D&D 5E (NPC) Stat array: how would you allocate?

[FormerlyHemlock]

I rolled up the following stats for a friendly NPC:

17, 12, 12, 4, 18, 16

If this were your NPC, where would you put the 4? I'm thinking about putting it in Constitution.

 

[bedir than]

What's the role of the NPC?

 

[Sunseeker]

Really depends on the role of the NPC. Maybe they're ugly as sin.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

What's the role of the NPC?

In this specific case, she's an ex-slave they rescued from a Neogi ship. They found her in the lifejammer input node, which provides an excuse for the Con 4 if I want it. She's been offscreen for a while, but recently they re-recruited her and took her to space with them as a knowledge source. She's also interested in getting her family back and/or revenge on the neogi, so she could serve as an adventure catalyst of sorts, and possibly as fire support during missions. I told the players I'll give her the opportunity to starting gaining XP, and once she has earned out 300 XP she'll become first level in a class.

Con 4 is incredibly low and sickly--she'd have maybe 40 HP at level 20! depending on class choice of course--and the jerk part of me thinks it would be fun to have an NPC that is a glass cannon, with emphasis on "glass". I love killing off NPCs possibly even more than I love killing off PCs. But Con 4 might be pushing it too far. She pretty clearly doesn't have Int 4 but I could give her the shakes (Dex 4) instead.

There's also the possibility that someone could take her over as a PC at some point. It's happened before--but in that case she'd become mutually-exclusive with their other PCs, and they'd lose the option to have her as fire support.

 

[bedir than]

I could see a STR 4 for this. The long time confinement could lead to significant muscular atrophy. Then a 12 in CON, so not great either.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

I could see a STR 4 for this. The long time confinement could lead to significant muscular atrophy. Then a 12 in CON, so not great either.

Yeah, STR 4 is the powergamer's choice in this case, but there might be valid reasons for taking it anyway. What would you personally do (as a DM) for this NPC?

 

[Sunseeker]

Yeah, STR 4 is the powergamer's choice in this case, but there might be valid reasons for taking it anyway. What would you personally do (as a DM) for this NPC?

As a DM I also support 4 str, because it fits the character.

She was a slave and while it may sound sexist, unless her species is well known for its muscular women, traditionally women are taken as slaves for other reasons than heavy lifting. So it's likely that she's good looking. You've mentioned that she was taken for knowledge as well, so she's probably well-learned and possible well traveled, suggesting a high INT and possibly a high WIS.

Here's my thoughts:
Str: 4
Dex: 12
Con: 12
Int: 16
Wis: 17
Cha: 18

She is not physically strong and her escape was not of her own manufacture which leads towards me thinking she's not very agile, but she is hardy enough to have survived some duration of slavery where an "average" (10 or lower) person might not.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Neogis don't take slaves for sexual pleasure, they just use them for labor/food/fuel for the lifejammer. She was a farm girl up until a couple of months ago when the Neogis raided her village (PCs caught them on the return trip when they came back to pick up their eggs), so she doesn't necessarily have to be weak, but then again she doesn't have to be strong either.

Thanks for sharing your perspective. I like the way you arranged it--it's definitely not powergamey. I may go with that and let her take cleric/bard levels.

 

[Bacon Bits]

Honestly, you can make this work for any stat for that character's background. Torture, mistreatment, and malnutrition can cause any number of permanent problems. If it were me, I'd roll a die to determine the stat. That would do one of two things. Either you'd get an answer you'd be happy with, or you'd get an answer you wouldn't be happy with. Like flipping a coin and realizing while it's in the air how you want it to land. Either way, you'll end up with an answer you like.

I'd probably put it in Int. I don't like my NPCs to be too smart and able to upstage the PCs.

 

[Sunseeker]

Neogis don't take slaves for sexual pleasure...
Thanks for sharing your perspective. I like the way you arranged it--it's definitely not powergamey. I may go with that and let her take cleric/bard levels.

Oh I see, if she wasn't so great at the labor, you could pull a Scheherazade with her and perhaps she kept herself alive by telling interesting stories she learned as a child to the slavers. It would certainly lend her towards being a bard as well.