What would happen if your character or your PCs had an 18 in every stat?

[diaglo]

i'd commit sepaku.

 

[William Ronald]

Well, other than the extreme lock of shock on my DM's face, I think it would allow me to create characters such as Toras suggests: capable persons who may well defy stereotypes. (Some traditional warriors were skilled at diplomacy, poetry, and social arts. The samurai of feudal Japan were expected to be cultured as well as skilled in warfare.)

It might also be wise to present very capable characters with challenges commensurate to their abilities. This is no different than assigning challenges appropriate to a character's level.

A game is only as exciting or boring as a DM and his players make it. I have seen well played characters with low ability scores, and poorlyplayed characters with high ability scores. In the end, it's the player, not the statistics that breathes life into a character.

 

[MDSnowman]

In terms of which class/race, I don't think it matters too much. The most min/max from a traditional standpoint would be a half-orc, since a 16 int and cha still are good but usually not too valuable, and a 20 str is nice. It strongly depends on the campaign though. Humans are good because if you want to take a couple classes here or there you can do so with no penalty for multiclassing.

Tell me about it Half-Orc Monk would be the way to go. AC 18 without a stitch of Armor, major unarmed damage. Yeah he'd be a terror... other good ideas include..

Barbarian/Wizard(sorcerer)/Rage Mage

or Go Gestalt
Ranger/Rogue

 

[Privateer]

Now, I've noticed a trend in this thread I'm curious about.

Why do perfect stats make the game not fun? I know it can be fun to have a mechanical weakness (I once voluntarily played a character who was blind, and I recieved no compensation for it), but roleplaying is about becoming a character. Having a weak stat as a roleplaying "crutch" is no worse than playing the "perfect man among the masses" who goes slowly mad with his knowledge and strength, or who cannot find happiness because his skill and abilities drive others to envy and hate him.

In short: why do you say perfect stats are not fun?

 

[Murchadha The Mad]

BO-ring! :\

 

[Haradim]

I'm currently on-again off-again playing a Cleric 7 with high stats (almost all 18-20), in a party with good-to-high stats all around.

Aside from characters that tend to be quite potent mechanically, I don't really think our game is really much different than our lower-powered games. The situations are a bit tougher, but we still find ourselves challenged, and we can have a bit of fun just chewing up minions. Being relatively competant at many things is also handy when you want to try something new, but don't/can't make a new character to try it out.

So we really haven't found it to be a major problem, so long as everyone plays well...but that goes for any power level.

 

[Lela]

I'm starting to wonder if those who find the idea boring are actually reading the thread. SweeneyTodd, thus far, is the only one who has given any reason behind his view. I don't agree with him but at least he said something.


Me, I think I'd go Dwarven Paladin. Sure, I'm losing a point of Cha bonus but the Dwarf resistances more than make up for that. I'd probably aim for a PrC that exemplified my higher stats. Templar might be a good choice.

 

[Particle_Man]

Kobold Swashbuckler, baybee!

 

[elbandit]

I'm starting to wonder if those who find the idea boring are actually reading the thread. SweeneyTodd, thus far, is the only one who has given any reason behind his view. I don't agree with him but at least he said something.

Yeah, some of us do read this thread but in all honestly my reasoning would seem harsh... but since you asked...

I would not want to play in the game primarily because the concept is one that is already overdone in science fiction media. Quite honestly I do not believe that the concept could be kept freash and intreasting enough for me to really enjoy.

Having all 18's in a stat would also confuse me on some levels. For one thing having +4 to Stat Bonus to all skill rolls while it may sound great becomes unintreasting, at least to me. The characters should succede at most tasks the majority of the time. The thrill of risk goes away and the game becomes more of a routine task than adventure.

Also by not having any real apparent strength or weakness makes it harder for me to decide which feats and items I should really take for the character.

Before you flame, keep in mind that I am not someone who likes being a player, I much perfer to be a GM. I am also someone who seeks out concepts that would be compelling and unique for me to play. An generally badly overdone idea simply isn't compelling to me.

Yes, I have very high standards but it is no higher than what I expect myself to run.

 

[Funksaw]

Now, I had an idea for a campaign sorta based on the short-lived "John Doe" TV series. The basic concept is that the characters wake up without any coherent memories and find themselves to be superior physical specimens. In this case, I'm curious as to how my players, and the society around their characters, would react to the almost infinitely high probablility chance of not one, but three characters having perfect rolls.

A bodybuilder's strength, a marathon runner's endurance, a gymnast's flexibility with the mind and charisma of Einstein, Aristotle, and Napoleon combined, all in one body.

For players:
What sort of PC would you make?
What class/es would you choose? Remember, you have no dump stats, and no weak area.
How would you react to society?

For DMs:
How would society react to these perfect speciemens of human(oid) possibility?
What troubles could face such characters?
What sort of challenges would you give them? Would you treat them as LA +1, for instance?

EDIT: Clarification: Yes, all of the players would have such high stats, not just one... that'd just be blatantly unfair.

A good idea, but you have to consider the system you're using, after all. Full 18s in stats really don't do all that much, as, let's face it, you'll probably just be encouraged to raise all the DCs 5 levels higher to provide a 'challenge'