D&D 5E How does your group determine ability scores?

[Maxperson]

The theory is fair, the results aren't. Because Chaos is inherently unfair. That's the point of gambling.

Standard Array all day.

The results are inherently unequitable. Fair only cares whether or not you are all dealing with the same rules and are using a legitimate process, which rolling is. It's fair for everyone to roll stats. The results are often unequitable.

 

[Oofta]

We use point buy. Our very first 5E campaign used the 3.5 point buy with the "heroic" option (32 points, you can buy up to 18), but the PCs felt overpowered. I've never cared for rolling, and I've used some version of point buy in my home campaigns since before there was one (I used Living City's point by system). Before then people would just roll until they got something they'd like because we all knew that a PC with low scores should have stayed on the farm or if they ventured out would soon die a "heroic" death.

The last game I played that used point buy we had 1 PC that won the lottery and had a couple of 18s and a low of 14. My wife had a single 14, a 10 and everything else below. The results of rolling were anything but fair and equitable. What made it worse was that we had asked to use point buy - even if that meant that on average they would be worse. After the dice were rolled and she asked once more, the DM just laughed and said something along the lines of "Too bad." We ended up quitting the campaign because of this and a few other reasons.

Last but not least, I don't think PCs need super high ability scores. As long as everyone at the table is reasonable balance, it's all good. The problem with rolling is the huge gap between most inherently powerful and least powerful PC at the table that you will get on average. When I ran a set of combat simulations for PCs mimicking the average "low" and "high" in any given group of 6 using the same class, the "high" survived encounters about twice as often as the low. I don't believe that's fair, nor would I find it enjoyable to have that big of a disparity. Different strokes and all, but if a game has 4d6 drop lowest as the only option? I won't join that game.

 

[Bacon Bits]

Mix of all three.

I'm in a group of 5-8 players at more or less the same table for the past 25 years. We rotate GMs, so things vary. Some of our DMs like high powered characters. Some of them like certain methods because it's what we used in 2e, when stats didn't matter quite so much.

In order of most popular to least:

1. Our traditional method: Roll 4d6 drop 1 until you roll a 16 or better. That's your first stat. Then roll 4d6 drop 1 five more times. This is your array.
2. As #1, but generate 2 to 3 sets and choose which one you like. If (or when for some DMs) your character dies, your next character comes from the next array until you've used them all.
3. Each player generates one array as #1, then each player can choose any array any player rolled.
4. Point buy in some flavor.
5. Card pool. Take 12 cards and deal them into 6 piles of 2 cards. Turn each pair over and add them up for your stat. Sometimes you're allowed to exchange any two cards. Sometimes we use this method without racial bonuses entirely. It's actually pretty difficult to build a deck for this as small changes make big differences. Typical decks:
   High power: 9, 9, 8, 8, 7, 7, 6, 6, 5, 5, 4, 4.
   Medium power: 9, 8, 8, 7, 7, 6, 6, 6, 5, 5, 4, 4.
6. Fixed array.
7. As #1, but roll 2d6+6 instead of 4d6 drop 1. Just weird.

All random events must be witnessed by the DM or another player. This is usually not an issue because we typically generate characters during the first session.

 

[Vaalingrade]

I don't care about the semantics and will not get baited into yet another 'BUT AKTUALLY' argument over words.

People understand what 'fair' and 'unfair' is and rolling is not the former in result regardless of if the potential is the same. A character with all 6's in a party with a character with all 18's is not FAIR regardless of how they came to be.

 

[ART!]

now this is why we stopped rolling. people would reroll and reroll and take the best... or in your case roll then if it isn't 'good enough' take the stats...

In my defense, I never re-roll. It's more an experiment, and honestly I can't remember the last time I did that. In the last two years or so I've stopped caring about maximum optimization, because I realized I wasn't really any happier with a super-maximized character compared to a less-than-optimum one.

 

[Laurefindel]

Each player roll 4d6 drop lowest x6, usually DM included.

All series become available to everyone. Basically, we roll what standard arrays will be used for the campaign. NPCs with class levels also use the same arrays. Keeps it fair and preserves thrill of rolling.

Out of four or five series, two are usually worth considering.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

In my defense,

no defense needed... I have seen WAY worse... and heck I have put up with worse.

I never re-roll. It's more an experiment, and honestly I can't remember the last time I did that. In the last two years or so I've stopped caring about maximum optimization, because I realized I wasn't really any happier with a super-maximized character compared to a less-than-optimum one.

what I have found is there is a lot of people who like rolling when they roll high and hate rolling when they roll low...

or maybemore accurately when they roll the stats more or less they want.

 

[Maxperson]

now this is why we stopped rolling. people would reroll and reroll and take the best... or in your case roll then if it isn't 'good enough' take the stats...

Why wouldn't you just roll in front of one another in a session 0?

 

[Guest 7034872]

Why wouldn't you just roll in front of one another in a session 0?

That's the way I like to do it, but I will note that the continuing move into online groups and play has complicated the situation.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Why wouldn't you just roll in front of one another in a session 0?

We tried that for a short bit... but then we caught someone cheating (and kicked them out) and decided it was just easier and better to skip the random character generation... we went back to it once in 4e when we had 6 players and we had everyone roll 4d6 drop the lowest twice... take the highest and used that to make the array, but we pretty much just find no value in rolling stats anymore... even more so now that we are all on r20