The last time we did rolled ability scores was in 3.5, and we ended up with an elf ranger with and 18, 16, 16, 13, 12, 12 starting stats (best I've ever seen) and a human mage with something like -2 net bonus. I offered to let him reroll his stats, but he wanted to play it.
No one had an issue with it, but it was hard to make an encounter that the ranger didn't just roll over without threatening to TPK the group.
We did point buy after that, and then 4E point buy really turned character creation into it's own mini-game.
After 4E Essentials fell flat, we discovered 13th Age, when your three defenses are each based on the MEAN() value of three ability scores (AC = CON/DEX/WIS, Physical Defense = STR/CON/DEX, Mental Defense = INT/WIS/CHA). You're practically expected to have two 8's in your stats, and because you add your level to ability checks, you barely notice it. For example, a fighter with 16str, 14con, 8dex, 8int, 14wis, 14cha then puts +2 to STR and CON, and ends up with +3 starting AC, +4 starting PD, +3 starting MD, and +5 to STR attacks, +0 to DEX attacks.
Back in BECMI, the difference between a 13 and a 15 was... nothing, except an XP bonus for Prime Requisite. Your attributes weren't constantly climbing, either. In 13th Age you get to raise 1 point to 2 attributes 3 times in the life of the character, so if you're really gaming the optimization, you want an odd number for your main attack stat.
So for 5E, I'm not sure. Your attributes have much more impact than the old days, as a 16 is giving the same bonus that an 18 used to. Plus your attributes increase throughout the game, and the math has always been expecting +X to hit at a given level, especially in 4E. I don't know how critical that is in 5E. While I'm a little tired of seeing the same cookie-cutter stat-blocks on every character, at the same time there is some comfort in knowing that the players will start on level ground. *shrug*
No one had an issue with it, but it was hard to make an encounter that the ranger didn't just roll over without threatening to TPK the group.
We did point buy after that, and then 4E point buy really turned character creation into it's own mini-game.
After 4E Essentials fell flat, we discovered 13th Age, when your three defenses are each based on the MEAN() value of three ability scores (AC = CON/DEX/WIS, Physical Defense = STR/CON/DEX, Mental Defense = INT/WIS/CHA). You're practically expected to have two 8's in your stats, and because you add your level to ability checks, you barely notice it. For example, a fighter with 16str, 14con, 8dex, 8int, 14wis, 14cha then puts +2 to STR and CON, and ends up with +3 starting AC, +4 starting PD, +3 starting MD, and +5 to STR attacks, +0 to DEX attacks.
Back in BECMI, the difference between a 13 and a 15 was... nothing, except an XP bonus for Prime Requisite. Your attributes weren't constantly climbing, either. In 13th Age you get to raise 1 point to 2 attributes 3 times in the life of the character, so if you're really gaming the optimization, you want an odd number for your main attack stat.
So for 5E, I'm not sure. Your attributes have much more impact than the old days, as a 16 is giving the same bonus that an 18 used to. Plus your attributes increase throughout the game, and the math has always been expecting +X to hit at a given level, especially in 4E. I don't know how critical that is in 5E. While I'm a little tired of seeing the same cookie-cutter stat-blocks on every character, at the same time there is some comfort in knowing that the players will start on level ground. *shrug*
