ezo
Hero
I'm always interested in ability score generation systems and this is one which is simple and does just what I want:
1. based on rolling d6's
2. keeps an average of 12.25 to 12.75
3. (a) generates scores which are common to point-buy and the standard array (-1 to +2 modifiers) or
3. (b) makes extreme scores (8 or less, 16 or higher) very rare
Here are two varations:
3A. No Duplicates (score range 9 - 15)
Roll 4d6 and drop lowest, but no die result can occur more than once. For example, if you rolled 2, 3, 3, 6 you would reroll one of the 3's, but you cannot roll a 2, 3, or 6 on the reroll; if you do, keep rolling until you get a 1, 4, or 5.
What this does is keep the lowest possible roll to 1, 2, 3, 4 (total 9 for best three) and highest possible roll 3, 4, 5, 6 (total 15 for best three). In fact, there are only 15 possible combinations, with an average roll of 12.6. While this average is better than the normal 4d6 drop lowest (12.24), since the cap is 15 I like this a lot.
Standard array: 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10 with this system, which is very easy to remember.
Point-Buy: normal point-buy system with 30 pts (instead of 27) and you must increase each score to a minimum 9 (not 8).
3B. Re-roll Duplicates Once (score range 3-18)
Roll 4d6 and drop lowest, but reroll any die which is a duplicate of another die, accept the reroll even if it is a duplicate. For example, if you rolled 3, 5, 5, 6, you would reroll one of the 5's and accept the new roll (even if it is a 3, 5, or 6).
This method is similar to the first obviously, but allows the extreme scores (below 8 or above 15) which are outside the normal standard array or point-buy systems. However, the chances of getting truly exceptional or horrible rolls is much less, and 90% or so of the score still cluster in the 9 to 15 range. In fact, you are less than half as likely to roll scores below 9 or above 15.
The average (12.46) again is slightly better than normal 4d6 drop lowest, but with only a 6.4% chance for score 16 or better and less than 4.4% for 8 or lower. Scores at either extreme are rare, which I like if a group insists on having a chance for 16 or better rolls to begin.
The standard array is slightly worse, with a 10 instead of a 9, but frankly it is so close you could round it up to 10 if you wanted and use the same point-buy as above.
Anyway, that's it. 3A is my preference since I prefer the 9-15 range, but it has quite a bit of rolling so might not work for others who don't want to roll that much or want the extreme scores possible.
Thanks for reading.
1. based on rolling d6's
2. keeps an average of 12.25 to 12.75
3. (a) generates scores which are common to point-buy and the standard array (-1 to +2 modifiers) or
3. (b) makes extreme scores (8 or less, 16 or higher) very rare
Here are two varations:
3A. No Duplicates (score range 9 - 15)
Roll 4d6 and drop lowest, but no die result can occur more than once. For example, if you rolled 2, 3, 3, 6 you would reroll one of the 3's, but you cannot roll a 2, 3, or 6 on the reroll; if you do, keep rolling until you get a 1, 4, or 5.
What this does is keep the lowest possible roll to 1, 2, 3, 4 (total 9 for best three) and highest possible roll 3, 4, 5, 6 (total 15 for best three). In fact, there are only 15 possible combinations, with an average roll of 12.6. While this average is better than the normal 4d6 drop lowest (12.24), since the cap is 15 I like this a lot.
Standard array: 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10 with this system, which is very easy to remember.
Point-Buy: normal point-buy system with 30 pts (instead of 27) and you must increase each score to a minimum 9 (not 8).
3B. Re-roll Duplicates Once (score range 3-18)
Roll 4d6 and drop lowest, but reroll any die which is a duplicate of another die, accept the reroll even if it is a duplicate. For example, if you rolled 3, 5, 5, 6, you would reroll one of the 5's and accept the new roll (even if it is a 3, 5, or 6).
This method is similar to the first obviously, but allows the extreme scores (below 8 or above 15) which are outside the normal standard array or point-buy systems. However, the chances of getting truly exceptional or horrible rolls is much less, and 90% or so of the score still cluster in the 9 to 15 range. In fact, you are less than half as likely to roll scores below 9 or above 15.
The average (12.46) again is slightly better than normal 4d6 drop lowest, but with only a 6.4% chance for score 16 or better and less than 4.4% for 8 or lower. Scores at either extreme are rare, which I like if a group insists on having a chance for 16 or better rolls to begin.
The standard array is slightly worse, with a 10 instead of a 9, but frankly it is so close you could round it up to 10 if you wanted and use the same point-buy as above.
Anyway, that's it. 3A is my preference since I prefer the 9-15 range, but it has quite a bit of rolling so might not work for others who don't want to roll that much or want the extreme scores possible.
Thanks for reading.
