organic method from the DMG. I like the idea that not all stats are cherry-picked and you could wind up with the smart fighter or the strong wizard.

I also like the new Gamma World method with one 18, one 16 and roll 3d6 for the rest in order. The neat thing about it is that the 18 & 16 are based on your origin, so you have cool, useful powers tied to those exceptional abilities. And, having some other stats that are lower isn't as crippling becasue you can use all the skills in which you don't have bonuses and combat modifiers are based on a number of stats.

 

[Dausuul]

Another approach to "balanced randomness" that I came up with:

Start with 12 in each stat. (This may be too low for your taste. If so, give people one or two stats of their choice higher than 12; for example, you might have everyone start with two stats at 15 and the rest at 12.)

Roll 1d6. Add the result to one stat and subtract it from another. You can't add it to any stat where it would take the result above 18, and you can't subtract it from any stat where it would take the result below 3.

Repeat 3 more times.

This has some interesting results, in that all characters will have the same stat total (72 if you start with 12 across the board), and you get a fair amount of say in how the numbers fall out, but chance can steer you in unexpected directions. For instance, say you roll a 4 on your first die and pump your Strength to 16, planning to make a high-Strength fighter. But then you get 6, 3, and 3 on the other dice. You can't raise your Strength with any of those, so your Strength tops out at 16--but that 6 will let you get a sweet, sweet 18 in a different stat, should you so choose.