Our preferred method was to give people twelve goes at rolling 3d6, assigning the attempts before you saw the roll. You had to giive each characteristic at least one 3d6 roll, but the rest could be assigned as you wanted. So if you were determined to roll a Fighter with high Strength and Constitution, you could put one 3d6 roll into the other four stats and have four rolls at each of Str and Con, putting the best one in. You occasionally got low results on stats you really wanted to be high but it wasn't common, and sometimes the other stats would surprise you.
Determining Ability Scores
- Thread starter kaomera
- Start date
I like it! If I can ever round up some people for an AD&D game, I may use this system.
Man in the Funny Hat
Hero
Ability Scores for Characters
I have a wide variety of methods listed there. My personal favorite - and the one I think best fits your wish to mix Old School take-what-you-get with players being able to make what they want - is from 3E: The Organic Method.
Roll six times recording in order using the best 3 of 4d6. Re-roll any one ability score taking the best of the two. Then switch one score with any other. Allows players to load a superior stat where it counts but otherwise are challenged Old School style to do something interesting with LESS than perfection every time. They are frequently forced to make choices that deal with flaws and vulnerabilities as opposed to simply choosing your flavor of Awesome Domination.
I have a wide variety of methods listed there. My personal favorite - and the one I think best fits your wish to mix Old School take-what-you-get with players being able to make what they want - is from 3E: The Organic Method.
Roll six times recording in order using the best 3 of 4d6. Re-roll any one ability score taking the best of the two. Then switch one score with any other. Allows players to load a superior stat where it counts but otherwise are challenged Old School style to do something interesting with LESS than perfection every time. They are frequently forced to make choices that deal with flaws and vulnerabilities as opposed to simply choosing your flavor of Awesome Domination.
Crothian
First Post
With having others pick the scores I've had two player turn in their picks. One gave everyone either 2 18's or a 20 depending to each character and with no scores lower then 12. The other guy gave no scores higher then a 17 and all character have two scores that are a 10 or lower including a few 7's.
Everyone is reading the same character descriptions so it's very interesting how individuals are seeing the characters.
Everyone is reading the same character descriptions so it's very interesting how individuals are seeing the characters.
Lanefan
Victoria Rules
I don't know why, as this tradition was in place before I started playing, but in our 1e-based system we've always* used [5d6 drop 2, 6 times, rearrange to suit], and still do today.
* - some DMs have tried a few minor tweaks and experiments over the years, but never straying far from good old 5d6.
Some years ago, my players showed up for a session knowing that night the party would be standing in to a pretty significant and dangerous encounter. Their confidence was not improved when they saw I'd put a little pile of dice in front of each of their places at the table - 5d6, to be precise.
Lanefan
* - some DMs have tried a few minor tweaks and experiments over the years, but never straying far from good old 5d6.
Some years ago, my players showed up for a session knowing that night the party would be standing in to a pretty significant and dangerous encounter. Their confidence was not improved when they saw I'd put a little pile of dice in front of each of their places at the table - 5d6, to be precise.
Lanefan
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