D&D 5E (2014) Stats, and how do you generate them

[GlassJaw]

I love that 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8 is the new "standard". Since all races have positive stat modifiers, there are plenty of ways to boost stats and bounded accuracy, it's perfect, fast and fair to everyone at the table.

 

[fjw70]

For my adult game standard point buy.

When playing with the kids we drop ability scores and just use the bonuses. Spread +9 around with no more than +3 in any one stat and only one -1 is allowed. Races don't give stat boosts.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

everyone gave some good insight, I'm afraid I am no closer now then I was when I started this thread to know what the right answer is... but thanks

 

[the Jester]

4d6 drop lowest, arrange to taste. No extra stat. If I (as DM) think the array you generate is boring, start over, but you keep it the third time through.

A "boring" array is usually something with neither any really high or really low stats (generally, everything is in the 8 to 13 range).

 

[aramis erak]

everyone gave some good insight, I'm afraid I am no closer now then I was when I started this thread to know what the right answer is... but thanks

Really, just let them pick individually between array and point buy. Either way produces decent, well rounded characters.

Rolling will be substandard.

 

[delericho]

I'm afraid I am no closer now then I was when I started this thread to know what the right answer is...

I'm afraid there is no one "right answer". Believe me, I spent years going backwards and forward on ability generation methods and never found one that sat quite right. Random methods seemed to alway give one PC much better or worse than the rest (or, most often, both), while point buy seemed to invariably give cookie cutter characters.

Eventually, my epiphany came in the realisation that, really, it didn't matter all that much. As long as everyone was having fun, and as long as no PC was too dominant, then it all worked out okay. And so I started giving the choice.

(And that one case, where one PC was too dominant, turned out to be as likely due to optimisation and system mastery as good rolls. So point buy didn't actually help with that. So even in that case, the solution was more likely to be a quiet word with that one player, rather than re-jigging the stat generation method again in pursuit of a holy grail that doesn't seem to exist.)

 

[Tormyr]

I am one of those boring people that suggests you use the standard option the first time through and see how it plays out. With point buy, everyone is on equal footing. My understanding is that people generally choose to roll their stats is the chance of getting high starting numbers. However, by fourth level, a player can attain the high ability scores available. Only a tiny percentage will get 18s when rolling stats, and a decent number of players could get a real stinker of an array.

Someone using point buy can have 2 18s by 4th level if that is what is important to them. I had a player with a Rogue/Monk who used point buy to get a starting 17 in both Dexterity and Wisdom. When level 4 rolled around, she had an 18 in both Dexterity and Wisdom and a starting AC of 18 (19 with her ring of protection).

 

[thalmin]

For those that want to roll, roll 4d6, discard lowest die, once for each stat, no rerolls. If character is substandard, take standard array only. Those that chose point-buy use value generated by highest rolled character, or standard point-buy if higher. Replacement characters will have point value of their original characters.

You want to gamble? You must be willing to lose.

 

[txshusker]

When playing with the kids we drop ability scores and just use the bonuses. Spread +9 around with no more than +3 in any one stat and only one -1 is allowed. Races don't give stat boosts.

that's interesting... I like that. It allows more variance in racial picks.

 

[S_Dalsgaard]

I went with standard array in our newest campaign because I wanted people to be able to make characters without me present and having to explain how they rolled three 18s without witnesses. I have no problem with point buy either though.

Rolling is fun, but it seems to end up very advanced, with a lot of exceptions, re-rolls and further modifications, to basically get numbers that is not too far away from an accepted average, which might as well be bought with point buy.