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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tony Vargas" data-source="post: 7242743" data-attributes="member: 996">Admittedly, 5e balance is not remotely 'fine-tuned' to begin with, but the potential imbalance from random stats can be pretty profound.  It's not so much a matter of not caring if one PC has far better stats than another, as it must be liking it that way, now & then. In context, it assumes that the campaign lasts significantly more than the "few minutes" it takes to generate the character.   Lan plays 1e.  1e PCs are like the atoms of matter hanging around after symmetry breaks.  Miraculous, in a way, but all there is. Edit: I suppose, on second thought, if you don't count death at 1st level against "long-term survivability," it could work out that way, though. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> I've always found they do, under random generation, that is - at least, certain stats, like DEX or CON or primary stats. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />  I mean, more hps or more AC or better at what you do helps you survive, obviously.   But there's a perverse player-side aspect to it, too:  High-stat characters, though often the most capable in the party, sometimes are the most cautious, because, now that you've finally gotten the stats to unlock whatever coveted class/MAD-build you've been dying to play, you're not going to just, well, let it die.  Conversely, even if re-rolls aren't allowed, rolling a new character usually is, so playing less cautiously - including drinking from every magic pool, and donning every suspicious magic item, drawing the limit from that Deck of Many Things, etc - can get you a better character, one way or another. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />Of course, depending on the DM the classic game could be so randomly (or certainly) deadly that player motivation & skill might not amount to a lot......then there's perverse DM-side aspects to the wonderfully or pitifully rolled PC.... I've always found they do, under random generation, that is - at least, certain stats, like DEX or CON or primary stats. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />  I mean, more hps or more AC or better at what you do helps you survive, obviously.   But there's a perverse player-side aspect to it, too:  High-stat characters, though often the most capable in the party, sometimes are the most cautious, because, now that you've finally gotten the stats to unlock whatever coveted class/MAD-build you've been dying to play, you're not going to just, well, let it die.  Conversely, even if re-rolls aren't allowed, rolling a new character usually is, so playing less cautiously - including drinking from every magic pool, and donning every suspicious magic item, drawing the limit from that Deck of Many Things, etc - can get you a better character, one way or another. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />Of course, depending on the DM the classic game could be so randomly (or certainly) deadly that player motivation & skill might not amount to a lot......then there's perverse DM-side aspects to the wonderfully or pitifully rolled PC....</blockquote>

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