D&D General The joys of playing a PC with low stats

I do not tend to rely on just the six ability scores to find the particular flaw or hubris my PC is going to have that will be fun to roleplay. Rather, having played the original 7th Sea for many years in several campaigns-- where each PC takes a specific Hubris that can be activated by the GM to be the potential 'fatal flaw' in a character-- I usually will select one for my characters regardless of system. If I do have a low ability score I will usually try to select a Hubris that relates to the score in some way, so that I do in fact end up "playing the bad score"... but using this list does allow me to have a wider selection of flaws than just the six the ability scores would give me-- Weak, Clumsy, Sickly, Stupid, Foolish, or Obnoxious.

My current Hubris list that I use (adapted from the 7th Sea list as well as additional ones I have added) include:

Ambitious - You desire power and influence at all costs.
Arrogant - You firmly believe you are better than everyone else.
Envious - You desperately want what others have.
Extravagant - You need to live in the lap of luxury and will overspend to do so.
Greedy - You crave and keep as much money as you can get your hands on.
Hedonistic - You love having a good time and will overindulge to do so.
Honest - You are incapable of deceiving people and will admit things too readily.
Hot-Headed - You become irritated or angered much too easily.
Inattentive - You don't notice things going on around you.
Indecisive - You can't make up your mind on important matters quickly.
Judgmental - You judge all books by their covers and rarely change those opinions.
Lecherous - You have a lusty nature and constantly pursue the pleasures of the flesh.
Loyal - You risk everything to protect your friends.
Misfortunate - You are the unluckiest person you know.
Nosy - You open every cabinet and get in everyone's business.
Overconfident - You believe you can do anything and everything, trained or not.
Paranoid - You know you're being watched and followed.
Proud - You don't like accepting help from others as it smacks of charity.
Rash - You jump to action without considering the consequences.
Reckless - You have no concept of safety and have no fear.
Righteous - You know the end always justifies the means.
Shy - You are distinctly ill at ease when dealing with people.
Squeamish - You can't handle the icky stuff.
Star-Crossed - You keep falling in love at the drop of a hat with the wrong people.
Stubborn - You don't change your mind and will follow through on any action.
Trusting - You believe in other people and what they say to a fault.

In my current Pathfinder game that I've been playing in for probably 4 years or so, I have a Paladin of Iomedae that is very devoted to his duties to cleanse the world of the Worldwound. He is very strict and stern about putting all demons down and world tirelessly in that regard. But I also gave the character the Hubris of Hedonistic... so that in the few opportunities he does get the chance to let his hair down, he basically goes all Spring Break / Girls Gone Wild.
 

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Only allow players to roll stats when I DM, but i was raised on 3d6 in order, so 4d6 and letting them arange feels very progressive. At least they get to pick the low stat.

What i like about 3d6 in order is you end up with unique characters. If I roll a 15 in intelligence and a 11 in strength I'm still running a fighter he is just a smart fighter and gives me something to role play.
Absolutely. To that end, when I play (and I recommend to my players when I GM), I don't go into character creation assuming I know exactly who I'm going to play.
 


I do not tend to rely on just the six ability scores to find the particular flaw or hubris my PC is going to have that will be fun to roleplay. Rather, having played the original 7th Sea for many years in several campaigns-- where each PC takes a specific Hubris that can be activated by the GM to be the potential 'fatal flaw' in a character-- I usually will select one for my characters regardless of system. If I do have a low ability score I will usually try to select a Hubris that relates to the score in some way, so that I do in fact end up "playing the bad score"... but using this list does allow me to have a wider selection of flaws than just the six the ability scores would give me-- Weak, Clumsy, Sickly, Stupid, Foolish, or Obnoxious.

My current Hubris list that I use (adapted from the 7th Sea list as well as additional ones I have added) include:

Ambitious - You desire power and influence at all costs.
Arrogant - You firmly believe you are better than everyone else.
Envious - You desperately want what others have.
Extravagant - You need to live in the lap of luxury and will overspend to do so.
Greedy - You crave and keep as much money as you can get your hands on.
Hedonistic - You love having a good time and will overindulge to do so.
Honest - You are incapable of deceiving people and will admit things too readily.
Hot-Headed - You become irritated or angered much too easily.
Inattentive - You don't notice things going on around you.
Indecisive - You can't make up your mind on important matters quickly.
Judgmental - You judge all books by their covers and rarely change those opinions.
Lecherous - You have a lusty nature and constantly pursue the pleasures of the flesh.
Loyal - You risk everything to protect your friends.
Misfortunate - You are the unluckiest person you know.
Nosy - You open every cabinet and get in everyone's business.
Overconfident - You believe you can do anything and everything, trained or not.
Paranoid - You know you're being watched and followed.
Proud - You don't like accepting help from others as it smacks of charity.
Rash - You jump to action without considering the consequences.
Reckless - You have no concept of safety and have no fear.
Righteous - You know the end always justifies the means.
Shy - You are distinctly ill at ease when dealing with people.
Squeamish - You can't handle the icky stuff.
Star-Crossed - You keep falling in love at the drop of a hat with the wrong people.
Stubborn - You don't change your mind and will follow through on any action.
Trusting - You believe in other people and what they say to a fault.

In my current Pathfinder game that I've been playing in for probably 4 years or so, I have a Paladin of Iomedae that is very devoted to his duties to cleanse the world of the Worldwound. He is very strict and stern about putting all demons down and world tirelessly in that regard. But I also gave the character the Hubris of Hedonistic... so that in the few opportunities he does get the chance to let his hair down, he basically goes all Spring Break / Girls Gone Wild.
isn't this sort of thing what the Flaws part of BITF's were meant to invoke? except nobody ever used them
 


I'm not a fan of low ability scores for PCs in general. My view is that PCs are inherently Superior, and their ability scores ought to reflect this.
This 100% :love:

IMO Having the best scores you can get is important, even if they only translate to low bonuses. Better than low scores and clownshoes characters who IME tend to become liabilities to the party. Just because I might enjoy playing D&D for the lulz doesn't mean the rest of the group does. Actually, I've never had a player in a group that I GMed run a bot - IME most players tend to take their characters a little more serious (y)
 
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