Point buy

[diaglo]

Does that actually work with 3E? In AD&D you tended to have fewer penalties and bonuses due to requiring more extreme scores to get them so having a str 12 Dex 10 Int 8 Wis 9 CON 11 Cha 8 was a perfectly acceptable figher.

In 3E I had 14, 12, 10, 10, 8, 8 as stats the one time that I rolled. In the same group another player had the equivalent of 37 point buy. It was a very annoying experience and taught me to suspect dice methods alot.

I think the elite array is undersold!

yeah, it works. the latest campaign i'm in with howandwhy99 as the DM i have rolled up three PCs in 2 sessions.

http://www.circvsmaximvs.com/showthread.php?t=408

 

[MonsterMash]

When I do use points buy its at 25 points, but usually it's let the dice decide.

 

[JoeBlank]

I likes me some point buy.

On edit: Forgot to say, I'm fine with 25-28 point buy.

Don't get me wrong, I like rolling too. In OD&D I would feel strange doing anything but rolling 3d6 in order. There is something exciting about letting the dice decide your fate, right from the beginning.

But I don't get to play enough, and I think that is why I like point buy. When you use point buy, everyone can have their characters ready to go at the first session of a campaign, or after having a PC die. I can spend time at home thinking about what I would like to play and making it work.

I know some people do this by allowing players to roll up characters on their own. I don't like doing that. I trust my friends, and I know they trust me, but the day I roll up a guy with 6 18s I want a witness.

But then what do I know, I actually went to a Vanilla Ice concert.*

*My sister made me go, I won't lie, I had a good time.

 

[wayne62682]

FWIW I had voted 28-31 on the poll.

I always see the argument against point buy being that it creates "cookie-cutter" characters, i.e. every fighter is going to have a 15 Str, 14 Con, and so on. I don't think this is the case, and I prefer point buy over rolling for two reasons:

1) Using point buy allows me to build a concept first, and assign stats based on that concept. Rolling dice, however "oldschool" it might be, forces you to create a character based on the rolls. Even without the ridiculous minum scores anymore, my concept may be shot to hell because of very low or very high rolls. With point buy, I get to assign the stats how I see fit, and in the manner that best suits my concept.

2) Even IF point buy results in similar characters, I think that's the ultimate test of being a good roleplayer; having a character with near-identical stats to another character (and same class, for sake of argument) but developing that character totally opposite. Sure, both of our fighters may have a similar stat array, but any roleplayer worth his/her salt can develop a memorable character despite that. Abilities do not make a well-developed character.

 

[el-remmen]

I'm telling ya stat draft (or see here) is the way to go. . .

 

[lukelightning]

For that matter, if that's your attitude toward dice-rolling stats, Luke, and your DM doesn't bother to watch you roll stats, why not just pick six ability scores out of thin air for your character... How's your DM ever to know that you didn't roll them up?

That's why I approve of point buy over rolling; my "scrapping and rerolling till you get what you want" is an example of why: Save the time and just use point-buy. There is plenty of time in the game to get screwed by randomness when you roll a 1 on your save vs. petrification or death-dragon-demon-doom-destruction.

 

[Nonlethal Force]

I have grown to love the 32 point-buy.

I always feel dissappointed with a dice roll because the very next time expenditure is the macho argument of "whose stats are biggest." I hate that. With a point buy, if your stats are lower its the way you chose them. I find there is much less arguing and better player appreciation of their characters with a point buy. From my perspective, the game is about player happiness not "sticking to a system" so I go with what makes 'em happy (with a reasonable cap, too.).

I used to use a system that was similar to one spoken of earlier in this thread: The sum of your ability scores must be 86, no score is above 18 before racial modifiers are applied. This typically lead to scores like: 18, 16, 16, 14, 12, 10. I found players really liked that system. Then I met a guy that I agreed to play with who wanted to play a character with: 18, 18, 18, 18, 8, 3, 3. He was adamant and would not budge. While legal, I think we can all see how such a character is not a real representation of any person - even a hero. I later learned that this guy was an all around jerk and only played to kill things and jerk the DM around by whining when 3rd party munchkin sources weren't allowed. I should've never let him in in the first place...

To the person that asked a few pages ago, I found the stat generation system of adding up all the scores to go a total of 80-86 very satisfying as long as you add in the following two rules: no stat above 18 before racial mods and no stat below 8 before racial mods. If you don't add those rules in it allows for mathematical abuse. If you do add those rules in you might as well go with a 32 or 36 point buy. I ultimately chose a 32 point buy because it is much more easily understood than "Add 'em up to get ____ ."

 

[hong]

There's no point in rolling the dice for chargen unless there's also a chance of dying.


Hong "misses Traveller" Ooi

 

[lukelightning]

Also, as a DM I have the power to pick just about everything and control the universe; I might as well give the players a little power to control their own character's destiny.

I should point out that in other game I feel differently: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, for example: I am firmly for randomness in that game.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

Which leaves you with a bland bunch of characters, at least stat-wise. Inequality through random chance is not a bad thing in and of itself; far worse is built-up inequalities through what some might call powergaming.Lanefan

Why? it yields the same results as your stupid random method. People put their good stats in their prime req. JUst you dont have the BS of people throwing away charcters because they dont like rolls, stupid stat drafts, rolling lots of sets, etc. Its fair.