This is something I am currently trying (in a more primitive form as I have only recently expanded it out into what you see below) in a group I have just started GMing for.
(However, I cannot claim credit for the core idea - which originated from a group discussion)
The Proposal:
During levelling from level 1 to level 20 in pathfinder you gain 5 attribute points (one every 4 levels starting at level 4). Using these 5 attribute points you could raise an 18 to a 23(1) which is the equivalent of an additional 26 points(2) of ‘point buy’(3). I propose that these 26 points be given out spread over all levels and as ‘point buy points’ instead of a simple ‘+1 to an attribute’.
The allocation would be as follows(4):
Levels 2-4 grant 4 points, spread with one point gained at levels 2 and 3 and two points gained at level 4.
Levels 5-8 grant 5 points, spread with one point gained at levels 5, 6 and 7 and two points gained at level 8.
Levels 9-12 grant 5 points, spread with one point gained at levels 9, 10 and 11 and two points gained at level 12.
Levels 13-16 grant 6 points, spread with one point gained at levels 13 and 14 and two points gained at level 15 and 16.
Levels 17-20 grant 6 points, spread with one point gained at levels 17 and 18 and two points gained at level 19 and 20.
Partial stats would be dealt with simply, although a slight amount of book-keeping would be involved here(5). The points would have to be spent upon level up and in the cases that they can’t purchase a full extra stat they would purchase the appropriate proportion of a stat. For example hitting level 2 and investing your point in strength, which you already had at 15 (before racial modifiers) would only net you half a point of strength which would do nothing(6) until you invested the rest of the required points into that stat and raised it to a natural number.(7)
1: Remembering that wishes/books can only grant 1-5 stats so there is an advantage to having a 23 even if you cannot raise it any further through stats gained from levelling you can push it up to an even number higher then you could otherwise attain via use of tomes or wishes.
2: Assuming that the cost of stats continues to rise at the rate used for stats from 14-18 (which is 4 points to move from 18 to 19, 5 to move from 19-20, 5 to move from 20-21, 6 to move from 21-22 and 6 to move from 22-23). Racial modifiers are not considered, as with the standard point buy method.
3: However there is the significant restriction that these points cannot be spread which means that in all cases that they are not raising the highest possible number that you could have they are granting significantly less point buy. Insofar as my proposed method of redoing those stats should seek to not change the existing ‘balance’ this is a very large weakness in my proposal. However, I would contend that as the most powerful characters (full progression casters) tend (when min-maxed) to gain the most from spending all that they can on their main casting stat. Because of this I would argue (not here though, it is too wide a subject) that this particular balance alteration caused by my proposal has a positive effect on the ‘lower tier’ while enabling the higher tier to gain relatively more from non-optimal choices and so is a positive balance change.
4: The allocation is not even (which would be 1.36 ‘point buy points’ per level) so that the link to the current 1 attribute point per 4 levels is carried over. That one attribute point, if used optimally on the highest possible stat that you could have, is worth an increasing amount as levels go on (as outlined in footnote 2). If you prefer a more even spread based method I would recommend 1 point at every level with an additional point at levels 4, 8 and 12 and two additional points at level 16 and 20.
5: This could easily be recorded on the sheet to the left hand side of the attributes section. In the case of players with varying abilities to manage book-keeping I would recommend the DM having a single page in his folder/ect devoted to this task where he can record everyone’s choices and tell them when they have gained an attribute point. The GM doing this book keeping would also introduce the possibility or altering the amount of point-buy given (to taste) and not actually telling the players how much of it they have, you would instead only ask them what ability they think their character may have improved upon as a result of his adventures.
The racial stat modifiers chosen (in the case of human/half-orc/half-elf) would also need to be remembered as these are not considered when spending point buy points.
6: Some GMs may wish to take advantage of the now possible fractions of stats. This could be done as simply as allowing them to decide ties in cases of opposed checks or in many more complicated ways as decided by the GM. I will not touch on this here, or state that I condone doing so, as this is a separate branch of house ruling that could be involved, complicated and controversial.
7: This system could also be used to alter the base point buy used over time. You could have your PCs start with a 10 point buy and tell them that over the first 10 levels (for example, the actual level and point buy raise used is up to the DM and group to decide) they will be raised to a 25 point buy. The 25 points would be spread out (evenly or otherwise, up to the GM) over the first 10 levels and be given to the players in addition to those points they gain from the system I have just proposed. There is also the possibility of telling them that they could ‘earn’ their way up from 10 point buy (to a max of 25 or lower, usually) by doing particular things or by acquiring particular magical elixirs (or whatever, the possibilities are immense).
