Do I want to die?

[Phazeal]

Ok, here's my problem.

I am in a group that has been championing uber-stat-start-up-rolls forever. And I am sick of it. To the extent that I can't even 'get into' my guy that has 2x18's, 2x17's, 1x16 and 1x15.

I have decided, probably due to a concern that if I don't feel a sense of duty to the wafer-thin hold my character has to life, I will not enjoy the campaign.

So in my finite wisdom (@11) I have decided to design my OWN rolling system for my new character. The system is 3d6, 1's included, top to bottom, no swapsies. Only racial bonuses/negatives apply. The DM was happy with this.

I have ended up with an elven ranger with s/d/c/i/w/c of 11/9/12/12/8/12.

My question is, what type of disease am I suffering from?

The current roll-up method I have available to me, for all the other PC's in the party as well, is: 4d6, no 1's, minimum 2x16's or else you can re-reroll the whole set. When you get a 'take' (sometimes 15 sets later) you auto-raise your lowest stat in that set to an 18.

Is this a craph stat-rolling method? Am I being too harsh in poo-pooing it? Am I 'character-suicicidal?

I just feel like the mega-character doesn't do it for me anymore. i 'want' my guy to struggle. It will make success all the sweeter.

So, have I:

a) lost my marbles and should take those very juicy stat-roll-up-parameters my DM is offering me
b) learn to accept that an average stat of 17 is 'normal' for a hero at 1st level.
c) accept that I am over bionic characters and have moved to some transcendent level of 'the struggle is the victory' type RPing, to my betterment.
d) given good cause to have my characters bronzed for posterity 'cause they're all gonna die.

Thoughts welcome. But be gently though. I am really over uber-characters (if 'uber' is the right word)

P

 

[Thanee]

I guess you just have realized, that uber stats just take away from your other abilities in the way, that they make them less important. With normal stats the other abilities (class, race, etc.) get emphasized more, naturally.

I'd ask the others how they feel about starting the next campaign with "standard" values (i.e. using PB 32, which is not too bad, but not even close to the uberness you created there).

And you all really should realize, that a 14 is not a bad value, but rather quite a bit above average already!

You don't need an 18 to be a hero.

Bye
Thanee

 

[diaglo]

3d6 in order is the only non-munchkin method to generate a character


Str
Int
Wis
Con
Dex
Cha

 

[Phazeal]

"You don't need an 18 to be a hero"

That's music to my ears. I might quote you next time we playt and they hassle me about my weaky.

Many thanks.

P

 

[ivocaliban]

I've got to believe that there's a middle ground between uber-characters and average characters. In fact, the default system offered in the core books is that middle ground. Roll 4d6, drop the lowest, and assign the stats in any order you like. You're very unlikely to have "2x18's, 2x17's, 1x16 and 1x15," and more often than not you're going to fare better than "s/d/c/i/w/c of 11/9/12/12/8/12." Sometimes I feel like we just make things far more complicated than necessary. One extreme does not cancel out the other.

 

[Phazeal]

Diaglo, that's a strange order.

I've seen S/I/W/D/Co/Ch and S/D/Con/I/W/Cha, but never that one.

But thanks for your support. I am feeling better from 'power-from-the-people' x2.

Many thanks

P

p.s. I must confess, having rolled Con 14 and Dex 7 and having the desire for a bardish-missile character, I decided to take an elf. Woe is me......

P

 

[Goblyns Hoard]

It's a terrible wasting disease you are suffering from called Demunchkinasia . Symptoms include a desire to play a character with no stat over 12 or to play a fighter that specializes in the dagger and has feats like persuasive and skill focus (diplomacy). Other symptoms include a tendency for your character's to develop more personality traits, have longer back stories and even to start migginsing*

It's a terrible disease as there is often no cure for it. However there are a lot of other sufferers who will be pleased to welcome you into their arms should you seek hard enough. Most find that the symptoms are woorying at first, so gather together in small "Role-Playing Games" groups and just let it all out together in a cathartic release.

In time you can look forward to the symptoms diminishing and you will feel it's perfectly OK for a character to have a stat of say 15 or even 16. And you will also find yourself more comfortable with talking about your symptoms in public, and even sharing them with your old friends.

On the other hand you may become one of the few that is cured, whereupon you can return to playing characters with every stat an 18.

Migginsing - the desire to spend at least 30 minutes real time chatting to the baker, haggling over the price of his loaves, asking how his wife is and complaining about the weather you've been having recently while a perfectly good plot lead is dancing around on the table in front of you screaming for attention like a toddler with cholic who's had his security blanket taken away from him.

 

[Frostmarrow]

With that method; why bother to roll at all?

 

[ThoughtBubble]

My biggest concern would be that you'd fall behind pretty badly with stats like that. Forget dieing for a moment. We're talking levels of unprecidented "I'm so f*ing innefective" that death will seem a sweet sweet alternative.

If comperative effectiveness isn't an issue, then great, by all means, play a normal guy among superhumans. I'd suggest trying to make yourself a fun character, and just have the stats along for the ride. It sounds like that's not working though. I'd reccomend one more try, but, sad to say, it seems like you're reaching a bad point with the group's style. Unfortunately, either you fit in and suck it up, or you stick out and suck it up, or you suck it up and leave.

Now, as far as the rolling methods go, it's definately extreme. However, it would be nice to have a stat distribution for playing a paladin. Seriously though, I can see how you might not enjoy the stat building method. With a stat building method like this though, either everything's going to be a cakewalk, or it's only because you REALLY need those numbers (consult your dm).

In the end though, I think that stats aren't what makes a character memorable. What's going to breathe life into him is you. And you don't need to look ot an exernal source to find that.

 

[Calico_Jack73]

I feel your pain... I'm getting ready to run a Midnight campaign and I gave my players the stats 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8. One of them actually had a problem that they had one stat that provided a -1 penalty. I'm sticking to my guns on it though I am giving them the option of going with 32 point buy instead. My method works out to 36 points so if they want to do the 32 point buy instead of my prebought stats then that is their choice.