Second Son of a Second Son: The Stat Draft

[monboesen]

to have Con as one of the lower, if not the lowest, stats.

A dangerous decision in any D&D game. And based on El-remmens current story hour maybe even more dangerous in his game

 

[Rastfar]

Well I had fun. And I like to think that, at least in part, why I ended up with an 86 (+11) point stat set had something to do with my selection strategy. But I may be putting too much faith into my algorithms and astrological calculations.

I will say this - I wish I'd at least gotten a shot a decent wild score.

Also, in the second round there was a lot less cooperation as my character concept was shattered by the third pick. Being the only character with a mandatory stat requirement - Cha 13 - I was a little disappointed that I wouldn't get the opportunity to 'pick' my set. Nonetheless, I am overjoyed with what I've got.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Also, in the second round there was a lot less cooperation as my character concept was shattered by the third pick. Being the only character with a mandatory stat requirement - Cha 13 - I was a little disappointed that I wouldn't get the opportunity to 'pick' my set.

Weren't the 15 and 16 Cha scores still available at your third pick?

-Hyp.

 

[Ciaran]

Well I had fun. And I like to think that, at least in part, why I ended up with an 86 (+11) point stat set had something to do with my selection strategy. But I may be putting too much faith into my algorithms and astrological calculations.

You're putting too much faith in your algorithms and too little faith in my generosity. If I had taken the 14 Wis in the last round and left you with the 9 Wis, I would have had the 86 point stat set and you would have had the 81.

 

[Rastfar]

Well, as of my pick they were. I hadn't anticipated them both then being picked before I could choose one again in the fourth round. Perhaps it was my error in making the assumption that one would be left for me. Especially since such a point was made of it in the previous draft. And as we were all 'playing nice' (read: let the higher stats linger for those who we knew really needed/wanted/woulda whined about it) This had a double effect of allowing those who had 'high stats locked' to scrape the middle for better stats, before being forced to commit to the stat that was 'theirs'. In my case, I wasn't looking for anything higher than a 15, this was OK, but also made my picks more competitive. I assumed I wouldn't get locked out. Alas we all know what happens with assumptions. Keep in mind the 'not talking' rules; and liking to follow rules, I said nothing. Unlike some who constantly spoke out of turn. I guess I was just put off by the unspoken rules laid down by the players not being consistent; or at least as it felt to me.

Anyway, as I stated before. My first set was remarkable, so I didn't grouse. Plus it's still a respectable set in the pool for another PC. Overall I'm very happy, had a great time, and look forward to doing it again when none of us have preconceived character ideas and/or discussion ahead of time.

 

[Rastfar]

Thank you Ciaran, you prove my point. We let the monster Str. and Con. stats linger for you knowing your concept and you did me a favor by not locking me out of Cha. I assumed the same would maybe happen again.....

And it's not little faith in your generosity, it was a lot of faith in you as a player. The same faith I expected we all had in each other in our unspoken contracts.

 

[Ciaran]

Thank you Ciaran, you prove my point. We let the monster Str. and Con. stats linger for you knowing your concept and you did me a favor by not locking me out of Cha. I assumed the same would maybe happen again.....

And it's not little faith in your generosity, it was a lot of faith in you as a player. The same faith I expected we all had in each other in our unspoken contracts.

I suspect that people just forgot under pressure; I know that I did. I seem to recall a whole lot of "oh god I forgot you needed that, can I change my pick" in both rounds. You just didn't make a fuss until it was too late, you rules-adherer, you.

 

[Ratchis]

Your players seem to prioritise high Cha, that is a refreshing change from most players. Any particular reason?

The concept of my character is summed uo well by the reputation I chose, 'Affable Ne'er-Do-Well'. While he is very competent in the things that interest him (sleight-of-hand, locks and how to bypass them, juggling, etc.), he is not a very good noble. However, he has been able to get by with his shining personality. People (besides his father) just generally like him and let him slip by. Currently, the skill I have put the most points into is bluff and this is a core attribute of the character. Thus, charisma was #3 on my 'need' list but unlike with Int., I was not competing with two other characters who needed Cha. as their core attribute. Also, Ratchis has a Cha. of 9 and I wanted a change after 5 years of that.

At first glance the Aristocrat/Rogue seems to be in a tight spot if it comes to fighting. Low Str, Low Con. Without sneak attack and weapon finesse the character could have a hard time.

All my rogues save one (who was almost an NPC and actually triple-classed) have died in O's games (my bard didn't survive either), but we will see what I can do. If he dies I have some decent stats to choose from though my idea for a Ranger/Rogue won't be easy with what is there.

I have weapon finesse and am concentrating on abilities that will raise my AC. For example, there is a feat in Aquerra called Dueling Stance that raises AC by 2 while in the stance. I will also being taking full advantage of a high tumble to get more AC when fighting defensively. I am also going to get Improved Parry and Riposte (which will allow me to counter-attack on a successful parry). Oh, I also took the Aquerra feat Armor Focus for a -1 to my AC and will be taking Dodge next level.

As Osvaldo mentioned, this character is at heart a coward and he will be happy to hide and fire off his heavy crossbow every other round until forced out into the open where he will work hard to make his AC as high as possible and avoid blows until he can get help from the more martially-oriented characters.

 

[Papewaio of The Org]

There is a danger of 'meta-drafting' 3 take the best stats from the first draft, the other 3 take the best from the second.

I like the method and would mean that players would have a better knowledge of each others needs and attributes. More buy in on each others character development and hence stronger campaign tie ins. And keeping the left over points for future characters adds another support to a campaign arc.

Does a new character get free range with all the dice stats? Or do they have to pick the best from one, second best from the second choice... down to the worst of the last choice?

 

[el-remmen]

Does a new character get free range with all the dice stats? Or do they have to pick the best from one, second best from the second choice... down to the worst of the last choice?

New characters choose one of the left over six sets, but must choose a set of six. No mixing and matching.