D&D 5E Rolled character stats higher than point buy?

[FormerlyHemlock]

Sorry but talking about characters that don't actually see play that you rolled up on your spare time don't really count.

Okay, here's observational evidence from the table then: of the twenty-odd characters I've seen in actual play over the course of the past year, all of them conformed generally to my expectations for 4d6 drop lowest. I can only think of one offhand who had all stats 12 and under at first level, but that's what you'd expect from 4d6 drop lowest. Twenty characters really isn't a whole lot of data to go on.

 

[thecasualoblivion]

I think the most dramatic difference is that with point buy or array the highest stat you will get is a 15, while 4d6 drop lowest sees 16-18 somewhat frequently. The second source of drama would be 4d6 drop lowest producing moderately to dramatically different results for chararacters at the same table.

 

[ccs]

Why is it that rolled character stats are normally always higher than a character created through point buy? I pretty much never see someone post a rolled character with stats worse than point buy. Does anyone know why?

Cheating.

1) Did you SEE the person roll the stats? If your answer is "No"....

 

[FrogReaver]

Interesting. Thanks.

Okay, here's observational evidence from the table then: of the twenty-odd characters I've seen in actual play over the course of the past year, all of them conformed generally to my expectations for 4d6 drop lowest. I can only think of one offhand who had all stats 12 and under at first level, but that's what you'd expect from 4d6 drop lowest. Twenty characters really isn't a whole lot of data to go on.

 

[seebs]

That explains many of the higher arrays with point buy. However it fails to answer the question of why you virtually never see poorly rolled characters.

Our GM said we could reroll if we ended up with low overall bonuses, although I don't think anyone actually did. I dunno; it's just not that common to get really bad rolls overall. We do have one character in our group with a 3, though.

 

[seebs]

Care to offer observational proof that the phenomenon I described doesn't occur?

Well, I can prove that it doesn't occur, because "normally always" isn't a think. Either it's always or it's not always.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

I let the players and myself all roll 4d6, drop lowest, in order. This generates a set of arrays anyone can use (so 2 people can both pick the same one). If none of them suits your fancy, you can do point buy.

HP are fixed per level however.

 

[famousringo]

Furthermore, a lot of tables use a rolling scheme that's even more generous than 4d6. Just about every table I've played at also rerolls 1s.

My current game is the most generous I've seen yet: Reroll 1s until they stop being 1s and the DM will roll a second set for you.

People want to play legendary heroes...

 

[Celebrim]

Why is it that rolled character stats are normally always higher than a character created through point buy? I pretty much never see someone post a rolled character with stats worse than point buy. Does anyone know why?

LOL

Rolled stats are always, and I mean always, rerolled until they are higher than the expected average. In this case, average is set by the point buy, so all rolled stats will always be higher than point buy.

 

[akr71]

People want to play legendary heroes...

This. Also, characters with crappy stats don't last long. In my experience, if they are played they die quickly, much to the relief of the player who rolled it.