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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Greenfield" data-source="post: 5676322" data-attributes="member: 6669384">I know I'm late to the party, and I may have missed some of what's said.  Sorry if I end up retracing someone else's logic.I've done systems where point buy equals a solid average of adventurer class characters (which usually means head-and-shoulders better than non adventurer types.)  And players hated them.They detested the idea that "half the folks out there are 'better' than me."  Ignoring that it also means that half are worse off.A roll of 4D6 drop one averages to 12.25 (give or take a few decimal places.)3 D6 flat averages 10.5  Point buy can give a number of different "averages".  Paradoxically, the more high numbers you buy, the lower your average, since the cost of the higher numbers doesn't advance linearly.At the same time, getting a higher average but ending up with mediocre stats is far from satisfying.  Personally I like my characters to have a weakness or two that they have to cover for.  It gives them personality.The big advantage of point buy is that you can fine tune your numbers, landing starting stats on an even number when you want, or setting up for your next stat bump in advance.Six stats, rolled 4d6 drop lowest, will average around 73.5  (12.25+-  x 6)Six stats, rolled 3 D6 flat, will average 63.The difference is about 10.5, almost exactly the average of a 3D6 roll.  Coincidence?  I think not!  (Okay, maybe...)So consider this dice system:  Roll 3D6 for every stat, straight across.  Now roll a 7th time and treat these as option points, to be distributed among the other stats as you choose (max 18, of course, before racial mods).The average is almost exactly the same as if the players had rolled 4D6 dropping the lowest, but it gives them the choice of whether to bolster a low roll or boost a high one.  And if someone ends up with sucky numbers across the board, re-roll the lot as the system already allows.And if someone decides that they'll take that 8 in order to get that 18, it' their choice, and nobody is "forcing" them to do anything.  It's a little bit of both worlds.  The potential for high numbers exists, right along with the risk of low ones, but there's still a measure of control all the way.  (Note, the 4D6 system doesn't really average 12.25, it's actually slightly lower.  They'll average a fraction of a point lower with this system, but the difference is so small that it hardly matters.)</blockquote>

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