D&D 5E How do you determine your initial Attributes?

[Maxperson]

Strange claim that doesn’t apply to our table. There is no prescriptive role playing based on stats in 5e.

I expect my players to roleplay their stats. An 8 intelligence should not be roleplayed as average or better. Forest Gump had around an 8 int. Below average reasoning ability.

 

[Scars Unseen]

3d6 down the line is my preferred method. I also dislike post-creation ASIs in general, so if it's not obvious, I'm less a fan of the way WotC treats ability scores than I am TSR.

Forest Gump had around an 8 int. Below average reasoning ability.

An 8 intelligence gives you a -1. If Forrest Gump is an 8, then Sherlock Holmes is a 12.

 

[Vaalingrade]

I expect my players to roleplay their stats. An 8 intelligence should not be roleplayed as average or better. Forest Gump had around an 8 int. Below average reasoning ability.

This is what I was talking about.

8 is slightly below average, like a D student as opposed to the average C.

Yet people play 8's as if they are barely functional.

8 STR gets blown over by a stiff breeze.
8 Dex trips over flat ground
8 Con requires a bubble to protect them from the outside world
8 Wis is a Cloudcuckoolander
8 Int is apparently neurodivergent
8 Cha is ugly even though that's not even what Cha means.

 

[Maxperson]

This is what I was talking about.

8 is slightly below average, like a D student as opposed to the average C.

It's not. Average people get Ds and Fs all the time. An 8 is like Forest Gump. It's impaired reasoning ability.

Yet people play 8's as if they are barely functional.

8 STR gets blown over by a stiff breeze.
8 Dex trips over flat ground
8 Con requires a bubble to protect them from the outside world
8 Wis is a Cloudcuckoolander
8 Int is apparently neurodivergent
8 Cha is ugly even though that's not even what Cha means.

Well, life is like a box of chocolates.

But seriously, they do overplay the 8's a lot.

 

[Maxperson]

An 8 intelligence gives you a -1. If Forrest Gump is an 8, then Sherlock Holmes is a 12.

Forest Gump wasn't anywhere remotely as impaired mentally as Holmes is gifted. It's not even close. Keep in mind that an ape, which can only learn a few dozen words has a 6.

 

[Vaalingrade]

It's not. Average people get Ds and Fs all the time. An 8 is like Forest Gump. It's impaired reasoning ability.

Dude.

C is literally the grade for 'average'.

D is literally below average. If you get a D in a subject, you are absolutely below average in it. 8-9 INT is D-student.

And I'm using literally correctly for this.

By definition, half of all people are below average. Do you think half of all people are Forrest Gump level?

Let me put it this way: you mentioned rolling dice for stats elsewhere. Well the lowest possible is 3. If you're putting Forrest Gump at 8, that implies playable character five degrees lower in mental acuity than Forrest Gump

 

[Maxperson]

Dude.

C is literally the grade for 'average'.

Dude. It's an absolute fact that average people get Ds and Fs. Like, you can't even argue that's not true.

By definition, half of all people are below average. Do you think half of all people are Forrest Gump level?

You're confusing median with average. They aren't the same thing.

51.6% of the population is average. The rest is split between above average and below average. So only 24.2% are below average, and that percentage includes everything from below average to the most cognitively impaired person.

Well the lowest possible is 3. If you're putting Forrest Gump at 8, that implies playable character five degrees lower in mental acuity than Forrest Gump

Or else 2. -1, -2 and -3.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Dude. It's an absolute fact that average people get Ds and Fs. Like, you can't even argue that's not true.

They get D's and F's but they don't get them the majority of the time.

If you're a D student, you're not average.

You're confusing median with average. They aren't the same thing.

Please show me the distribution graph then.

51.6% of the population is average. The rest is split between above average and below average. So only 24.2% is below average, and that percentage includes everything from below average to the most cognitively impaired person.

51.6% is exactly average. Okay.

Or else 2. -1, -2 and -3.

So... the actual ability score means nothing. Just the modifiers. I disagree.

 

[iserith]

How we roll ability scores depends on which method best speaks to the theme of the campaign we're running. For example, my zero-to-hero, backwoods swamp/forest hexcrawl campaign is 3d6 roll in order. My D&D/street level heroes mash up is 32-point buy with max 22 and minimum 5 for scores.

 

[Maxperson]

They get D's and F's but they don't get them the majority of the time.

If you're a D student, you're not average.

You don't understand grades and intelligence, do you? Tons of brilliant people did horribly in school and/or dropped out. Lots of people with average intelligence study hard and get straight As. Grades do not reflect intelligence.

51.6% is exactly average. Okay.

No. Anywhere from 51.6% to 65%(depending on the source) of the population falls within the spectrum of average.