D&D 5E Why I Am Starting to Prefer 4d6 Drop the Lowest Over the Default Array.

[LordEntrails]

Which works great! IF all of character creation is just as fast as this bit. But in 5e, that's not the case.

So what can we do to make it the case?
...

It is fast for me. No more than 15 minutes. Usually 4-5 minutes. Don't agonize over min/maxing. Go with standard packs of equipment. Grab a few standard spells and some that might be cool or fit your character concept.

IME, it only takes a long time when someone agonizing over evaluating every possibility. Instead, come up with a concept and go with it.

 

[Saeviomagy]

IME, it only takes a long time when someone agonizing over evaluating every possibility. Instead, come up with a concept and go with it.

No, it takes a long time when people are new to the game and are presented with 9 races and 12 classes, many of which don't actually have obvious literary equivalents. Narrow that down to 2 or 3 of each and things get a lot easier. Not everyone knows the game as well as you and I.

 

[Tobold]

Nope some of the other PCs rolled lower, I just did not mentiuon them and they chose the more basic classes like fighter (16 strength), one cleric got a natural 18 with the other stats being in the middle roughly.

I don't like the idea of one player being permanently underpowered compared to the rest of the group based on dice rolls at the start of a campaign. I actually had a PC deliberately killing off his character in order to be able to re-roll.

 

[ccs]

Which works great! IF all of character creation is just as fast as this bit. But in 5e, that's not the case.

So what can we do to make it the case?

1. Your class is selected for you, somehow. OD&D had attribute minimums to limit your class choices down to only a few possibilities. I think the multiclass requirements probably suffice for this one. If you don't actually meet any requirements, treat your highest stat as if it is 13 and look again (or alternately set your highest stat to 13 and try again...).

2. Your race needs similar limitations. I reckon we do away with the stat bonuses and just give each race stat minimums for their best stats (of 10+ their current bonus, so a high elf has to have a 12+ dex and an 11+ int) while human has no minimums. Same overall effect (ie - dragonborn are strong and charismatic, elves are dextrous), less analysis paralysis.

3. Spells and cantrips need to be pre-selected as well. Probably break all the cantrip lists into offense and utility and then let you pick a list for each cantrip you know and roll it. And probably hand out thaumaturgy/prestidigitation/druidcraft/eldritch blast by default to the appropriate classes. I guess for spells you would split them into offense/defense/utility. Bards, sorcerors and warlocks kind of get shafted to start, but they can improve things as they level.

4. Skills and backgrounds. Cut the known skills for each class down to 2. Cut the list of traits/flaws/bonds for backgrounds way back (maybe just group them by alignment into sets). Roll random background.

Um, no? What are you trying to make here? A version of D&D for toddlers?

If you're age 10-12+ & can't handle making a 5e character, then you don't belong in this game.

 

[Sadras]

No, it takes a long time when people are new to the game and are presented with 9 races and 12 classes, many of which don't actually have obvious literary equivalents. Narrow that down to 2 or 3 of each and things get a lot easier. Not everyone knows the game as well as you and I.

Yeah it's called the 5e Basic Game.
I mean you can throw the entire 300+page book at new players, but why would you want to?

 

[diaglo]

Dude, you can see this thread?!

only b/c i check my Story Hour around Gen Con

 

[Lanefan]

Yeah it's called the 5e Basic Game.
I mean you can throw the entire 300+page book at new players, but why would you want to?

Because hearing them say "Ow!" when it hits them is just so rewarding somehow.

 

[FrogReaver]

I don't like the idea of one player being permanently underpowered compared to the rest of the group based on dice rolls at the start of a campaign. I actually had a PC deliberately killing off his character in order to be able to re-roll.

Yea. Should have probably let him reroll lol. I but I also don't like the idea of 99% of same classes having the same stats that point buy yields.

 

[Remathilis]

Towards the end of 3.5, I stopped rolling having my PCs roll scores and started doing point buy. Haven't looked back since.

I rarely saw any of those mythical "dwarf with a 6 dex and a peg-leg" PCs in my day; the lowest I saw was a 8 cha dwarf or 9 strength wizard. Most PCs I saw had multiple high-scores and lows around 12. Often, I saw PCs starting with a 17-19 in a primary stat and 15-16 or so in secondary stats. And in all my days I don't think I ever saw a fighter without a percentile Strength of 50% + in AD&D.

I don't think they were all cheaters, but I grew tired of PCs having few scores without bonuses (or penalties).

 

[Lanefan]

And in all my days I don't think I ever saw a fighter without a percentile Strength of 50% + in AD&D.

Clearly you haven't spent enough time at my table over the last 10 years or so.

At a rough guess, out of maybe 60 Fighters played in my current game I can think of maybe 8 who had %-ile strength benefits*, and a few more who rolled but didn't advance beyond 18.

* - including one legitimate 18.00, whose glass jaw did him in far too soon.