Point buy

[Crothian]

No good reason? Characters get a +1 bonus every 4 levels. If I have odd ability scores I can get a useful boost at 4th level. I always have odd abilites when using point buy. My dwarf fighter has a 15 strength and a 17 con, just so at levels 4 and 8 I can boost them and get something worth while.

 

[KarinsDad]

No good reason? Characters get a +1 bonus every 4 levels. If I have odd ability scores I can get a useful boost at 4th level. I always have odd abilites when using point buy. My dwarf fighter has a 15 strength and a 17 con, just so at levels 4 and 8 I can boost them and get something worth while.

Your dwarf would do better off with 16 Strength and 16 Con (or alternatively, 14 Strength and 18 Con).

My way:

16 16 1-3
16 17 4-7
16 18 8-11

Your way:

15 17 1-3
16 17 4-7
16 18 8-11

Or alternatively:

My way:

14 18 1-3
15 18 4-7
16 18 8-11

Your way:

15 17 1-3
15 18 4-7
16 18 8-11

So, levels 4 to 11 are identical, but levels 1 to 3, your Dwarf had +1 to hit and +1 damage less than mine (or 1 hit point per level and 1 less Fort) and hence had less of a chance to survive.

I'm willing to entertain other reasons, but I have never thought of one that is actually strong. For example, having odd stats so that if you get odd ability score drained you might drop fewer actual mods is an extremely weak rationale as well.


The only two even vaguely valid reasons I can think of are:

1) Your way gives the option at level 4 to up either Str or Con (i.e. to choose at level 4 which is more important) and quite frankly, I'd rather have the boost to one of those two stats for 3 levels, more than having that option (which isn't typically worth that much).

2) Having a 13 Dex or 13 Wis (or somesuch) in order to qualify for feats. Again, the chances of you developing a character that requires BOTH Dex and Wis 13 before level 4 seems extremely rare and less of a benefit than having that extra boost in one of the two stats. Yes, you might have a rare character concept that needs this, but I suspect it would be extremely rare.


So yes, someone might have an unusual reason for doing this, but not just to actually gain something at both level 4 and level 8. That's counter-productive.

In 3E, buff spells was the main good reason. In 3.5, they took that away and there aren't any really strong reasons remaining.

 

[Crothian]

There are strong reasons, you just dismiss them as not. :\

 

[KarinsDad]

There are strong reasons, you just dismiss them as not. :\

Such as?

 

[Crothian]

well, you call them "Vaguely valuible" but I feel that the versatility of where the point can be placed is very useful. People can easily have 4 or even 6 odd attributes so they can show character growth that actually refelcts the role playing of the character. It seems the way you have it you'd already be locked into points into strength for instance. Where I will increase either strnegth of constitution based off of how the character is being played for thoise first few levels.

 

[Darkness]

Inherent bonuses are capped at +5, so even stats will become odd and vice versa. (Barring raises from levels, obviously.)

Hey, it's true. It's probably only relevant to (very) high-level characters but nonetheless. And getting only a +4 inherent bonus is just not the same.

 

[KarinsDad]

well, you call them "Vaguely valuible" but I feel that the versatility of where the point can be placed is very useful. People can easily have 4 or even 6 odd attributes so they can show character growth that actually refelcts the role playing of the character. It seems the way you have it you'd already be locked into points into strength for instance. Where I will increase either strnegth of constitution based off of how the character is being played for thoise first few levels.

I call that indecisiveness.

I get the exact same versatility that you do, I just happen to make my decision at level 1 instead of level 4. I get the same roleplaying opportunities, but my character is more able to survive as well. If you suddenly decide to be a Str Monster at level 4 and never put another point into Con, you have effectively wasted that extra point of Con (16 to 17) that you put in at first level and with point buy, you have wasted 2 point buy points.

You are not being objective if you think that waiting to decide compares in any way to having the extra +1 for 3 levels (or even +1 through +3 for many levels with 6 odd stats).

Giving up abilities at earlier levels just in order to regain those same abilities at later level is not a strong reason. It's a relatively weak one.

 

[two]

agree with KarinsDad

I agree with KarinsDad.

Any possible benefit of 15/17 is far, far outweighed by 16/16 in the early levels. Not even close.

It's one of the great faillings of the 3.5 D&D system that "odd" numbered stats are not encouraged -- at all. There is no reason NOT to have races that give odd-numbered bonuses (+1, +3) or stat buff spells that give odd-numbered bonuses -- except to insure that nobody ever has an odd stat if they can help it.

It's really pretty lame. If you had races that granted +1 to str, -1 to con or whatever, you would occasionally have a mechanical "reason" to point-buy an odd stat. You don't even have that now, unless you have spare point-buy points left over and have to put them somewhere.

(or need a 13 in a stat for a feat).

 

[Jack Simth]

A spellcasting class has pretty good reason to buy odd stats: Middle age. Middle age decreases the three physical stats by 1 each, and increases the three mental stats by one each - so that 15 cha goes to 16 (and you gain a point of bonus), while that 11 str goes to 10 (and you don't lose a point of bonus); same with the others. If all your stats are odd when you advance to middle age (or start the game middle-aged....), you don't lose any stat bonuses, but you do gain some.

Of course, that's a wierd way of going about it, as you are purchasing odd stats to get even ones....

 

[Crothian]

I call that indecisiveness.

Actually it is role playing. It is not planning out the character for the first ten levels before the first adventure. It is having the character choices actually reflect what happens in the game and not based on what the player decided when he created the character.

edit: and it should be noted that the option that is the more powerful one I never see as being automitcally the right choose like it seems others are.