Rolling for stats. Need some advice

[Dandu]

I suppose I shouldn't argue that it can't be fun; after all, the internet has taught me that what some people consider fun can be quite different from what I consider fun - either that or I am very judgmental when it comes to things like hot wax and leather.

What I would like to say instead is that it is not good practice for a game to start off the players on vastly different footing, a problem that is exacerbated when you roll for dice by the standard methods.

 

[Jackinthegreen]

The main basis for the fun aspect of it is rising to the challenge and beating it. There are times where it doesn't matter that someone else can do the same thing "better" because the challenge of doing the same thing with less means more to some people.

 

[Vegepygmy]

What I would like to say instead is that it is not good practice for a game to start off the players on vastly different footing...

I agree with this statement, but I consider character generation to be part of the game, and since everyone has the same chance to roll high or low for stats, the players aren't starting off on vastly different footing.

Today I may roll low, but tomorrow I'll roll high. Either way, I'll play the character and have fun doing it.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

I agree with this statement, but I consider character generation to be part of the game, and since everyone has the same chance to roll high or low for stats, the players aren't starting off on vastly different footing.

Today I may roll low, but tomorrow I'll roll high. Either way, I'll play the character and have fun doing it.

I guess if you have to reroll your ability scores at the start of every session, it would put people on more equal footing. Odd way to go about it, though.

 

[Greenfield]

I think you're misunderstanding him.

Today he'll roll low, and the PC will die in his first encounter.

Tomorrow he'll need to roll up a new PC, and then...

...his odds will be no better than they were today.

 

[SeamusRedfern]

I am starting up a new campaign and I gave my players the choice of rolling their stats using 4d6-lowest, 32 point buy, or the elite stat array. One of them chose 4d6-lowest, two of them took point buy, and the last one took the elite stat array. They seemed to enjoy the wide variety of choices but dislike that I am only letting them use the PHB, MM, Psionics, and Spell Compendium...

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

...Why in the hell would anyone take the elite array over 32 point buy? Isn't that like...outright worse?

Also, if you care...allowing Spell Compendium, which while mostly balanced is a MASSIVE chunk of spells added to the game, and nothing else for splatbooks is a huge, gigantic, incredible power boost for the spellcasters in the party relative to the noncasters. Just FYI.

EDIT: Yeah, XPH...it's on the online SRD, I don't usually even think of it as a splatbook anymore.

 

[SeamusRedfern]

Thanks for the advice. The only reason I'm limiting it to those books is they are the only ones we have on hand and my players refuse to buy books because ''thats my job as DM''

 

[Herzog]

D&D is, for a large part, a game of chance.

That said, not all rolls are equal. Rolling for stats stays with you your entire character's life, seconded by hp rolls.

That is why they introduced point-buy.

Turning the other way (more random generation instead of less) could be 'interesting' too:
Why not roll which skills you improve when you level up, as well as which class you'll be taking at each level (or, which class you'll start out at if you want to minimize multiclassing )

The question that comes to mind: why are some parts of the game random, while others are not?
Because completely random (roleplaying) games aren't that much fun (you have no influence at all, so you might as well all roll a couple of dice and see who get's the highest result)
Obviously, the game designers decided that the character's stats where some kind of middle ground. Some people would like them to be random, others would like to assign them. That's why both methods exist to choose from.

And reading this thread makes me realize they were right! (for a change....)
Some people prefer point-buy, others like random stats.
To each his/her own....

 

[Empirate]

Thanks for the advice. The only reason I'm limiting it to those books is they are the only ones we have on hand and my players refuse to buy books because ''thats my job as DM''

Wow. Your players suck balls. At least in this regard, that is. Way to go, hypocrites!