ability roll cheating

[Zulithe]

I recently started a new campaign with some buddies I haven't gamed with in a few years. This is the first campaign that I have actually poured all of my time and resources into; all of my previous ones were usually planned in a very half-assed way (by my own standards) and rarely lasted more than 6 games. We've played twice so far, finishing up the first adventure I designed. In short, things are going well. Everyone is very enthusiastic about how things are going and about the world I've spent a great deal of time crafting. I was even told that I am their best DM which, while flattering, isn't a surprise—I've know all the others. That certainly doesn't go to my head though, especially when there are many here at EN World who put me to great shame. I'm just pleased that they are pleased. But, on to my problem...

One of my players has a serious history of fudging his stat rolls. It's now even rubbed off on his wife, our newest player. He's done this to me before, some years back. But this time, I was prepared (or thought I was). In anticipation for the new campaign, I sent out a pamphlet to all my players detailing the house rules. The first rule was very clear and to the point: Any characters which clearly had unreasonable stats (like three 17s or 18s) would not be accepted in my game.

There are many reasons for this, and I'm sure most of you DMs out there can understand why. The reason which concerns me the most is that the character would be overpowered compared to the other PCs, all of who have more well-rounded stat pools.

Let me quote to you the stats he submitted to me for his Goliath Barbarian. Keep in mind that these are the actual rolls BEFORE the Goliath stat mods (which happen to be Str +4, Dex -2, Con +2)

STR 17
DEX 18
CON 17
INT 17
WIS 16
CHA 16

So my question to you all is: would you accept such a character when all your other players have a more reasonable set of stats? (To give you some comparison, here is another of my PCs. An elf ranger (after racial mods): str 16, dex 16, con 11, int 12, wis 13, cha 11)

I think this player is testing me. Has this happened to you and how did you deal with it? I stupidly let him play this character without giving his sheet a full once-over and I can already tell he is going to fight me on this if I try to modify his stats.

Is it best to just let this slide as long as the other players are having fun?

I know, I slipped up and he got away with it, but now I need advice.

 

[Aazenius]

How many d6's do your characters roll for stats? My group rolls 5d6 taking the 3 highest and we rarely get 1 - 18. Most are in the 12-15 range. When I DM, I force players to roll their stat dice in front of me. Are you letting them roll their dice from home and trusting them to be honest with you? Sounds like a big mistake imo.

 

[Crothian]

goto point buy

 

[Bront]

If you're going to call people on them , you should have them rolled in front of you, or in other verifyable ways (like Invisiblecastle.com or such). Or use a point buy.

I use a set of pregens and let people pick

 

[haiiro]

Unless I'm misreading your post, you accepted this character for the game and have already played two sessions. Is that correct?

If so, why didn't the obviously goofy stats bother you earlier? Or were you just not comfortable posting here until it really starting bugging you, or something along those lines? Just trying to get a clear picture here.

Anyhoo, I'd make him reroll in front of you. Bring it up, be straightforward about it, and do it in private so he's not embarassed and can blow up without dragging in the rest of the group. Cheating ticks me right off, and I'd be inclined to say that if he gives you grief he's probably not worth playing with anyway.

I'm assuming you prefer rolled stats to point buy -- so next time, have everyone roll in front of you.

 

[francisca]

In all of my games, it's point buy, or I watch the rolls. No exceptions.

 

[Corsair]

Point buy for me. I don't want to have to watch my players make their characters. It just wastes more of my time which could be spent preparing for the adventure.

 

[caudor]

Unless the other players have noted this and voiced concerns, I'd let it go this time-- especially if everyone seems to be enjoying your campaign as things are now. It is possible the other players don't mind having a 'power-house' in the group.

To alleviate the problem in the future, simply adjust your approach by watching characters roll, using a point buy, or any of the other methods suggested.

Changing the character now will probably cause player resentment or worse. My advice: As long as they are having fun, don't interrupt the flow of your campaign in mid-flow.

 

[Vigwyn the Unruly]

This is an obvious cheat.

HOWEVER, you said that everybody is having a really good time. Why ruin it by making this an issue now? It's simply just not worth it.

On the other hand, the next time your players have to make up characters, I would recommend point buy. If a player wants the excitement of a random component, they roll in front of you. There really isn't any legit reason for them to not want to.

 

[Baron Opal]

I had everyone in my game roll before me, except for one player. He brought in a character that was like 18, 16, 15, 14, 12, 10. It seemed a little pat for me, but I didn't mind as one of the other players rolled 17, 17, 16, 16, 12, 10 in front of me.