Level Up (A5E) Do Player Characters Have Average Population Stat Distributions?

[Maxperson]

I feel like that's more about the power level of bard and the fact that you were multiclassing into Barb to make use of your +2.

The player was a Barbarian who dipped into Bard for a few levels for story reasons.

 

[Maxperson]

Point is, your cool character wouldn’t be less cool if it was good at being a bard.

Wouldn't be more cool, either. Slightly better =/= cool.

 

[Phoebasss]

Wouldn't be more cool, either. Slightly better =/= cool.

Right, you don't lose anything from free ASIs, and we gain something. So what's the issue?

 

[Umbran]

Can I ask how is it incorrect. What is the average Strength stat for a PC Orc Ranger under the points buy or standard array for instance?

Ah. No, I meant in general. You're asking about the average of one particular stat of one particular kind of character, which is a different question, and not what I saw you asking above.

For what I was talking about - if you are using a standard array, finding the average stat is, in fact, trivial. 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8 - averages to 12. Typical ability score adjustment is +3, which means 0.5 per stat - average is 12.5.

The average stat generated by 4d6 drop lowest is, iirc, 12.24, for comparison.

For point-buy, you can do the same analysis across the unique stat combinations that the system can generate.

For what you want, you probably want to go and very politely request the folks at D&D Beyond to make the data available, because they have it.

 

[Charlaquin]

Wouldn't be more cool, either. Slightly better =/= cool.

Ok. But your argument in favor of racial ASIs was that they create trends, which makes characters who buck those trends cooler. I refuted that claim, and then you agreed with me. So, which is it?

 

[Guest 6801328]

For what you want, you probably want to go and very politely request the folks at D&D Beyond to make the data available, because they have it.

...and then dismiss that data if it doesn't support your assumptions, from among the list of standard reasons. "Most of those characters don't get played." Etc.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Imagine we're not talking about rules for character creation, but for playing the game. What would happen if the PCs and the NPCs had different rules? For example, what if only PCs crit on a nat 20? Or in an opposed test, ties went to the PC? (Or vice versa for either.)

I would find that...dissatisfying. Maybe some of the other adjectives @Saelorn and @Lanefan have been using.

So I imagine what's going on is that they see character generation rules sort of like I see gameplay rules. As something that delivers impartial justice. Or whatever.

I'm still not there with them. Not even remotely. But at least it doesn't seem quite as bonkers as it did previously.

While not totally at the point they are, this is widely my feeling as well.

A lot of people have talked about how PCs are special. Not in my games. PCs are rather ordinary people who have found themselves in strange situations and manage to see their way through it, often by accomplishing the extraordinary.

This doesn't mean they can't be powerful. Of course they can. Just as an NPC can be powerful. But you will never see a "destined" PC in my games. PCs aren't meant to do incredible things--they choose to try, and hopefully succeed.

 

[Phoebasss]

For point-buy, you can do the same analysis across the unique stat combinations that the system can generate.

For some quick and dirty math, all point buy results have average stats between 12.5 and 11.5. So the average is probably about a 12.

 

[Umbran]

...and then dismiss that data if it doesn't support your assumptions, from among the list of standard reasons. "Most of those characters don't get played." Etc.

They can tell what characters get played, by way of them getting leveled up occasionally, taking short and long rests, and so on.

The real thing is, they have no real reason to bother dig the data out for you. They publish occasional statistics that are easy to show for sake of curiosity.

 

[Phoebasss]

But you will never see a "destined" PC in my games. PCs are meant to do incredible things--they choose to try, and hopefully succeed.

I don't think we disagree with that. But 5e does put your characters a cut above by default. Every stat block for normal people is something below what the players will have with either standard array or point buy, and well below average for rolled results. The PCs are better than normal people in 5e, and that's something that shouldn't substantially change with this game if its to remain fully compatible. PCs ain't normal. If they was normal, they'd be farmin'.

EDIT: By that same token, they probably aren't fighting normal people either. Or at least I hope your PCs aren't slaughtering commoners unless you've got a very specific campaign plan. They should be fighting Liches, vampires, Archmages, or their minions. The kind of things normal people run in fear from.