I'm trying to follow this post but I'm afraid I failed. Perhaps it would be easier if you explained the pertinent differences between the core rules, your rules, and the beginner rules?
The proposed changed is meant to make the core method work more like the Beginner Box. I’ll touch on that more below.
Pathfinder 2 doesn't use point buy (not in the sense you get points with which you buy)...?
There is a
point buy variant in the GMG, but that’s not what I was discussing. I was contrasting the core method in PF2 with the point buy method from PF1. You get the same kind of control with both methods, but point buy requires doing a bunch of math to value your scores and make sure everything adds up correctly.
What is "the card method" and how does "445556778899" translate into a guaranteed 17?
The card method is a way of generating ability scores. You take a deck of cards, shuffle them together, and deal them out a set number at a time (usually two cards per score), adding those cards up for your ability scores. The “445556778899” notation indicates which cards to use. It comes from a
thread here on ability score methods. It seemed self-explanatory, but if one’s not familiar with the card method, then it may not make a lot of sense.
The card method generates characters with a lot less variance than rolling dice. Everyone is guaranteed to have the same sum of scores, and the variance in comparative costs if they were treated as point buy is very small. If you get a bad score, you’re guaranteed a good score (or a couple of pretty good ones). It’s random but feels equitable to players. However, it doesn’t
guarantee a 17.
If you want to guarantee a 17, then you’d need to allow players to redeal in case someone couldn’t get that score through a combination of their cards plus ancestry and background (per the optional rules for rolling scores). I expect in most cases players won’t have to deal more than once or twice total, which is not something I would say about using 4d6 or other dice-based methods.
What do you mean by a "gradual" ability boost? If you apply an ability boost to a value of 18, yes, you gain +1. But when you apply it to a 17 you get 19, no? Or are you talking about ability modifiers, not scores?
Gradual ability boosts is a variant in the GMG. You receive one boost at 2nd level, 3rd, level, 4th level, and 5th level. You receive no boosts at 6th level. None of these boosts can be spent on the same score. This pattern repeats up through 20th level.
I like it particularly for Proficiency Without Level games because it gives players a sense of progression (after losing that from having their proficiency go up every level). For a game with randomization, it helps a PC with a 17 catch up quickly to one with an 18, which can make starting with a 17 more palatable.
Your proposed BB-inspired chargen method, could you explain what you're trying to accomplish? Which steps (from the core rules) are you eliminating and why? Are you talking about how the Beginner Cleric gets +3 (effectively +6) to Wisdom instead of the core rulebook giving you the option not to max out Wisdom?
Exactly that. It takes away the option not to max out your primary score. You can still opt for a 16 if you really want to split things (e.g., you’re an alchemist and want 16s in both Dexterity and Intelligence), but you can’t accidentally (or intentionally) play a character with a low value (14 or less) in your primary score.
Effectively, my method assumes you spent your ancestry boost to negate the flaw, applied your background boost to your primary score, and spent one of your four free boosts on your primary score. That leaves you with two assigned ancestry boosts, one choice of boost from background, and three free boosts to assign (plus their starting 16).
