I think it depends on the AP and the DM. I have 5 players with a 20 point buy and they've learned to be very careful. Sure, they steam-roller some encounters but they still have to retreat from time to time.
I think it depends on the AP and the DM. I have 5 players with a 20 point buy and they've learned to be very careful. Sure, they steam-roller some encounters but they still have to retreat from time to time.
while individual groups enjoyment levels vary greatly, many prefer either higher or lower point buy. (gritty vs heroic in a nutshell) 15 point buy will see dump stats more commonly, hwile higher point buys will tend to have a bit more rounded characters. (no, not in every case) Number of players are also a factor. As a default though, the AP's claim to be set up for a party of 4 on 15 point buy.
I myself let my players use a 25 buy, but i also have a larger then normal group and change/adjust encounters as a given.
There's at least one adventure path author who does playtesting with 15 point buy characters, but you should note that playtesting is completely up to the writer. What he (or she) uses for playtesting (if anything) will differ from one author to another, I suspect.
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The APs are balanced around:
- 15 point-buy
- 4 characters
- core rulebook races
- 20% of feats/options spent on roleplay/suboptimal choices
- average OOG tactical ability
Anything greater than that and the APs are on easy-mode.
The post just above me is quite correct, but you can go with a higher point buy if people build more realistic characters.
I just started playing a fighter in a PBP game here on the forums. The point buy was 25. I could easily have started with a 20 Strength, or 18 Str and 16 Con or more. Instead, my spread was Strength 18, Dexterity 14, Constitution 14, Intelligence 10, Wisdom 13 and Charisma 12. It's still pretty optimized, but this will allow the half-elf fighter to be pretty good at Perception and have a good Intimidate score. I didn't see him as a skill monkey, so those are his only two skills.
If they will use a higher point buy only to boost their main stat (or main two), than consider a more restrictive point buy. If they are the type of people who hate to have 8s in their array and purposefully give up a little power to avoid it, then you can give them 20 or more.
A 15 point buy is still better than the average person, no matter what. 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8 is a standard 15 point buy array, as is 14, 14, 14, 10, 10, 10. Then you add the racial stat bonus, so starting out with a 16 or 17 is common.
What does 15 point buy in Pathfinder equate to in 3.5E rules?
Olaf the Stout
If I remember correctly, it is around a 25 point buy in terms of 3E.
For instance, the Elite array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8) is 15 points in PFRPG and 25 points in 3.5E.
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If I remember correctly, it is around a 25 point buy in terms of 3E.
IIRC thou. The point buy in 3rd/ 3.5 had each stat start at 8, below average. So you have to spend points just to get your character to average stats. You are loosing points that way IMO.
I feel the PCs are larger then life heroes. There stats should reflect that and should at least start at 10, average.
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Every AP that I've played in has been 20 point buy. ... Our assumptions had always been to base it like pfs.
Quick comment here: PFS runs under the assumption that the players don't make for good a team. There are two dimensions here:
- PFS players don't have a well-defined strategy and don't have good out-of-game tactics and coordination defined.- PFS characters aren't built around each other. You can run into weird situations where there's a party of Wizards or no healers, or everyone's a gish, or something else very non-synergistic.
For these two reasons, PFS requires bump in point-buy to make up the ground. A homegame won't (or shouldn't) have either of these problems, and thus doesn't need this crutch.
Erik is a wise man. We should all listen to him.