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<blockquote data-quote="Jurph" data-source="post: 4876199" data-attributes="member: 84577">BartD, I hadn't noticed that - I've never actually done the point-buys by hand because I've always had a computer doing the substitutions for me.&nbsp; It makes sense though!Good catch on that squared negative!&nbsp; If you want to ignore the lowest score, you can reduce (or eliminate) its contribution to your overall value formula.&nbsp; For example, my dwarven paladin - who has a serious case of MAD, and so values his second and third stats pretty highly - settled onFoM = A[sup]2[/sup] + B[sup]1.5[/sup] + C[sup]1.5[/sup] + D[sup]1[/sup] + E[sup]1[/sup] + 0Where A through F are the values of the bonuses given by my highest through lowest ability scores, respectively, and the Figure of Merit is rounded (up or down) by truncating decimals.&nbsp; I've already prioritized my attributes and added my racial bonuses, so I'm seeing values as high as 22 and as low as 10.I'm also using a &quot;defense&quot; stat to measure the total points of additional defense I get (values range from 4 to 7) and a &quot;hp&quot; stat so I can see how many hit points I'll have.&nbsp; Summing all three values -- the merit equation, the defense value added, and my hit points -- gives a range of values from 96 to 79.&nbsp; Subtract 78 from all of them, and I end up with a merit scale that runs from 1 to 18*... with only one array getting an 18.&nbsp; The winner (for my case) is:18 12 12 12 10 8and the best runners up are:14&nbsp; &nbsp; 14&nbsp; &nbsp; 14&nbsp; &nbsp; 14&nbsp; &nbsp; 12&nbsp; &nbsp; 816&nbsp; &nbsp; 14&nbsp; &nbsp; 14&nbsp; &nbsp; 13&nbsp; &nbsp; 10&nbsp; &nbsp; 818&nbsp; &nbsp; 13&nbsp; &nbsp; 12&nbsp; &nbsp; 11&nbsp; &nbsp; 10&nbsp; &nbsp; 818&nbsp; &nbsp; 12&nbsp; &nbsp; 12&nbsp; &nbsp; 11&nbsp; &nbsp; 11&nbsp; &nbsp; 818&nbsp; &nbsp; 12&nbsp; &nbsp; 12&nbsp; &nbsp; 11&nbsp; &nbsp; 10&nbsp; &nbsp; 9That first runner-up looks like a stinker but gets two 16s after racials and ends up being mediocre at combat but much more difficult to land a hit on than your average lvl1 -- that's what I get for valuing additional defense and hit points, I guess.&nbsp; The other arrays also look like they could be useful, depending on your play style.I think this figure-of-merit calculation would turn out very differently for a fighter, or a mage, or even a character with a different race.&nbsp; For example, a dragonborn paladin will probably value high all-around defense, but because she has +CHA and +STR, she will probably adjust things accordingly.&nbsp; A mage might want to spend points for INT, CON, and WIS and either let racials beef up the primary or soak low scores in other areas, so would choose to square the value of the top three bonuses and let the rest drift in the breeze.* What are the odds that this figure of merit would happen to end up being the range of character traits in D&amp;D?&nbsp; Kind of a cool coincidence, but ultimately meaningless.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Jurph, post: 4876199, member: 84577"] [b]BartD[/b], I hadn't noticed that - I've never actually done the point-buys by hand because I've always had a computer doing the substitutions for me. It makes sense though! Good catch on that squared negative! If you want to ignore the lowest score, you can reduce (or eliminate) its contribution to your overall value formula. For example, my dwarven paladin - who has a serious case of MAD, and so values his second and third stats pretty highly - settled on FoM = A[sup]2[/sup] + B[sup]1.5[/sup] + C[sup]1.5[/sup] + D[sup]1[/sup] + E[sup]1[/sup] + 0 Where A through F are the values of the bonuses given by my highest through lowest ability scores, respectively, and the Figure of Merit is rounded (up or down) by truncating decimals. I've already prioritized my attributes and added my racial bonuses, so I'm seeing values as high as 22 and as low as 10. I'm also using a "defense" stat to measure the total points of additional defense I get (values range from 4 to 7) and a "hp" stat so I can see how many hit points I'll have. Summing all three values -- the merit equation, the defense value added, and my hit points -- gives a range of values from 96 to 79. Subtract 78 from all of them, and I end up with a merit scale that runs from 1 to 18*... with only [i]one[/i] array getting an 18. The winner (for my case) is: 18 12 12 12 10 8 and the best runners up are: 14 14 14 14 12 8 16 14 14 13 10 8 18 13 12 11 10 8 18 12 12 11 11 8 18 12 12 11 10 9 That first runner-up looks like a stinker but gets two 16s after racials and ends up being mediocre at combat but much more difficult to land a hit on than your average lvl1 -- that's what I get for valuing additional defense and hit points, I guess. The other arrays also look like they could be useful, depending on your play style. I think this figure-of-merit calculation would turn out very differently for a fighter, or a mage, or even a character with a different race. For example, a dragonborn paladin will probably value high all-around defense, but because she has +CHA and +STR, she will probably adjust things accordingly. A mage might want to spend points for INT, CON, and WIS and either let racials beef up the primary or soak low scores in other areas, so would choose to square the value of the top three bonuses and let the rest drift in the breeze. * [i]What are the odds that this figure of merit would happen to end up being the range of character traits in D&D? Kind of a cool coincidence, but ultimately meaningless.[/i] [/QUOTE]

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