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Author Topic: Character Generation: Do you prefer 3d6, 4d6, Straight Down, Arrange to Taste?  (Read 18024 times)

Jam The MF

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What makes you tick?

I personally like to roll up several characters with 4d6, drop the lowest; but straight down the line.  I assign a Class to each stat block, and choose one to start with.  If my character passes on, I already have a few stat blocks waiting in the wings.  Grab another, and let the DM work it into the game.

Everyone used to have a few characters ready to go, back in the old days.
Let the Dice, Decide the Outcome.  Accept the Results.

Ratman_tf

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I've come to appreciate stat arrays. (A set of attribute values instead of rolling dice) Everybody gets the same numbers and there's no quibbling about making requisites.

For random systems, I prefer 4d6, drop the low dice, assign to taste. Works well enough if you allow the player to discard and re-roll a "hopeless" set of stats. Yes, you can RP a character will all low attributes, but I don't like to push a player into having to do it.
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Jam The MF

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I've come to appreciate stat arrays. (A set of attribute values instead of rolling dice) Everybody gets the same numbers and there's no quibbling about making requisites.

For random systems, I prefer 4d6, drop the low dice, assign to taste. Works well enough if you allow the player to discard and re-roll a "hopeless" set of stats. Yes, you can RP a character will all low attributes, but I don't like to push a player into having to do it.


I'm not necessarily opposed to Stat Arrays; but it feels like a cookie cutter approach, to me.  When I roll straight down the line, I'm letting the dice create the characters I have available to choose from.  I get some interesting mixes.  Strong, tough, charismatic Fighters.  Strong tough guys, that are probably loners.  Strong, tough Clerics. 
Let the Dice, Decide the Outcome.  Accept the Results.

Mishihari

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I like 4d6 and arrange.  It give enough variety to not seem like a cookie cutter and gives the player a choice about about the character's strengths and weaknesses.

TJS

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8d6 Take the bottom 5.  Then roll an extra 5d6  and add it to those 5 and take the 4th, 6th and 7th highest dice of that.

Then assign at random an ability score to each player at the table by drawing cards.  If you don't have 6 players than you just assign empty cards to empty places.

You then assign the ability scores in the order of the cards going counterclockwise from the youngest player.  Repeating the initial process as above.

You then check which ability score corresponds to the GM.  The player may then choose to reroll that score by rolling 6d6 dropping the highest and then choosing the next 3 highest die numbers.  If the result is higher than the previous ability score they can swap it.  If it's lower they can they choose to use it in place of their lowest other ability score.

If any player has their birthday in the month in which the characters are created they may choose to scrap the process of the first result, in which case, every goes through the process again, unless it is a leap year, in which the oldest player may make that choice instead.

I came to this method after a lot of experimentation and found that it was generally the simplest method to remember.
« Last Edit: June 19, 2021, 06:57:25 AM by TJS »

HappyDaze

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Most of the games that I enjoy playing don't use randomness in character creation at all (excepting, maybe, generating some starting cash). I prefer my randomness to start at the table in-play, not before then.

When I ran 5e D&D, I only allowed the stat array.

mightybrain

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3d6 straight down the line.

Chris24601

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Put me down for Arrays as well.

I used to prefer point buy, but ultimately there were just a few good combos the charops types used and a bunch of mediocre combos that essentially gimped the non-charops types for daring to build for concept instead of rules mastery.

My own system actually gives each player a choice of one of three arrays; balanced (3, 2, 2, 1, 1, -1), strong (3, 3, 1, 1, 0, -1) or focused (4, 2, 1, 0, 0, -1); to allow variations while leaving out the gimped and potentially broken options and forcing everyone to pick a stat they’re below average at so every hero has some type of flaw.

I dislike any sort of random stat generation outside of meat grinder scenarios where you have no attachment to the PC and they won’t live long enough for you to get one.

My feeling is that chargen when the PC is intended for the long haul isn’t a point where you want one bad roll to gimp a PC for their whole career or force a player into a class they don’t really want to play.

Most players I know play to relax and blow off steam and saddling them with traits beyond their control and a “job” they may not like (particularly if the RNG gave someone else a godly set of attributes and the ability to choose the exact class they wanted) is closer to “real life: the simulator” (at least emotionally) complete with tendencies to breed resentments and perverse incentives where subpar PCs engage In suicidally dangerous actions so the unhappy player can take another spin on the chargen lotto wheel to hopefully get something they want to play.

