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

[Bill Zebub]

I find myself wondering how much of that "samey-ness" is really down to Point Buy (or standard array), and how much is down to the ability to place the six scores as desired. Because when you roll much of the time you're going to get an array that isn't all that far off something you could buy anyway (after all, that's why the array/point buy was constructed the way it was). So you're not necessarily going to get something wildly different anyway.

I wonder, therefore, if the antidote to the "samey-ness" isn't rather to allow the player to assign, say, the top 2 scores to their chosen attributes, but then randomize the placement of the others. That would mean the player could always play their chosen class without issue, but one Fighter might be intelligent but not dextrous with another is wise but not charismatic.

Just a thought.

Yeah in general when there's choice rather than RNG you're going to get similar results. So at one extreme is roll-in-order (random numbers and random locations), somewhere toward the middle is roll-then-assign (random number, selected locations), and at the other extreme is Point Buy and Standard Array (choose everything).

 

[Burnside]

I would actually be fine with randomly-assigned standard array. So you have some of the fun of randomness that could prompt outside-the-box characters, but you’re still assured that your character is fundamentally viable and not OP compared to the group.

 

[James Gasik]

I thought god did not play dice with the universe.

He does, but only behind his DM screen.

 

[Bill Zebub]

I'm not seeing any samey-ness in my games, so I think that might be something other than the point buy.

Maybe. I see it the games I play in. I see it in games I observe. I see it in characters posted online.

So maybe we're defining "samey-ness" differently.

 

[DarkCrisis]

New testament?

Old Testament.

 

[Oofta]

Maybe. I see it the games I play in. I see it in games I observe. I see it in characters posted online.

So maybe we're defining "samey-ness" differently.

If you care about optimizing for combat and you allow people to put scores where they want, you're always going to see the same pattern. A barbarian is always going to have their highest score in strength. Second and third best will go in con and dex. After that it just depends what people value. Nothing really changes, just the scale.

 

[payn]

Old Testament.

That would be 3D6 down the line with fire and brimstone by the sweat of your brow...

 

[GMforPowergamers]

If you care about optimizing for combat and you allow people to put scores where they want, you're always going to see the same pattern. A barbarian is always going to have their highest score in strength. Second and third best will go in con and dex.

even this... I have seen 3 players argue this point... the second best in dex or con (better to not get hit or to be able to be hit?) but I had a third say the smart play is 2nd best in wisdom since those saves (especially charm/dominate) are the worst.

15 14 13.... can be 15 Str 13 dex 14 con or 15 str 14 dex 13 con... but as I have seen 15 Str 12 dex 13 con 14 Wis as a possible build...

last year I made a pregen set of characters (not useing defualt array but a slightly higher) and I had a barbarian with a 20 con. and 16 str

 

[Bill Zebub]

If you care about optimizing for combat and you allow people to put scores where they want, you're always going to see the same pattern. A barbarian is always going to have their highest score in strength. Second and third best will go in con and dex. After that it just depends what people value. Nothing really changes, just the scale.

Yeah that’s basically what I observe. Not every single character, of course, but enough that there’s…samey-ness.

I’m not judging the players, mind you. Just saying that given the rules and incentives, it’s not surprising.

 

[DarkCrisis]

That would be 3D6 down the line with fire and brimstone by the sweat of your brow...

Ive heard that like many of the rules Gygax wrote down, he had his own way of doing things despite that. Apparently he liked using 4D6 drop the lowest, but that may have been just for AD&D. shrugs