D&D 4E Should hit points continue to be generated randomly in 4e?

[sjmiller]

Play a game of Traveller. That way your players have a chance of having their character die during character creation. Makes for easy roleplaying bonuses when you aren't able to make the weekly game.

OKay, just to lay this thing to rest, Traveller did indeed start out with the possibility of character death during creation. However, in later printings and in all the later editions (MegaTraveller, Traveller:The New Era, etc.) this is but one option. Another option was made to allow those who failed a Survival roll to muster out on a short term with reduced benefits. So yes, at one time what you said was true, but that has not been the case since the early 1980s.

 

[sjmiller]

This is exactly what people DON'T want. They want to shape their character in their minds first and translate it to paper through skill and feat and class choices, not shape it with random die rolls.

I guess this shows the different mindset of different types of gamers. Just about everyone I have ever played with comes to D&D with a blank slate when it comes to character creation. You roll the dice, see what stats you get, and then you decide on what sort of character you are going to play. That has been the case for 28 years. Only recently, and really only from what I have read here, do I find D&D players who come to the character creation process with a fully formed character idea/design.

 

[Cadfan]

You roll the dice, see what stats you get, and then you decide on what sort of character you are going to play. That has been the case for 28 years.

You don't permit players to assign their rolls to the stats of their choice?

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

You roll the dice, see what stats you get, and then you decide on what sort of character you are going to play.

And in all of my time playing (something more than 10 years now), I've never come to a table (other than my very first, where I was handed a pregen) without the majority of players thinking, "You know, this time I think I'd like to play an [X]."

 

[sjmiller]

You don't permit players to assign their rolls to the stats of their choice?

That often times depends on the DM or the group's preference. I have played in OD&D games where you roll them in order (AD&D 1e too) and others where you roll and then place them.

 

[Korgoth]

Anecdote: I was rolling some NPC stats last night for a campaign world I'm working on. I was rolling for a minor cleric (level 3, which is not minor in itself but this is the cathedral) of the Church of Law in the main city-state of my campaign region. I came up with terrible strength, low intelligence, terrible constitution, but a stellar wisdom and amazing charisma. Answer: this is a "gramps" character. He never rose high in the Church because he had neither the natural wit or ambition, but he's an excellent pastor and savvy about human nature; he is the most beloved figure in the local Church.

My point is, bad scores contribute as much flavor as good rolls. Even though this is an NPC, the same holds true of a PC. If I rolled such a character at level 1, he could still be a beloved and grandfatherly fellow who was an acolyte and is now taking up the cause (perhaps he was in charge of a minor shrine for many years, but now has been replaced and instead of retiring has decided to go on a crusade, or whatever). Is the character handicapped? Sure. That's fun in D&D. I don't think it would be fun in something like Exalted (just like nobody wants to play Aunt May in a Marvel Supers game) where people jump over mountains and kill 15 godzillas per encounter or whatever it is, but in a relatively more down to earth setting there's a chance for Gramps to do something useful. And hey, maybe he will have a meteoric rise to uberness. Or, maybe he will end up slain on level 4 of the dungeon. Gramps is a "high stakes" character: he's either going to win big (i.e., at all!) or lose big. Chances are, the group will get a big charge out of him either way.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

As for the fighter with the glass jaw, if 4 levels in I find I've got bupkus for hit points then I'm just going to change my focus a bit...instead of ante-ing up for the big splashy weapon I'm going to find me the best defenses money can buy (or the party will let me have when dividing treasury) and wait awhile for the weapon.

I don't want to let the game dictate how I'm going to create my character. I don't want to be forced to decrease my offensive capability so I can get the defensive capability I should have in the first place because of my class and stat choices (and maybe more than that).

Plus, I don't want to increase my AC. I want the HP I deserve. I don't want to be canned meat that is cooked canned meat when a fireball hits me - because even if you save against those, many effects will hurt you and you can't do much about it. And it's not like you can render your character untouchable for normal attacks, either.

What it comes down to is to some extent letting the dice shape your character, instead of going in with a hard-and-fast "this is what I'm gonna play no matter what" mindset.

And that's something I don't want. I want to play the character I envisioned, not the character the dice forced upon me.
If some people want to relinquish their right to choose their character, let them, but the standard game should not do that. Besides, 3e did away with lots of restrictions, 4e will probably continue the trend, and random ability scores and HP are restrictions of a form.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

My point is, bad scores contribute as much flavor as good rolls.either way.

I agree, IFF* I don't already have flavor in mind.

If I sit down, and think, "This time, I'd like to play the dashing swashbuckler who always gets in over his head and has a way with the ladies," and end up with 18 Strength, 6 Dex, and a 14 Wisdom, well, then, I'm hosed.

If I sit down, and think, "Gee, I dunno what I want to play, let's see what the dice give me," I'm more than happy to translate those scores into a character.

However, I've generally got an idea of what I want to play already in mind when we sit down for a campaign, as do most of the players at my table. Accordingly, random rolls for ability scores tend to get in the way.

* That's "If and Only If."

 

[Kae'Yoss]

If I sit down, and think, "Gee, I dunno what I want to play, let's see what the dice give me," I'm more than happy to translate those scores into a character.

I'll get a Three Dragon Reading about my character then.

 

[cerberus2112]

My standard house rule: Roll* a set of stats. You can use either the stats you roll or an elite array.

*(Using the 3.x rules for rerolling stats if they are poor.)