D&D 5E How do you generate ability scores for PCs?

[Oofta]

Hiya!

I already explained my current method that I have used for other games ("Like Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hypberboria", as well as a "Dark Dungeons" game or two, and a 1e AD&D campaign). Here is the link to the post:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showth...system/page4&p=6863226&viewfull=1#post6863226

...I hope. I've never linked a specific post before, but it looks right.

^_^

Paul L. Ming

The link worked. Thanks ... I think I'd need a diagram to understand, but it sounds interesting and as long as the group has fun it's all good.

 

[bedir than]

I use a random version of point buy. We now use a narrative character creation method and have about 20 pregenerated random point buy on hand at the time. As the person describes their character one to three obvious high abilities become apparent.

The PC gets those high attributes assigned and then sees the rest of their attributes. This lets them build the character they want, but have a few strengths that aren't necessarily designed.

 

[thorgrit]

I tend to use the standard array, especially when I'm not sure where I'll be playing the character. Unless there's house rules involved, every DM should be okay with letting in a standard array character.

When I run games, I tend to prefer point buy. One group I was running for didn't like point buy, and I didn't like the wide gaps that could come from rolling, so I proposed an alternate system. All stats start at 6, then pretend you rolled 12 more dice and they came out as 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1, place any two into any stat. They accepted it, because it still had the feel of the dice, and I liked it, because you could customize scores for a min/max build or a few good above-average stats for MAD classes.

 

[Arial Black]

Many, many different versions of rolling over the years. Many! But never point-buy (outside of organised play).

Next time I want to have more natural, random-seeming (but still heroic) characters, so I'm going to go something like 4d6k3, in order, and then allow a single exchange of two scores. This allows the player to be able to play the kind of PC they want, while still making sure that each member of any class is not a cookie-cutter PC.

 

[Tsuga C]

This varies with the campaign, but the 27/28 point-buy is a solid default and it allows the player to customize their character as they see fit. They have to run that character for the next few months, so it's best to grant players a wide degree of latitude so long as what they create fits well into the 3.5E campaign. I'm not moving on to 4E, 5E, or 17E anytime soon, thank you very much.

 

[EdL]

I've finally gotten to play (DM) a 5E game. As I prefer heroic characters, and its easier to survive being heroic if your PC has good stats to begin with, I put the following in place:
Either roll 4D6, drop the lowest, or use my 'special' stat array: 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11. BUT, if you roll and don't like what you got, you can use the array instead. So far no one has rolled. (So far only half the players have made characters. We'll start actual play this coming Thursday.)

 

[S'mon]

One 5e campaign uses Standard Array, the other 5e one uses 27 Point Buy.

(my 4e campaign uses standard point buy, my Classic game uses "best 3-of-4d6, assign when
rolled".)

 

[Blue]

My experience and what I've seen secondhand is that bounded accuracy gets compromised with high stats, ASI vs. Feat choice get compromised with uneven stats between different characters, and anything off the norm messes with CR though that corrects some at higher levels when hitting the cap is expected.

I like rolling, I like characters with flaws, and I like characters with unexpected strengths that don't line up with what's common for that class. But I love how bounded accuracy and the ASI/feats work and I'm willing to go with point buy to support those.

 

[Ath-kethin]

For all the reasons Blue listed above, when I am running games we use standard array. In the other campaign I play in sometimes we use standard 27 point buy, and it only bolstered by support for using the standard array.

 

[Oofta]

For all the reasons Blue listed above, when I am running games we use standard array. In the other campaign I play in sometimes we use standard 27 point buy, and it only bolstered by support for using the standard array.

I forgot to put the array in the list since it adds up to the same numbers as the point buy. My bad.