Point Buy and Rolling - The Poll (the hard way ;p)

[JRRNeiklot]

One.

 

[FreeTheSlaves]

You know, I posted it but I wonder what the heck 2 is ?? It could it be something like randomised stats and declared height, weight and age. Sort of makes a mockery of the title as I swerve away from stats but then again this is an internet poll and they're generally nonsensical.

 

[FireLance]

5, but our group uses non-standard point buy and equal starting gold.

 

[FireLance]

You know, I posted it but I wonder what the heck 2 is ??

I'd say 2 could be something like roll 4d6, in order, but you have 6 points to distribute among your ability scores. To prevent loading points onto one attribute to bump it to ridiculously high levels, increasing an attribute to 15 or 16 could cost 2 points and increasing it to 17 or 18 could cost 3 points, just like in regular point buy.

 

[Alaric_Prympax]

I always liked 4d6 drop the lowest die, rolled 7 times drop the lowest roll. Put stats any where they wanted because it's their character. It's always worked well for my group and hasn't created any super characters.

 

[Mycanid]

Number One - I'm with dragonlancer and jrr on this one. I like the 4d6 method. Alaric's method is kinda nice too, though....

 

[FreeTheSlaves]

Yeah that makes sense. I think I could include the method my players are leaning me towards in the 2 category. That would be a rolled method with a generous point buy safety net. The rolling could potentially be very defining, more so if I lowered the safety net, but I reckon it is more on the random side.

Heck, why not? I'll plonk a mark next to the 2 on my friends behalf.

[EDIT]

Hey Alaric I've put you down for 1 - that ok?

 

[sjmiller]

I would have to say I am solidly in the category one department. For me, and for everyone I play D&D with, rolling attributes is part of the fun of the game. Generally it's done by rolling 4d6 six times, discarding the low die value on each roll, placing the rolls where you like. Sometimes, if I am DMing, and a player does not like one of their rolls, I will make a secret 4d6 roll and give them the option of taking my roll or rolling again. Either way, they have to take the new roll no matter what it is.

I have yet to ever hear a complain, or hear anyone ask to use point buying. When it was mentioned once as an option, everyone decided to pass. For me, if I want to do a fantasy game with a point buying system, I will use GURPS. I really like GURPS (more than I like D&D), so it's not like I hate point buy systems. I just don't think it's a good option for D&D.

 

[WayneLigon]

I'm not exactly sure what some of your category definitions are. What do you mean by the phrase 'Rolling with a bit of generated variables' (and it's opposite)? You either roll stats or generate them; I've never heard of a middle ground system unless you're talking about a safety net (ie, if your rolled stats don't add up to x level of point-buy, then use point buy).

In most games I've been in, we've used either a 32-point-buy system, or the classic 'roll 4d6, discard lowest roll and arrange as you wish'. Many GM's give you a seventh roll if you want to take a chance on boosting a stat but the re-roll must be used. Really, I prefer the 4d6 method. I'm usually pretty lucky at character generation. I can beat 32 point buy more than half the time. About a third or quarter of the time, I can beat a 36 point buy or better.

 

[FireLance]

I'm not exactly sure what some of your category definitions are. What do you mean by the phrase 'Rolling with a bit of generated variables' (and it's opposite)? You either roll stats or generate them; I've never heard of a middle ground system unless you're talking about a safety net (ie, if your rolled stats don't add up to x level of point-buy, then use point buy).

I have used a few alternative systems to generate characters for solo adventures before (since there is only one PC, PC vs PC balance is no longer an issue).

One way that is more random but with a small amount of player control to get his attributes closer to what he wants is 4d6 drop lowest in order, plus 6 points. Under such a system, you can get a good score in an ability that you would not normally put a high score in, and by spending points, you can still get a decent score in an ability that is important to you, but you rolled badly in.

A middling approach may be something like 3d6 in order, plus 18 points. The player has more control over the final outcome, but there still is a slight random factor. There is a small chance that the player will get a good score in an ability that he doesn't consider very important, and by spending points, he can usually get a decent score in two or three abilities that he considers important.

Under less random, more control, you can have a point buy system with a variable number of points, e.g. 8d6 points. This averages to a 28 point buy, but you could theoretically get a 48 point character. Within the limits of the original random roll for points, the player can get exactly the ability scores he wants.