Any reason why the other point buy systems wouldn't work here?
If you don't like to roll then use a point buy or pregen stats.
If you don't like to roll then use a point buy or pregen stats.
Yes. Often these PCs have decent items too!The prevalence of low stats in the Gygax era has been greatly exaggerated. Take a look at the pregens included in the classic modules -- I just took a gander at "Slave Pits of the Undercity" where 18's abound, and the lowest CON is 15 -- and you'll find a much different set of practical expectations re: character stats.
Yes. Often these PCs have decent items too!
But they clearly weren't randomly generated. Which is why the inclusion of random generation rules strikes me as odd.
I know it doesn't characterise the whole game but it was my initial impression (as in my first one) as thread title.I don't want to go too far off-topic, but I don't think the wizard in my PF BB games ever used a crossbow. Depending on the school they chose at character creation there were several options. And even Ray of Frost as a ranged touch attack for 1d3 worked in a pinch.
I am sure everyone had different play experiences, but not sure that single play experience characterizes the whole game.
Because 1d3 for Ray of Frost vs 1d8 for Crossbow is a no brainer. Move to reload, sure, but you stay out of the melee as a Wizard. The to hit chance is the same. If the Ray of Frost did something else, like this play test version, or more damage (d6 and no reload) it might be worthwhile. But even my 7 (was then 6) year old knew that ray of frost was little use the majority of the time.Just thought I would let you know that "cantrips" in Pathfinder are at will.
Not sure why anyone needs to switch to a crossbow when you have unlimited cantrips.
Because 1d3 for Ray of Frost vs 1d8 for Crossbow is a no brainer. Move to reload, sure, but you stay out of the melee as a Wizard. The to hit chance is the same. If the Ray of Frost did something else, like this play test version, or more damage (d6 and no reload) it might be worthwhile. But even my 7 (was then 6) year old knew that ray of frost was little use the majority of the time.
EDIT Tho we may have mucked up 'cos the character sheet says ranged attack vs touch which may have been over looked LOL
.But what I think is the most disappointing is how terrible the editing is. Some terms where changed in some places, but not in others. XP for monsters seem completely wrong and it never tells what an elite monster is. With armor we have identical banded and splint armor, and so on. That's really awful.
Leaving aside the other issues in your post: The overall power level of the game is a separate concern from inter-character balance. The former is a matter of what power level makes for a fun game, the latter is a matter of what fairness makes for a fun game.