40 point buy for a level 1 sorc

[Question]

Can anyone suggest how to arrange stats with a 40 point buy for a level 1 sorc?

Obviously cha 18 would be a plus, but im finding it difficult to arrange the stats so that i get full modifiers for everything else.

For example with :

Str 10
Dex 14
Con 14
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 18

I have 32 points.

If i bump a stat up to 16, it now costs me 37 points. With 3 poitns left over, i cant do much except make either str or wis 13, which is an uneven modifier level.

Thoughts on this?

[Dexter Quickwit]

Bump Str or Wis down two points, then raise the other one to 14. If you don't take a penalty anywhere, then you are stuck with at least one odd numbered stat. If you decide to go odd, then you will have something to increase at 4th level.

[Question]

Forgot to mention, racial modifiers are -2 str, +2 dex and +2 cha.

I thought the priority for level up points is to put it into the sepllcasting stat (cha in this case)?

[Dosgamer]

I'd probably arrange thusly...

Str 11 (-2 racial) = 9
Dex 14 (+2 racial) = 16
Con 15
Int 14
Wis 14
Cha 18 (+2 racial) = 20

Put level 4 bump into Con to get to 16 and the rest from there into Cha. Good luck!

[mplindustries]

I'd probably do:

Str 11
Dex 16
Con 16
Int 12
Wis 10
Cha 18

Post racials, you'll have:
Str 9
Dex 18
Con 16
Int 12
Wis 10
Cha 20

And from there, you just raise Charisma and enjoy the very slight additional carrying capacity you can get.

More Con and Dex just strike as so much more valuable overall than another point of Intelligence. I would have a hard time scraping stats together for a 14 Int, and if I had to, I'd rather drop Wisdom to 8 than lower Dex/Con. I also think putting leveling up points in anything other than Charisma is insane for a Sorcerer (well, other than a Sage/Empyreal sorcerer).

[Bigdaddyjug]

Wow, a 40 point buy? Hmmm...

Str: 13 -2
Dex: 14 +2
Con: 14
Int: 14
Wis: 14
Cha: 18 +2

I would almost certainly go with this spread. Yes you're going to have an odd ability score, but it's the one you care about the least, assuming you're not a dragon bloodline sorcerer.

[bfobar]

Str: 7
Dex: 16
Con: 16
Int: 14
Wis: 12
Cha: 18 +2

With 40 points, I'd still dump strength. Just be a hot little 5'0" 98lb female or something.

[Sir Thugsalot]

stat - cost
18 ... 17
17 ... 13
16 ... 10
12 ... 2
12 ... 2
07 ... -4

Put the 18 in your primary stat, and 17 in CON (raise 4th). Or vice-versa. Why? Because your GM is trying to kill you if he's doling out 40pt buy.

For a halfling sorc, this could look like:

STR-10
DEX+18
CON:18
INT:12
WIS:07 (or dump STR to 5 and put 12 here)
CHA+19

[VRMH]

Aside from feat requirements, Strength is the only Ability Score that grants a benefit from an uneven score (as opposed to it's lower, even equivalent).

[Bigdaddyjug]

VRMH wrote:

Aside from feat requirements, Strength is the only Ability Score that grants a benefit from an uneven score (as opposed to it's lower, even equivalent).

Yes, but as a sorcerer, his carry capacity doesn't need to be much higher than 35 or 40 pounds as a medium load.

[Wasum]

Con score tells you when you're dead.

[soupturtle]

The fact that you get 40 points likely means you're going to be in a tough game, so you really want to start with 20 cha and increase it at every single level, as cha is your main source of power. However, a tough game also means you would be wise to put at least a 16 in dex and con, rather than bothering with above average str, int or wis, which add very little to your character.

So if it was me, I'd take the ability scores suggested by mplindustries:
str 11-2, dex 16+2, con 16, int 12, wis 10, cha 18+2.

You have one odd score, but it's in a place where it's at least doing something (making your carrying capacity slightly better).

[bfobar]

I think con and dex are about equal importance. I don't think wis should be neglected completely because you want high saves in a hardcore campaign, so then its just a matter of splitting up remaining points between strength and intelligence. I really think dumping strength to 7 is totally fine for any sorcerer. Makes friends with the fighter until you can afford a handy haversack. Never ever get into melee combat.

[mplindustries]

Just a side note: I don't think 40 point buy is necessarily indicative of a tough game.

I run games with high point buys (usually in the form of high point array options), and I'm not especially brutal or anything.

I don't really believe there's a difference in the overall effectiveness of say, a Wizard with 40 point buy than one with 15. The 40 point buy Wizard will have slightly better AC and Saves, but will mostly just be better at skills he'd normally suck at. On the other hand, the difference between an Inquisitor with 15 and with 40 is phenomenal. High point buy helps MAD classes, but does almost nothing for SADs and DADs.

In other words, rather than giving my players high point buy arrays so I can feel no guilt about throwing brutal odds against them, I actually give them high point buy arrays to increase the number of viable character builds.