D&D 5E (2014) Is Point Buy Balanced?

[Lakesidefantasy]

I've got to say back in the days that I still played games that used random generation, I didn't see appreciably less of this with roll-and-arrange unless the values were high enough no one was hunting for a low attribute anyway (and if the method was generous, a generous point buy method likely could avoid that too, at least if it had diminishing-return purchasing).

This is true, they both have the same problem. But we don't talk about Flight Club here.°

Point Buy tacitly promises us that we can make whatever Character we want by allowing us full control over Score placement. But that promise falls short when we are forced to "dump" lower and lower Scores into Abilities we didn't imagine to be a burden.

I think a lot of us just ignore the low scores and continue to imagine our Characters as we like them. This paired with "walking the Chimera" allows us to ignore them because the just don't really matter.

° Although we are past page 30.

 

[AlViking]

This is true, they both have the same problem. But we don't talk about Flight Club here.°

Point Buy tacitly promises us that we can make whatever Character we want by allowing us full control over Score placement. But that promise falls short when we are forced to "dump" lower and lower Scores into Abilities we didn't imagine to be a burden.

I think a lot of us just ignore the low scores and continue to imagine our Characters as we like them. This paired with "walking the Chimera" allows us to ignore them because the just don't really matter.

° Although we are past page 30.

Higher and lower scores are pretty inevitable. At least with point buy your low is just slightly worse than average even average if that's what you want.

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

Higher and lower scores are pretty inevitable. At least with point buy your low is just slightly worse than average even average if that's what you want.

This is why I focus on "dump" scores rather than low scores.

 

[Thomas Shey]

This is true, they both have the same problem. But we don't talk about Flight Club here.°

Point Buy tacitly promises us that we can make whatever Character we want by allowing us full control over Score placement. But that promise falls short when we are forced to "dump" lower and lower Scores into Abilities we didn't imagine to be a burden.

I think a lot of us just ignore the low scores and continue to imagine our Characters as we like them. This paired with "walking the Chimera" allows us to ignore them because the just don't really matter.

° Although we are past page 30.

I still wonder if that's a sign there's a disconnect between what a player expects an attribute generating system to do (random or point assign) and what the game system or GM does, rather than anything to do with the specific method. If in a D&D six-attribute system, people's interior models are expecting 90 points approximately of output, and whichever method they use is tossing out 75, this sort of dissonance is always going to occur to one extent or another.

 

[CleverNickName]

I have a question for the people who want/need balanced ability scores. What does "Balanced" mean, for you, in the context of ability scores? Try to sum it up in a single sentence.

Like, for me? "Balanced" means one number higher than 15, another number lower than 8, and four random numbers in between.

Your turn.

 

[Rocker26a]

I guess another factor is table size, and so build diversity. Like, "It's tolerable that I have (whichever) ability score low, because (other player character) has that as their primary stat".

 

[AlViking]

I have a question for the people who want/need balanced ability scores. What does "Balanced" mean, for you, in the context of ability scores? Try to sum it up in a single sentence.

Like, for me? "Balanced" means one number higher than 15, another number lower than 8, and four random numbers in between.

Your turn.

It means that there's no randomness to the character creation process. We chose our stats, our species, backgrounds, class. Why randomize one of those? The numbers don't have to be perfectly balanced from one character to another, some classes would be better off if you rolled and happened to roll at least 3 high numbers. If I go for a high of 14 (16 after adjustment), is that balanced against someone who goes for a 15 and and then at 4th level takes a half feat?

With point buy I know that if I do that 14 instead of a 15 they may not be quite as effective in one specific area but they're likely better at some other aspect that I value. If I roll I may win the dice lottery, I may lose. About the only thing I can guarantee is that I can practically guarantee there will be numerical winners that have significantly higher numbers than the losers.

 

[CleverNickName]

It means that there's no randomness to the character creation process.

To make sure I understand: if two people have the same six ability scores, but one person generated them with point-buy and the other by rolling 4d6, you would consider only one of them to be unbalanced?

 

[CreamCloud0]

I have a question for the people who want/need balanced ability scores. What does "Balanced" mean, for you, in the context of ability scores? Try to sum it up in a single sentence.

Like, for me? "Balanced" means one number higher than 15, another number lower than 8, and four random numbers in between.

Your turn.

it's not perfect, cause SAD and MAD classes exist but that's a factor that's less to do with the generation itself, but 'balanced' means to me for the players to be able to use any stat generation method and have equal odds to create characters of equal 'numerically statistical' power

 

[AlViking]

To make sure I understand: if two people have the same six ability scores, but one person generated them with point-buy and the other by rolling 4d6, you would consider only one of them to be unbalanced?

Balance is relative to other characters at the table, not in isolation.