Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="CleverNickName" data-source="post: 9827241" data-attributes="member: 50987">More comparisons of the three methods (Standard Array, Point-Buy, and 4d6.)Let's talk about ability score modifiers.With the Standard Array, you have the following stats:  15, 14, 13, 12, 10, and 8.  The modifiers for these stats are +2, +2, +1, +1, +0, and -1, respectively.  And if we add up those modifiers, we have a total of +5.With the Point Buy method, there are <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/2epkdi/5e_here_is_a_complete_list_of_valid_ability_score/" target="_blank">only 65 valid sets</a> of numbers to pick from.   I used Excel to calculate and sum all of the ability score modifiers for each.  And if we add up those modifiers and average them, we get +5.12.  That's pretty close to the Standard Array, but remember that probability is meaningless with the Point Buy--you get to pick the result you want to use.Out of the 65 possible results, two are +3, twelve are +4, thirty are +5, twenty are +6, and one is +7....in other words, all but 14 are going to be equal to or greater than the Standard Array in this respect.  (And in case you were wondering which set gives you a +7, it is 14, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12.  Anyway.)For the 4d6 Method, we head off into the realm of probability and statistics.  I again used Excel to generate a set of stats, then had it calculate the ability score modifiers for each, and then add them together.  And then do it 163,800 times, and then average the result.  The average was +5.89.So if you use the 4d6 method, nine times out of ten your ability score modifiers will add up to a number between +5 and +7, just like the Point Buy method.[ATTACH=full]425950[/ATTACH]Of course this all goes out the window when you start adding house-rules.  But that brings up an interesting point: what would a fair and balanced house-rule for the 4d6 method look like, to keep it close (power-wise) to the Point Buy method?I propose this one:1.  Roll your stats using the 4d6 method.2.  Add up your ability modifiers.-  If the result is +2 or less, reroll. -  If the result is +8 or more, reroll.3. Otherwise, keep what you rolled.This would keep the ability score modifiers within the same range as the Point Buy, but not necessarily the stats themselves.Anyway.  To bring this back to the topic of the thread:  I still think that Point Buy is balanced with the other methods, and the math supports that conclusion.  Also, math is fun.</blockquote>

Verification