New ways to generate ability scores.

[RPG_Tweaker]

For a micro-campaign I used this method:

Pick your race and class before rolling ability scores.

Divide your abilities into three groups of two, based on importance to the character.

• Roll 2d4+10 for your two primary abilities. Assign scores
• Roll 2d6+6 for your two secondary abilities. Assign scores
• Roll 2d8+2 for your two tertiary abilities. Assign scores

So a fighter might choose STR and CON for their primary, DEX and WIS for secondary and INT and CHA for tertiary.

It generated some interesting characters.

 

[hero4hire]

Here is an interesting one I did awhile back.

I had my players roll 4d6 take the best 3 but they had to keep the rolls in order for each ability. So if a player rolled 14 12 8 8 13 11. He would have an Str 14 Dex 12 Con 8 Int 8 Wis 13 Cha 11. Then the player would choose his class. In this case Fighter.
Then I had them roll a d6 and the corresponding stat became an 18 so if he rolled a 6 his Charisma was now 18.

It made for some interesting characters!

 

[The Goblin King]

grid method? http://invisiblecastle.com/help.py?p=grid

 

[Kae'Yoss]

grid method? http://invisiblecastle.com/help.py?p=grid

That's what I'm talking about! Sounds interesting.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

http://home.earthlink.net/~duanevp/dnd/stat_generation.htm

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

Nothing, really, other than two things:

1. It keeps the players honest, in that no one is going to want to be the guy with a 30 Hubris score when everyone else is in the -5 to 5 range.

This would make me shoot for having the highest hubris score. I would win, you see, having the highest score. I think I would increase my abilities beyond what I thought I wanted just to make sure I had the highest score.

2. It provides the DM a way to focus all the random stuff in the game world. Need to know who the thieves pickpocket in the middle of the night? The guy with the highest Hubris. Need to know whose starship gets broken into? Hubris.

This, not so much.

Currently, I use point buy, but here's a system I've used in the past to good effect:

The players all have the same stats, and they are generated communally. They each roll 4d6, and drop the lowest die. If there are less than 6 players, the DM rolls the extras until there are 6 ability score values. The players themselves are numbered (usually in the order they sit around the table). These constitute "array #1". The players then vote on whether they keep the scores or try again. If they try again, they scrap all the scores and roll a completely new set, array #2. However, player #1's contribution to array #2 is fixed. Whatever he rolls, that number stays in all future arrays. The players then vote on whether to keep array #2. If they don't, player 1 doesn't get to roll again since his contribution is now fixed. Player #2's roll for array #3 is the next one to get fixed. And so on.

On each rejected set of stats, an additional ability score value is fixed before the players know what it will be. So they gamble between the possibility of getting better scores (a diminishing chance) and ending up with multiple crappy scores getting fixed. When I tried it for a campaign, I think we got to array #5 before we quit. I noticed that if a good roll gets fixed, the players are more likely to reject the array, because they have a good roll "in the bank" and can afford to gamble against another good roll coming up.

I think the results came out to about 34 or 36 points, but I don't have them anymore to check.

 

[hero4hire]

That's what I'm talking about! Sounds interesting.

You didnt know about the grid method??? I thought everyone used invisiblecatle

 

[migo]

This is based off one of the methods for AD&D.

All scores start at 8.

Roll 1d6.
1 = Strength 2 = Dexterity 3 = Constitution 4 = Intelligence 5 = Wisdom 6 = Charisma

Subtract 2 from the ability that got rolled up. Add 2 to any other score. You then start out with 4 8s, 1 6 and 1 10.

Roll 7d6

Apply the dice to scores as you like, but you have to assign whole dice to any score. The -2 to 1 of the scores initially allows you to use all your dice if you happen to roll 7 6s. With the default 8 for everything system you would end up being unable to use one of your dice and would just have straight 14s. Instead you have a potential of 18, 16, 14, 14, 14, 14

If the total of all the dice is less than 20, you can reroll.

This gives characters with overall pretty high scores, but they're still interesting, and you can count on there being a low score in there if you want it for a jump start for an interesting character concept - without the score being too low to be seriously crippling.

 

[Treebore]

*deleted because I had already posted tto this thread*

 

[FireLance]

Something I came up with for a solo campaign, and am thinking of generalizing for other games:

1. Start by assigning the elite array to your ability scores (alternatively, use point buy).

2. Roll dice (3d6, 4d6 drop lowest - whatever random generation method you prefer) in order, and keep the randomly generated score if it is higher.

This guarantees that the character will have good ability scores where the player wants them, but there is the possibility of getting a high score where he would not normally have placed it.