Thunder Brother
God Learner
Exactly, and I greatly prefer point buy when running games. I think I could have made that more clear.Didn’t KotOR use point buy though?
Exactly, and I greatly prefer point buy when running games. I think I could have made that more clear.Didn’t KotOR use point buy though?
random rolls worked well back in 1e&2e,
but not since 3.5 and there are reasons related to the historical system mechanics for that. Without those differences they cause problems. It worked till 2e because of system differences & failed different in 3.x again because of differences. 5e is different from both & is unable to make use of the ways it could work or kinda work that those earlier editions enjoyed
Prior to 3.x (1e/2e) A +1 started around a 15 in an ability while -1 started around a six in an ability giving a nine point dead zone of +/-0 that was likely to contain nearly every ability score roll. The different abilities would add a small bonus or penalty to specific things even within that dead zone, but in general it was a very minor thing. Rolling ability scores itroduced some random near ribbon flavoring to characters as a result of this dead zone that no longer exists.
Gotcha. Makes sense.Exactly, and I greatly prefer point buy when running games. I think I could have made that more clear.
Stats still matter in 5E, even if not as much. Roll really well and you can hit 10-15% more often while having more HP, likely better initiative and capabilities out of combat. Plus you have a lot more options to play MAD classes and multi-class.Hard disagree.
AD&D's reverse bell curve on stat bonuses made getting high stats much more impactful. Percentile strength was huge, int or wisdom could determine maximum spell levels for casters, and lots of classes had tough stat prereqs.
In B/X it was not nearly as much of a big deal and lower stat characters were not nearly as far behind the curve. A 13-15 got you a +1 and the bonuses tapped out at +3 for 18s. In AD&D a 13 would get you a +0 and an 18 strength could get you as high as +3 to hit and +6 on damage, Dex 18 would get you +4 to AC, and an 18 Con would get you +4 hp per level (for fighters). B/X int and wis did not give spellcasters bonus spells (the way they did for clerics in AD&D) or limit spellcasting with lower scores. In B/X the system encouraged roll and go much more than AD&D which rewarded specific builds matching with stats to a noticeably bigger extent.
I don't mind stats slowly getting better as levels advance. What I don't like is the automatic part, where the stat predictably goes up at a certain level.What I can't wrap my head around is automatic ASI ever so often in 5E, as well as the expectation that by level X, you are "supposed" to have 20 in your main stat.
I much prefer the way games like Mythras handle stats, where your starting stats are your body's absolute achievable prime.
If I ever DM 5E again, I'll completely excise ASI.
Nice try, but math don’t cheat, if you don’t put a minimum you will eventually roll the two 15+ and a bunch of 3. It may not happen at your table but a world wide used method will get it.Colville rolled 4d6 drop lowest and at least two 15s.
And then chuck 'em out and make them again when I can watch.There is one big advantage of point buy/array. DM does not have to be with schedule "rolling sessions" or listen to whining about low scores and options of re-rolling if X amount is too low or Y amount is too high.
Players can make their characters in peace.
Percentile strength was almost a secondary system that doesn't really have a good analog since then. For purposes of the +1/-1 +2/-2 etc that the attributes have functioned as since 3.x the tightening of the dead zone has consistently made stats matter much more to the point of pushing ultra min max stat arrangements. A simple sidebar thst covers going back to a wider dead zone would undo that pressure.Hard disagree.
AD&D's reverse bell curve on stat bonuses made getting high stats much more impactful. Percentile strength was huge, int or wisdom could determine maximum spell levels for casters, and lots of classes had tough stat prereqs.
In B/X it was not nearly as much of a big deal and lower stat characters were not nearly as far behind the curve. A 13-15 got you a +1 and the bonuses tapped out at +3 for 18s. In AD&D a 13 would get you a +0 and an 18 strength could get you as high as +3 to hit and +6 on damage, Dex 18 would get you +4 to AC, and an 18 Con would get you +4 hp per level (for fighters). B/X int and wis did not give spellcasters bonus spells (the way they did for clerics in AD&D) or limit spellcasting with lower scores. In B/X the system encouraged roll and go much more than AD&D which rewarded specific builds matching with stats to a noticeably bigger extent.
I don't mind stats slowly getting better as levels advance. What I don't like is the automatic part, where the stat predictably goes up at a certain level.
The 1e percentile-increment system they used for Cavaliers is the best I've seen so far for this, except expanded to all classes. Been using it for decades.