Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 7220014" data-attributes="member: 22779">And the rabbit hole gets even deeper when you realize that if you are presuming the 3-18 bell curve (modified by race) for PHB races, then why doesn't that apply to everything?  After all, when's the last time you met a 9 Str ogre?  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />It's no secret that I really, really don't see D&D as a world building system.  AFAIC, it isn't.  So, arguments about how PHB races should fit on a 3-18 bell curve fall on rather deaf ears in my case.  After all, the PHB NPC's are never presented that way.  They have "standard" arrays in 3e.  In AD&D, they didn't even have stats, other than an Int score.  4e went the AD&D route and flat out stated that NPC's don't need stats.Now, that all aside, my primary issue with die rolling PC's is the knock on effects with game balance.  Having a high stat character, or worse a high stat party, makes the entire game wonky.  Imagine an AD&D group of 6 PC's, 3 of which have percentile strength.  They are obliterating opponents WAY above their pay grade.  And, I really believe, that there is a strong correlation between DM's who have issues with CR and die rolling chargen groups.  When you use point buy or standard array in 5e, a LOT of those CR balancing and encounter building issues go away.  It becomes a real choice as to whether you have a feat or an ASI.  When you start with an 18 or 19 in your base stat, why bother with an ASI?  It's just gilding the lily.  Go for the feat and you're prodding some serious buttock.As I said earlier, if your idea of a "normal" PC is one which has no stat penalties at all and nothing but bonuses otherwise, that PC is acting a level or possibly two higher than what it says on the character sheet.  No wonder DM's have encounter building issues.  They are lowballing the PC's power level.  The problem then becomes those self-same DM's start blaming the system for being broken.  "Oh, CR is borked" goes the cry.  No, it really isn't.  Not if you actually understand the underlying assumptions and what happens when you deviate from those assumptions.But, yeah, when your idea of a "normal" PC has no score below a 10 and several at 15 or higher, you're just begging for problems during the game.</blockquote>

Verification