Are high attributes more fun then low attributes?

[genshou]

One or two low stats can be a good roleplaying opportunity. High stats are generally better than low stats, though. It's Dungeons & Dragons, not Fields & Farmers.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I have more fun with high stats.

In earlier editions I had a lot of fun with low stats as the only real effect they had was as a spur to role-playing opportunities. Some of my favourite characters became almost unplayable in 3e though, since harsh mechanical penalties started to be applied to all the stats across the board.

Cheers

 

[MonsterMash]

It depends a lot on what you define as high stats really, if all stats are high then I think it detracts from play while characters with a mix of good and bad stats can have character. I personally regard anything much over a 32 point buy equivalent as being too high for my enjoyment.

A hero is defined by what s/he does, not by what s/he is

QFT.

 

[Trickstergod]

A hero is defined by what s/he does, not by what s/he is.

Repeated for truth.

However, I still voted for the high stat side of things. That comes with the caveat, though, that I like some sort of weakness to exist; high stats are made better, as I see it, by having one low stat to counter them out. I had a bardic fighter with base 16 Strength and Dexterity, 14 Wisdom, 18 Charisma and Intelligence...then 8 Constitution. Mirror Image, good AC and pretty good all-around saves kept him out of some harm, but he was still relatively fragile as fighters go. He served pretty well as a rounded character, able to do a little bit of everything - and with high enough stats to make it worthwhile, usually - but still had that one fatal flaw, made worse for the fact that I prefer melee-type characters.

So I like high stats, but I enjoy a character having one relatively low stat to counter that all out. Some weakness or character flaw to contrast everything the individual is good at.

Still, as a fan of versatility over the specialization D&D often emphasizes, multiple good stats are often a necessity.

 

[Buttercup]

I have more fun with high stats than low stats. As a DM, I run a game where magic items are scarce, so if the players aren't relatively beefy on their own, they're not viable. As a player, I want to be a hero who can do amazing things.

 

[FireLance]

A hero is defined by what s/he does, not by what s/he is.

IMO.

Yes, but when my PC is courageously doing the right thing and facing down the minions of the evil mastermind, I'd like him to beat them, and not end up buried under a sign that says, "He tried his best, but it just wasn't good enough."

IMO. YMMV.

 

[Melan]

A hero is defined by what s/he does, not by what s/he is.

IMO.

Precisely. For this reason, I don't care for high stats, I don't care for elaborate backstories and I don't care for "living, breathing" worlds. What goes into the adventure matters, and what you do with your PC matters. To me, the rest is insignificant.

 

[genshou]

Precisely. For this reason, I don't care for high stats, I don't care for elaborate backstories and I don't care for "living, breathing" worlds. What goes into the adventure matters, and what you do with your PC matters. To me, the rest is insignificant.

It has been said that we are all bound by our experiences. They are the limits of our consciousness. An adventurer with no past is like a newborn babe, lacking the experiences necessary to survive without constant care and assistance. If the backstory is more elaborate than a sentence or two, that's a good thing, not a bad thing.

What, to you, is a living, breathing world, exactly? I prefer a dynamic setting in which to place my characters. Imagine if the game world were a giant white board stretching infinitely in all directions. Yipee. How fun. Now I have lots of time to focus on my character actions to make a good story!

A dynamic atmosphere creates chances to interact with the world. If there's nothing to stimulate my character, then nothing is going to happen. Even a dungeon can be a living, breathing environment (not literally, I hope), and those are the ones that I truly enjoy exploring.

There's my 2cp.

 

[Aus_Snow]

genshou doth speaketh da troof, ayup.

 

[Mallus]

...and I don't care for "living, breathing" worlds. What goes into the adventure matters, and what you do with your PC matters. To me, the rest is insignificant.

For some people, obviously me included, its impossible to separate a 'living, breathing world' from 'what goes into the adventure'. One gives rise to the other.

If I tried to separate them, all I'd have left is some crude floor plans sketched on graph paper and partially-finished stat blocks...

I'm with you on backstory, though. I focus on the shared history the party develops during play.