Level Up (A5E) Do Player Characters Have Average Population Stat Distributions?

[tetrasodium]

It doesn't give the GM any leverage. It just means that if your players want a better experience they're going to pick that culture regardless of anything else about it. As opposed to the thing we actually want, which is the players interacting in good faith with the world. I don't want players saying "x culture is more interesting, but I want to play a bard, so I either need to go argue with the GM to get the correct modifiers, or pick a culture I find less interesting and so am less likely to engage with."

that is the leverage. I was referencing before you threw a fit that out of six examples (1 for each stat) you were prevented from playing a sorcerer from the culture randomly selected that fit dex. Most players would just take the +2cha one for a primary charisma based class or ask the gm if they could work something out

Personally, I'd rather the player come up with the culture, and we can work out the backstory together of why that culture is good at sorcery or what have you.

But I like to encourage player ownership within the setting. Of course, I'm one of the unserious gamers who doesn't think NPCs are just in-utero PCs-to-be.

I made the random example for an eberron game, most players are not extremely familiar with eberron & saying "these are the cultures in the area" helps guide all that working out so it's more likely to fit than "well no, that's a faerun location but here's something close except... no not really... so on & so forth". Put another way exactly the same as the AL rules that sometimes say what backgrounds are allowed for a hardcover. The backlash it generated from one person is frankly bizarre

 

[Minigiant]

You can view D&D worlds However you want, but categorizing unusual people (and not that unusual at low levels) as “freaks” is both incredibly distasteful, and inaccurate to how the game actually treats PCs. No published modules, and no official fiction or sourcebooks that I can think of, share your view of PCs. That seems to be purely a you thing, far as I can tell.

Freaks is a harsh word. The point I was trying to make is that PCs aren't normal. They are anomalies. PCs are usually irregular at the "genetic" level and a noticeable amount are culturally usual as well.

Few if the Sample PC characters have NPC stats and many have strange or rare personalities or social statuses. People don't shun them because they tend to be heroes and are useful for society.

But PCs are not normal average folk of their race.

 

[Phoebasss]

I do notably think that races should be given something akin to a feat to make up for the loss of ASIs. Because I think your race should be an interesting part of who you are. I just don't think it should define what classes you should pick. That's too large of a caveat in picking a race, or culture, or background to be acceptable. Because let's be honest, class is the most important thing mechanically in 5e. So if you want to play a certain class, your other choices are going to hinge on your class allowing you to do them. And I know some people take issue with me saying "allow". But the stats on what Race/Class combos people play back me up on that one. We see far more Half-Orc fighters and barbarians than Half-Orc druids or bards, even though those could make awesome characters in their own right. And its because ASIs are tied down like this. We don't need to make the PC population of the real life world mirror the NPC population of our games.

 

[TwoSix]

I assume they mean that each choice narrows the options (in some way) at the next stage of choices.

Which is a totally valid aesthetic preference.

Oh, absolutely. I disagree, but I totally get the idea behind the preference.

 

[TwoSix]

I made the random example for an eberron game, most players are not extremely familiar with eberron & saying "these are the cultures in the area" helps guide all that working out so it's more likely to fit than "well no, that's a faerun location but here's something close except... no not really... so on & so forth". Put another way exactly the same as the AL rules that sometimes say what backgrounds are allowed for a hardcover. The backlash it generated from one person is frankly bizarre

That's fine, I just would object to the idea that the background description of an area would trickle up into game rules; such that characters from eastern Karrnath make better clerics than characters from western Karrnath. If the player doesn't know a lot about a prepublished setting, we work out a good backstory that ties into the setting in session 0.

 

[Phoebasss]

that is the leverage. I was referencing before you threw a fit that out of six examples (1 for each stat) you were prevented from playing a sorcerer from the culture randomly selected that fit dex. Most players would just take the +2cha one for a primary charisma based class or ask the gm if they could work something out

What is the leverage there? Like, what leverage do you actually have? I'm not seeing it. They still have to pick a culture either way, you just took the choice away from them or forced them to play parley with the GM to get the character concept they want. That's not interesting or fun.
It's just another hoop to jump through.

 

[Guest 6801328]

What is the leverage there? Like, what leverage do you actually have? I'm not seeing it. They still have to pick a culture either way, you just took the choice away from them or forced them to play parley with the GM to get the stats they want. That's not interesting or fun.
It's just another hoop to jump through.

Yeah I'm totally not understanding their point either. I keep re-reading it, but I don't get what it's saying.

 

[Maxperson]

Let's say that they should line up. Because if the game is assuming things too far off of what your PCs are actually capable of, you're either going to get a TPK or a very easy game.

+1 isn't much, and 5e IS a very easy game

 

[Phoebasss]

+1 isn't much, and 5e IS a very easy game

+1 is four levels of growth for non-fighters. And considering most games don't go past level 9, that's pretty significant.

 

[TwoSix]

+1 isn't much, and 5e IS a very easy game

Yea, but it's still annoying. Having a 15 in an attack stat is like having a pebble in your shoe that you can never get rid of for as long as you play the character. It's annoying enough I homebrew stuff just for myself so that I can play the concept I want using the stats I want.