Stat Generation - your wierd and wacky ways

[Crothian]

I used to have my players roll 4d6-1 in lots of 6, but the players often kept rolling and rolling. I've tried to explain that a 14 in 3E is a good stat, but it often falls on deaf ears.

Ya, that is a big problem. Even people on EN World who like to think of themselves as a little more educated on characters and such can't seem to understand this.

 

[Edgar Ironpelt]

I like the *concept* of point buy, and it's the right system for Hero, GURPS, etc. I also see the problem of random rolls blessing or hosing the player due to the whim of the Dice Gods.

OTOH, I see randomness in character generation as an important D&D tradition, and I dislike the way the official point buy rules charge a steep premium on high ability scores (e.g. an 18 and a 10 have a much higher point cost than two 14s)

So the system I've come up with for my campaign involves elements of both:

Roll 3d6 and record the results in order. These are the *minimums* (before racial adjustments) for your ability scores.

Increase any or all of these scores as desired up to 18, until the total of the six ability scores reaches 79. (This gives an average score of 13-1/6th in each ability.)

Apply racial adjustments.

Special cases:

If the *five highest* of the six ability scores rolled add up to 65 or more, then you may choose to roll a new set of minimum scores. If the six scores rolled add up to more than 79, you may either roll another set or else *reduce* the scores rolled until the total reaches 79.

Notes:

The total ability modifier with this method ranges from +7 to +9, depending on how many odd scores the player takes.

The 3d6 "floor" limits the ability of the player to have a "dump" stat, and the randomness adds what I think is a nice "traditional" feel to the characters. Of course that same randomness necessarily prevents the player from always being able to have the exact character he wants.

The choice element OTOH keeps the player from being completely hosed. He can always take one high ability score, and can ususally take two. He can also avoid being saddled with a low score that he really dislikes.

It is a tradeoff between random and chosen scores, but IMHO it's a good one.

 

[Imret]

Well, I'll say up front I prefer random rolls to point buy; then again, I prefer not gaming to point-buy, especially as written. That said, we've used a few methods to generate characters:

In 2nd Ed, one of our players devised a chart with the number of dice one could roll to determine each stat, based on the class you wanted to play; you still might not make paladin, but 6d6 keep 3 was better on your odds than 3d6.

We've had the DM's gamble (players roll, DM rolls, player picks one) per roll and in groups of six.

One temporary DM designed three groups of stats he felt made appropriate characters: 18, 12, 10, 10, 8, 8
15, 13, 13, 11, 10, 9
14, 14, 12, 10, 10, 10
and let you pick one to assign them as you liked. This was...less fun.

We've used "We're all adults" once or twice.

One of our most memorable campaigns had each player roll 4 stats with 4d6, drop the lowest, then add an 18 and an 8; one exceptional strength, one weakness, and four random stats. Made some very interesting characters, that did.

Most commonly it was 4d6, drop the lowest, two 1s in a roll permitting a reroll. As DMs, no-one I know plays nice.

 

[scottin]

This is what I call the BAR method (Base, Assigned, Random).

1) All stats have a base value of 6
2) +1d6 (rolled and assigned as desired)
3) +1d6 (rolled in stat order)

Players have some control, but there is just enough randomness to keep it interesting.

I have to admit, I am one of those DMs that like low scores, but I like High scores too. Mos of the systems end up with either all medicore numbers, or all high numbers. This isn't what I believe a Hero should be. Heros should be REALLY good at something, but not everything.

Psi, I REALLY liked this idea, so I started playing with it a little. The more I played with it, I realized that I wanted more randomness AND more player control. (I know, sounds contradictory). So this is what I came up with. I call it the Best of All Worlds.

1) 22 point buy, may asign 1-6 to any stat, must total 22
2) Roll 2d6, choose 1 (usually the best), assign in order (Str, Dex, Con, etc.)
3) Roll 2d6, choose 1 (usually the best), do this 6x, assign as desired.

I might consider the bonus points add-on, but I like what I am seeing when I use this. It seems to me that steps 2 & 3 OUGHT to add up to at least 22, but that could be an additional addition.

FYI, I ran this a number of times, recreating my favorite char ATM, a Rogue/Sorc. Priorities look like this:
1. Dex
2: Cha
3: No 8s
4: Int
5: Con
6: Str
7: Wis
I ran it 25 times, and got between 69 and 85 points, averaging 76.7, meaning that the bonus wasn't really all that necessary. I never got set of stats that didn't get a score of 10 or lower. Only 5x did I not get a score of less that 10. Only once I didn't get a 16 or higher. (Tho as a kind DM, I did reroll the 14 dex/12 Cha set) 4x I didn't get a 17 or 18.

I think that this may be the system I use from now on. I really like the range of number that I get, some high and some low on all runs. I can be tailored by the player to ensure no incredibly low scores, unless that is desired, and gives real possibilites of 18 (4x out of the 10 rolls). This seems to eliminate some of the bell curve problems also.

sgc