D&D 5E Rolled character stats higher than point buy?

[mflayermonk]

Giving out inspiration to players that actually embrace their low rolls (i.e. they don't sit silently during every social situation because of their low charisma, they don't try to contribute to planning or puzzle solving because of low intelligence, and so on) is an idea I support.

I think all of us have a PC we loved playing for his/her flaws as much as the awesomeness.

Really, I support anything that might help my own group finally get into the swing of using Inspiration. We're currently struggling to get the players past the feeling that if they bring up whether or not something was worth inspiration that they are doing the undesirable behavior of begging for bennies, while I am also struggling to find a solution for me not always remembering every background detail of every character...

I've been having trouble with PCs begging for bennies as well. My general approach is to freely give one inspiration for each of a combat/RP/exploration task, per PC.

 

[Oofta]

One of the reasons I like point buy is that it reinforces the fact that you do not have to have super high stats in 5E. Yeah, it's great to have a 20 strength at first level, but a 16 works well. Personally I like the room to grow and having to make decisions as I level whether I take a feat or bump a stat.

One other comment ... I get really tired of people telling others they're immature if they don't agree with their point of view. I don't think having a wide disparity of ability numbers is fair or the basis for a good game. Disagree? That's fine. But if I'm playing in the same campaign for months or years I want my character to be on roughly even footing.

If you think everyone in your group is perfectly fine with rolling, it's quite possible you're like the DM of yore who laughed when my wife asked for another chance. To this day he probably thinks no one ever had a problem with rolling even though it was one of the reasons we quit the campaign.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

I've never much agreed with any of the reasons people give for liking rolling random stats.

I am curious what you think regarding the following reasons:

"I have no idea what I want to play, so I'll just roll scores down the line and choose whatever they seem good for." (My wife's reason, though she typically means she has too many different things she wants to play and can't figure out which she wants more than the others rather than actually having no idea at all what she wants to play.)

"I don't want whatever my score for this ability is to have any direct relationship to what my other scores can possibly be." (My own reason for preferring to roll rather than point-buy.)

 

[thecasualoblivion]

I am curious what you think regarding the following reasons:

"I have no idea what I want to play, so I'll just roll scores down the line and choose whatever they seem good for." (My wife's reason, though she typically means she has too many different things she wants to play and can't figure out which she wants more than the others rather than actually having no idea at all what she wants to play.)

"I don't want whatever my score for this ability is to have any direct relationship to what my other scores can possibly be." (My own reason for preferring to roll rather than point-buy.)

The first one is a situation I find myself in a lot, and have an entirely different solution which is to let every other player make their character first, and then I build whatever is missing. In fact, I'd say I do this more than 50% of the time. I'm creating a character tonight and I'll be using this method, though in my case I've already made a character of every class(sometimes 2) in advance.

The second one I don't disagree with per se, but it's a sentiment I've never personally felt.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

The first one is a situation I find myself in a lot, and have an entirely different solution which is to let every other player make their character first, and then I build whatever is missing.

I suppose if my group had some definition of what is needed for a party, there would then appear to be something missing once the other players had created their characters besides "whatever my character is."

The second one I don't disagree with per se, but it's a sentiment I've never personally felt.

I can see not feeling the sentiment behind it. For me it mostly stems from a very simple thing - real people don't actually have to choose between being X or Y, such as being strong and tough or smart and likeable, so a mechanic that forces me to choose between X or Y feels like a poor choice of way to determine the base capabilities of a fictional person I'm meant to believe in enough to pretend their life.

Thanks for answering my curiosity.

 

[famousringo]

How about rolled stats are fun just like all the other dice in the game are fun? It's a gamble and gambling is fun.

Rolling an 18 is just as exciting as getting a natural 20 on your attack or rolling max damage on an AoE spell (happened twice last session even though 3d8 is 1 in 512 and 4d6 is 1 in 1,296... It's not cheating, it's just chaos).

I know crits are fleeting while 18s are persistent, but point buy is like taking 10 on character generation. It might be safe, fair, and reliable, but the thrill is gone. I'd rather put up with cheaters than sanitize my DnD experience.

 

[The Cheshire Goat]

I grew up on Basic D&D, moving to 1st edition AD&D. We always rolled stats, eventually settling on 4d6 drop the low, re-roll 1's. Put them where you want. I agree with the above poster that said the 'gambling' aspect of rolling stats is just fun.

The point system for stats seems like a decent way, but I still prefer to roll. 3d6 in order is a little too much for me, though I would play it that way if everybody in the party was doing it. It can be fun that way too.

Buying stats just seems sanitary and safe to me. I like an element of risk in character generation, I suppose.

 

[Ath-kethin]

I find it interesting that apparently nobody here seems to just use the standard array method, which is what we do at my table.

I have found over the years that the best way to encourage teamwork and diminish competition is to just give everyone the same numbers and have them arrange as desired; I've been doing it that way since the late 1990s. It also tends to be much faster.

 

[neobolts]

I have not personally rolled D&D stats or HP at level up for over a decade now. Our group's mentality is that chance is best left to moment-to-moment rolls, not to outcomes that last a lifetime.

 

[Celebrim]

I like an element of risk in character generation, I suppose.

Ok

We always rolled stats, eventually settling on 4d6 drop the low, re-roll 1's. Put them where you want.

Doesn't really seem that risky. In fact, my guess is that is a very low risk method, with an average result of a bit over 14. I just tested it, and first time got 18, 15, 14, 14, 14, 13. So yeah, not seeing the risk.