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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Arial Black" data-source="post: 7080819" data-attributes="member: 6799649">Yes! Yes I am!And do you know what allows me to do this? To set my Wis at 8 to avoid wasting points but still get a passive Perception of 10+ every single time? Point-buy!  As mentioned in a few recent posts on this thread, the origin of the term 'min-max' was the 'minimax' of Game Theory. The basic premise of Game Theory is to systematically imagine every possible strategy to determine the strategy which is most likely to result in the most advantageous outcome.This behavior isn't limited to Game Theory. We have always evolved our behaviour so that we get the most advantageous outcome from whatever our environment happens to be. Game Theory isn't new in doing that, but it does do it in a deliberately scientific way, trying to get rid of emotion and stick with the evidence.'Creating a PC' is, in this context, an 'environment'. It is to your advantage to create the 'best' PC, at least in terms of the specific things you want this PC to be the best at.In 5E, odd stats gain you nothing. In point-buy it is a complete waste of points to buy an odd stat (although you might buy an odd stat where you plan to make it an even number later).You might even think that buying a 10 in a stat you never use is a waste of points, when an 8 won't do you much harm, and if it does you can do something to avoid that harm like taking the Perception skill. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />Point-buy is ideal for Game Theory. It allows you to continually modify your stats until they evolve into the 'best' way to get the most advantageous outcome.This is why point-buy encourages min-maxing, because it is the method that lets you min-max more efficiently.  And there's the rub.I agree that the results are 'objectionable'. This is one reason that I don't like point-buy!However, if I'm told by the DM that I must use point-buy then I'm going to use it to make the best PC I can (in Game Theory terms), just like I would whatever system the DM makes me use!If I'm told to use point-buy them my PCs will tend to 16/16/16/8/8/8.If I'm told to use the Standard Array then my PCs will tend to 16/14/14/12/10/8.If, as DM, the first one offends you, then stop using point-buy! Don't blame the players for doing what every creature on the planet does: evolve to better cope with its environment.</blockquote>

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