It’s just way easier to let players choose what they want their PCs to be good at from the start and since it’s something they’ve taken a little time to build what they want they’re going to be more invested.

Frankly, all the variant rolling methods; roll extra dice and drop the lowest from each stat, roll extra stats and drop the lowest of those, place the stats in any order, raise a stat by one by reducing another by two, etc. are really just “how do we let the players to get stats high enough to play what they actually want to play?”

So skip all the convolutions and just uses arrays/point buys.

Lunamancer

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3d6 straight down.
That's my two cents anyway. Carry on, crawler.

Tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito.

Steven Mitchell

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Depends on the game.  I prefer some element of randomization and "playing what you get", but nevertheless I ran my last 5E campaigns with the standard array.  It was handy with a bunch of players coming and going.  Also depends on how easy it is to compensate for bad stats--either improving them later or the stats are only so important anyway.

I once really liked 4d6, arrange in order.  However, all that does is generally inflate the numbers, since the players will arrange to suit.  For 3E, I ended up using a card draw instead of dice.  Gave everyone total modifiers within -1 to +1 of an 3E standard array but the assignment of scores was still almost completely random.  (We kept out a 2 and two 1's that the player could assign to any stack after they saw how the values came out.)

My current game uses 3d6, in order.  Then swap any two scores, if you want.  That pretty neatly answers the first objection to complete random, "I wanted to play a warrior and got a 5 in the most important stat and a 16 in the most useless."  The player can dictate what they play, but the other stats are what you got.  Then there are moderate bumps to ability scores throughout the progression of the character that are dependent on what you do.  Really focus on warrior type abilities, those stats are the ones that will generally go up. However, I also changed the modifier thresholds to support a -4 to +4 range, with the lower numbers skewed to less likely.  (That is, it's not a bell curve like the traditional 3d6 from -3 to +3 being parallel.  Instead, a 10 gives a +1.)

We have a player happily playing a character with a 3 "Agility".  Don't get that in a lot of games.

For BEMCI, I'd be quite happy with 3d6, in order, swap any two scores.  Because getting a +1 somewhere that is useful is pretty much my definition of playable character in BEMCI.  And that's really the key to me.  I don't want a lot of re-rolling or tricks to inflate it without seeming to.  If you expect viable characters to have a +1 or so, make that highly likely.  If they need more than that, just cut to the chase. 


HappyDaze

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We have a player happily playing a character with a 3 "Agility".  Don't get that in a lot of games.
That describes about 75% of starting PCs that I've seen in FFG's Star Wars games.

Vidgrip

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3d6 straight down, with the option to replace any one score with a 13 (or whatever number first gives the +1 modifier in this system).

Playing: John Carter of Mars, Hyperborea
Running: Swords & Wizardry Complete

oggsmash

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  For D&D I like 4d6 drop the low and arrange according to desire.  I choose class before I roll which is why I like this.  Now this did lead to me rolling a fighter that has some insane stats (I dont have a stat under 13, and 2 17's and a 16 at creation.  But hey, genetically gifted can be a background. 

   I like the 3d6 down the line for DCC, and most other games I play are point buy/assign systems (savage worlds, GURPS). 

Jam The MF

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8d6 Take the bottom 5.  Then roll an extra 5d6  and add it to those 5 and take the 4th, 6th and 7th highest dice of that.

Then assign at random an ability score to each player at the table by drawing cards.  If you don't have 6 players than you just assign empty cards to empty places.

You then assign the ability scores in the order of the cards going counterclockwise from the youngest player.  Repeating the initial process as above.

You then check which ability score corresponds to the GM.  The player may then choose to reroll that score by rolling 6d6 dropping the highest and then choosing the next 3 highest die numbers.  If the result is higher than the previous ability score they can swap it.  If it's lower they can they choose to use it in place of their lowest other ability score.

If any player has their birthday in the month in which the characters are created they may choose to scrap the process of the first result, in which case, every goes through the process again, unless it is a leap year, in which the oldest player may make that choice instead.

I came to this method after a lot of experimentation and found that it was generally the simplest method to remember.


But how do you break ties?
Let the Dice, Decide the Outcome.  Accept the Results.

Dave 2

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4d6 drop lowest in order. I've done 3d6 in order as player and GM, and I didn't mind the experience but it convinced me there's nothing too wrong with 4d6 drop lowest.

Arrange to suit, I'm aware let's people play what they want to play, but to me at that point you might as well consider stat arrays. Roll and arrange actually exaggerates the differences between high and low rollers, compared to roll in order and getting something that might be powerful but not where you want everything.