D&D 5E Seesaw: Yet Another Dice Method

[Zeddok]

The seesaw method helps you to get at least one exceptional attribute, some good attributes, and at least one mediocre or poor attribute. It is unlikley to create a total inept character.

Roll 6D6 and sort the results by their value. Add 12 to the highest die. Then subtract the next highest die from 13. Add 12 again to the third highest die. Continue alternating addition and subtraction until all six dice have been dealt with. As usual you are free to decide which result belongs to which attribute.

If the sum of the 6D6 was below 12, you are allowed to reroll.

Three examples:

6D6	Seesawed	Results Sorted
5	17	17
3	10	14
2	14	13
1	12	12
1	13	12
1	12	10

6D6	Seesawed	Results Sorted
6	18	18
5	8	16
4	16	15
4	9	10
3	15	9
3	10	8

6D6	Seesawed	Results Sorted
5	17	17
5	8	16
4	16	14
4	9	12
2	14	9
1	12	8

Hopefully the seasaw method has all the benefits of a dice method but only few of its disadvantages. What do you think?

 

[Morrus]

It sounds like a lot of work!

 

[sgtnasty]

Sounds very interesting, I wonder how it compares on average to the point buy method (as described in PHB 4e).

 

[Zeddok]

Edit: Suddenly I can see my deleted post again! It's a miracle, perhaps I am not a noob and the system is flawed...?!

Mods, you can delete this post (because I can't, right?
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(It seems that I accidentally deleted my first post, call me a noob!)

For DnD-Characters, I want some high attribute values, and single-digit values may be there sometimes. Point-buy is the fairest method, sure, but some randomness in the values would be nice, as long as the dice method doesn't produce results that are too far apart.

I'd like to introduce you (again) to another dice method that produces typical six values between 7 and 18 in a simple way, and always comes up with generally playable attributes:

1. Roll 6D6 and sort the dice by value.
2. Add "12" points to the highest result, subtract the second highest result from "13", add the third highest result back to "12" and so on.
3. Freely assign the final results to the attributes as you like.

If you initial 6D6 is 12 or less in sum, you are allowed to reroll.

Here are three of my sample runs:

6D6	Seesawed	Sorted by Value
5	17	17
3	10	14
2	14	13
1	12	12
1	13	12
1	12	10

6D6	Seesawed	Sorted by Value
6	18	18
5	8	16
4	16	15
4	9	10
3	15	9
3	10	8

6D6	Seesawed	Sorted by Value
5	17	17
5	8	16
4	16	14
4	9	12
2	14	9
1	12	8

What do you think (again)?

 

[Blue]

In 5e I don't like the concept of starting with a 20 after racial mods - it really takes what's a meaningful, character defining choice of ASI or feat and makes it nigh-meaningless because there's little opportunity cost.

I am intrigued by the shape of the curve, since it's spread across all six ability scores and half of them are inverted. I think SAD character benefit from this the most - you have roughly 2/3 chance of rolling a 6 on 6d6, so you will have a 17 or 18, which can be a 19 or 20 after racial. You will have three 13+ scores, but the other two are your 3rd best and 5th best, so a MAD character like a paladin (STR|DEX,CHR,CON) or a bladesinger (INT,DEX,CON) who wants 3 decent ones will find that harder to get.