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

[Arnwyn]

1. for me. (I'm not entirely sure what 2. is, but that could be me...)

 

[Quartz]

Other. I use a number line, numbers assigned to stats as the player wishes. I could have a step of 1 (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16), or 2 (7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17), or 1.5 (8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16), or whatever.

I also don't like super-scores to start with, so players playing races with stat adjustments must ask before placing their highest numbers where they'll be increased. E.g. a half-orc couldn't put his highest number in Str. At higher levels, this gets relaxed. The reason for this is that a high stat is vastly more significant than a low stat.

 

[howandwhy99]

I give 2 options to the players depending on their preference:

The first is the simple 25 point buy. It's fair and gives everyone a chance to make the character they want.

The second is 3d6 in order, flip one score, and "buy up" to a 25 point buy character. Rolls creating characters 25 point buy or above get the flip and are just born lucky. Scores 8 or lower are bought 1 for 1. Those who want to raise low scores would have weaker characters. This allows those who like randomness to (generally) be on equal footing with Option 1. But slightly worse or better characters are possible too.

Neither option is mandatory. And a player could always take option 1 if the option 2 rolls are not to their liking.

 

[Jedi_Solo]

5. Always.

Our group used to use the 4d6 method, until one time we rolled characters and there was what would be the equivalent of about 30 points between the weakest and the strongest. I am not kidding or exaggerating (it has been many years since then but it was something along the lines of 15 points next to 45 points). The weakest character's stats were the 6th (maybe 7th) attempt by the player and the first that accually resulted in what, by the rules, was considered a "viable character".

Starting the next campaign we used point buy and have never looked back.

 

[SWBaxter]

I prefer (5) for logistical reasons (gets characters made without consuming much gaming time, minimizes whining over stat disparities, etc.), but I'm not an evangelist for any particular method. If a given group prefers to roll, that's cool with me.

 

[FreeTheSlaves]

I've never heard of a middle ground system ...

Yeah in a round about way this is what I'm getting at. We're seeing 2 spikes, and it's either/or. Personally I reckon that the default system should be more inclusive.

I know, I know - d&d is a remarkable game because of the pick and choose modularity quality. But ime I'm a point buy fan and when my friends like rolling the culture is for me to lump it or cry like a baby, and you know I will cry a river to get my rattle. Anyway, so very undignified.

If there was a table that matched rolling to point buy and the player got to choose, that would undercut balance concerns, and pave the way for an accepted dual track system. Having articulated it, I think what I just described would count as a 3.

 

[MonsterMash]

Number one, but if a character's stats ends up worse than a 25 point buy the player can replace them with a character on 25 points buy.