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Realizing I'm kinda tired of cookie-cutter characters in my group, my mind wandered, got lost, returned, wandered some more, and came back with an idea that I think I'm gonna try for creating characters in games that I DM.
Instead of having totally random stats (i.e rolling), which can lead to some really strong characters and sometimes average characters, I decided to give my players the rush of rolling but still allowing me to control how high a character's stat can be.
So, the range will be a point-buy of 25 to 32. I will have the guys roll 6d10 and figure out the average. From there they will apply it as follows:
1 equals point-buy of 25 points
2 equals point-buy of 26 points....ect until they get to an average of 7-8 equals point-buy of 31 points and 9-10 equals point-buy of 32.
This still gives them the flexibility of creating their stats, it allows them to have a range of stats compared to everyone starting with the same point-buy number, and it still has a degree of randomness.
Has anyone else tried something like this?
Any thoughts on my system?
Any thoughts on my system?
You will still end up with cookie-cutter characters (mostly 29 or 30 point buy). That, unfortunately, is the drawback of the point buy system.
If you want "semi-random" characters, the organic method of character creation (DMG pg. 169) is fairly decent. Just limit the total bonuses to a range of +5 to +8 (or whatever range you're comfortable with); anyone outside that needs to re-roll.
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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Something that our group does from time to time is a variation on point-buy. Instead of the cost increasing as you get to progressively higher stats, you spend the points on a perfect one-for-one basis and all stats start at zero. We usually use somewhere between 70-80 points for this sort of thing. If you want to add some randomness without drastic power fluctuations, maybe do 68 + 2d4 points or, if you want a more powerful campaign, 70 + 2d6 (or even 2d8). If you want more variation, add more dice (i.e. 66 + 4d4 or 4d6). This way, players can craft their characters into something that is as effective as they want it to be while preventing people from just having high scores in everything. Plus, it is easier to use and more intuitive than the point-buy method in the DMG. Just remember that a 60-point build will get you a 10 in each stat, so the minimum points I would recommend for a functional campaign would be 70.
In my experience, semi-random character generation methods like the one you've suggested give you the worst of both worlds - you still get the cookie-cutter characters AND you suffer the unbalancing effect of dice rolls where one player always rolls much better or much worse than everyone else.
I'm starting to think that the best way forward may be to just tell the players to pick whatever stats they want.
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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In my experience, semi-random character generation methods like the one you've suggested give you the worst of both worlds - you still get the cookie-cutter characters AND you suffer the unbalancing effect of dice rolls where one player always rolls much better or much worse than everyone else.
Like I said, the way our group does it is just with the set point-buy at one-for-one. The DM will decide a power level (usually between 72 and 84 points) and every player has that many points to spend. I offered the variation because the OP expressed a desire to have some random elements involved.
I am thinking ahead to my next campaign and appreciate the ideas being put forth. For the first time since starting play under the 3.5 rules, I was considering die roll for character generation, but I wanted to keep abilities somewhat balanced within the party. I also want players to have better abilities and stay closer to the core rules this time around, something facilitated by characters with well balanced stats (IMO).
To this end, Fatespinner's idea suits me the best, but I am interested in hearing more opinions. I am somewhat ambivalent about the options right now, but luckily, I suspect it will be at least two months before we begin a new campaign, so I have time to peruse the options well before deciding.
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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If you want to minimize the power variations, you could always use our system with 72 + 1d4 or 1d6 points. That way, the difference between 'weak' and 'strong' characters is relatively trivial. Of course, if you're wanting to keep everyone balanced, you might as well not incorporate the die roll at all. Just a thought.
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I saw a sort of unique way of doing point buy once and making it more completely random, though it involved rolling quite a few dice and made the characters really random(sort of like the 'roll down the line' days).
Basically you just choose how many points you want the characters to have, say 28 for example. Then you give each stat a number 1-6. So for example strength is 1, dexterity is 2, constitution is 3, ect.
Just roll a d6 28 times(or however many points you want to give them) and add a point on the the attribute with the matching number. For instance, if you rolled six 1's then the strength would be 14 because it started at 8 and you added six more points.
The bonus of this is that your characters will all be balanced but still completely random, but the drawback is that its much more likely that they will end up even across the board when most characters like one or two stats that really shine.
If you want to let the characters have a bit more flexibility so that a char doesn't get stuck with a high int char who wanted to play a fighter, just roll out the stats then let them assign them as they wish.
Also note- this can make characters just a hint more powerful then they would be by straight point buy because they aren't paying extra for higher stats, but I think the randomness balances it out well. If someone gets an 18 its just pure luck, and if they somehow roll that number again then I would have them just re-roll.
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I saw a sort of unique way of doing point buy once and making it more completely random, though it involved rolling quite a few dice and made the characters really random(sort of like the 'roll down the line' days).
Basically you just choose how many points you want the characters to have, say 28 for example. Then you give each stat a number 1-6. So for example strength is 1, dexterity is 2, constitution is 3, ect.
Just roll a d6 28 times(or however many points you want to give them) and add a point on the the attribute with the matching number. For instance, if you rolled six 1's then the strength would be 14 because it started at 8 and you added six more points.
The bonus of this is that your characters will all be balanced but still completely random, but the drawback is that its much more likely that they will end up even across the board when most characters like one or two stats that really shine.
If you want to let the characters have a bit more flexibility so that a char doesn't get stuck with a high int char who wanted to play a fighter, just roll out the stats then let them assign them as they wish.
Also note- this can make characters just a hint more powerful then they would be by straight point buy because they aren't paying extra for higher stats, but I think the randomness balances it out well. If someone gets an 18 its just pure luck, and if they somehow roll that number again then I would have them just re-roll.
I do the same thing and give each player 1d4 extra points to put in any stats they want. I love this method. or rolling a variation of the 4d6 drop the lowest method, something like 4d4, drop lowest and add 6 to it(gives results of a 9-18) if you have a slightly more high powered campaign (the average is 13.5). Or do something funky like rolling 2d6, 1d8, and 1d4 and drop the lowest. 1d12+6. 1d10+8. Just grab some dice and let the good times roll. Use different rolls for different stats and make them roll stats in order.
And if you don't want underpowered low-rollers in the game make anyone with less than a +5 cumulative bonus (or higher, I would go with +7)in their stats re-roll.There's some funk for ya!
FH
You could do random dice rolls for character creation, like normal. Then have everyone calculate their point buy cost. Give all other players 1/2 the difference between their point buy cost and the leader's to buy up their stats.
The random roll should give characters a unique "stat shape", that they'll blur a bit as they use their limited pool of points. You should get a lot less variation in stats (say... half of what your random roll gave you) and everyone gets compensation-- either cool stats, or more choice.