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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Shaele" data-source="post: 132583" data-attributes="member: 3071">--Al----Experienced RPers take what they get and make what they can of it: poor stat characters are more interesting that the straight-18 ultra. The trick is not to throw out the baby with the bathwater- the system is good, but the players may be lousy. So the solution? Change the players, not the system. --------Umm, pardon?I read your post twice to make sure I didn't misunderstand, and I humbly disagree. The _purpose_ of a system should be to create characters that are (a) representative of the power level set by the DM, (b) more or less "fair" and balanced against one another, and (c) fun for the players. If it doesn't accomplish that, it's a poor system. Players first, rules second.Low-stat characters aren't inherently "more interesting" than average or high-stat characters. Balance and consistency is much more important that "forcing everyone to have a low stat". Point-buy is helpful in that respect, because it's fair - everyone gets the same points. The problem with any system that gives a wide variation, based on a die roll, is that once in a while someone will roll up a pathetic character (or an uber one). Have you ever DM'ed a party where one character has (for example) 3-18s, while the rest have average or lower stats? If the palyer min-maxes properly, he can _completely_ dominate gameplay. Conversely, this type of system also allows for the "almost completely useless" character as well. Neither scenario is desirable, for the DM or the players.If the purpose of this type of system is to force variation and roleplaying (however you define that), why not insist on non-metagame elements instead? Ask people for character histories, background... ask them to detail personality quirks, desires, and roleplay according to that? You'll get much more depth in characters than telling the mage to "play like you have a 4 wisdom, since that's what a real roleplayer would do".</blockquote>

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