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Does 1d12+5 for ability scores work OK?
- Thread starter rgoodbb
- Start date
Paul Farquhar
Legend
No. 3d6 is meant to aproximate a bell curve (normal distribution). It make "average" stats much more probable than extremely low or high stats.
With your distribution there would be as many superstrong people as avarage people.
With your distribution there would be as many superstrong people as avarage people.
The Crimson Binome
Hero
It's a flat distribution. There's no curve at all. You're exactly as likely to end up with a 6 or a 17.
It increases the likelihood that someone will end up with all good stats or all bad stats, since there's nothing biasing the roll toward average.
It increases the likelihood that someone will end up with all good stats or all bad stats, since there's nothing biasing the roll toward average.
BookBarbarian
Expert Long Rester
As has been mentioned you'll a linear distribution rather than a bell curve so you'll have more high numbers (but no 18s), and more low numbers (but no 3s-5s) and less middle numbers than in 4d6 drop lowest.
Ed Laprade
First Post
2D6+5 would be somewhat better for the curve. But 7-17 rather than 6-17. Depends on what you're looking for.
BookBarbarian
Expert Long Rester
2d6+6 would get you highs as good as 3d6 and lows equal to point buy and have a bit of a curve. I don't know if that's good or not, though.
The Crimson Binome
Hero
The seventh edition of Gamma World, which uses a variation on the D&D 4E ruleset, let you start with an 18 in your main stat and roll 3d6 for the rest. (Or that's the basic idea, anyway; it's a little more complicated than that.)
If you wanted to say that everyone starts with a 16 in their main stat, and then roll (1d12+5) five times for the other stats, you could certainly do it. The game should remain playable, no matter how you generate stats, as long as they're all in the 3-18 range.
If you wanted to get a little more complicated, you could let players decide whether they'd rather have an 18 in one stat, or 16 in two stats, and then roll randomly for the rest. That might work better for monks and paladins.
ad_hoc
(they/them)
I don't like random stats but if I had to, I would use playing cards.
Use the 2s-6s. Deal out into 6 piles of 3.
You can use as is or remove 2 of them so that everyone has the same sum. The downside as with most randomized methods is that it is possible to have a stat higher than 15. The likelihood of this is lower than other methods and having a high stat means others will be lower.
Use the 2s-6s. Deal out into 6 piles of 3.
You can use as is or remove 2 of them so that everyone has the same sum. The downside as with most randomized methods is that it is possible to have a stat higher than 15. The likelihood of this is lower than other methods and having a high stat means others will be lower.
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