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A different way to roll stats for 5E
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<blockquote data-quote="Zelc" data-source="post: 6627042" data-attributes="member: 40496"><p>TLDR: try using 4x(d4+1) drop lowest, add +1 to the three highest scores below 15.</p><p></p><p>Ability score increases are a significant way in which characters progress in 5E. As a result, the maximum score you can achieve through the default array and point buy is 15 unmodified, or 17 after racial adjustments. Rolling 4d6 drop lowest can generate abilities as high as 18 unmodified, or 20 after racial adjustments. This might take away some of the power increase the player feels through gaining levels.</p><p></p><p>A simple change is to roll 4x(d4+1) drop lowest instead. This generates ability scores between 6 and 15. Below is a table of the summary statistics between the default array, 4d6, and 4x(d4+1):</p><p></p><p>[table="width: 500, class: grid, align: left"]</p><p>[tr]</p><p> [td][/td]</p><p> [td]Default[/td]</p><p> [td]4d6[/td]</p><p> [td]4x(d4+1)[/td]</p><p>[/tr]</p><p>[tr]</p><p> [td]Mean (Total)[/td]</p><p> [td]72[/td]</p><p> [td]73.5[/td]</p><p> [td]69.7[/td]</p><p>[/tr]</p><p>[tr]</p><p> [td]Var (Total)[/td]</p><p> [td]NA[/td]</p><p> [td]21.4[/td]</p><p> [td]48.6[/td]</p><p>[/tr]</p><p>[tr]</p><p> [td]Pr(<=9)[/td]</p><p> [td]16.7%[/td]</p><p> [td]17.5%[/td]</p><p> [td]14.1%[/td]</p><p>[/tr]</p><p>[tr]</p><p> [td]Pr(>=15)[/td]</p><p> [td]16.7%[/td]</p><p> [td]23.1%[/td]</p><p> [td]5.1%[/td]</p><p>[/tr]</p><p>[/table]</p><p></p><p>The mean and probability of getting a 15 are lower for 4x(d4+1) than for the default array. Adding +1 to the three highest ability scores below 15 solves this problem. The mean becomes 72.7 and the probability of a 15 is roughly 16.8%.</p><p></p><p>This method also has much lower variance than the 4d6 method. This reduces the likelihood of a character being much more powerful or much weaker than the others at the table. For some, this might be a downside. I'd consider this an advantage for the 4x(d4+1) method.</p><p></p><p>If you want to try this:</p><p></p><p><a href="http://anydice.com/program/5ec1" target="_blank">http://anydice.com/program/5ec1</a></p><p></p><p>Test out a few rolls of 6 (try not to draw conclusions from less than 20 trials <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":P" title="Stick out tongue :P" data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":P" />). Remember to add +1 to the three highest numbers below 15.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Zelc, post: 6627042, member: 40496"] TLDR: try using 4x(d4+1) drop lowest, add +1 to the three highest scores below 15. Ability score increases are a significant way in which characters progress in 5E. As a result, the maximum score you can achieve through the default array and point buy is 15 unmodified, or 17 after racial adjustments. Rolling 4d6 drop lowest can generate abilities as high as 18 unmodified, or 20 after racial adjustments. This might take away some of the power increase the player feels through gaining levels. A simple change is to roll 4x(d4+1) drop lowest instead. This generates ability scores between 6 and 15. Below is a table of the summary statistics between the default array, 4d6, and 4x(d4+1): [table="width: 500, class: grid, align: left"] [tr] [td][/td] [td]Default[/td] [td]4d6[/td] [td]4x(d4+1)[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Mean (Total)[/td] [td]72[/td] [td]73.5[/td] [td]69.7[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Var (Total)[/td] [td]NA[/td] [td]21.4[/td] [td]48.6[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Pr(<=9)[/td] [td]16.7%[/td] [td]17.5%[/td] [td]14.1%[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Pr(>=15)[/td] [td]16.7%[/td] [td]23.1%[/td] [td]5.1%[/td] [/tr] [/table] The mean and probability of getting a 15 are lower for 4x(d4+1) than for the default array. Adding +1 to the three highest ability scores below 15 solves this problem. The mean becomes 72.7 and the probability of a 15 is roughly 16.8%. This method also has much lower variance than the 4d6 method. This reduces the likelihood of a character being much more powerful or much weaker than the others at the table. For some, this might be a downside. I'd consider this an advantage for the 4x(d4+1) method. If you want to try this: [url]http://anydice.com/program/5ec1[/url] Test out a few rolls of 6 (try not to draw conclusions from less than 20 trials :P). Remember to add +1 to the three highest numbers below 15. [/QUOTE]
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