The "3d6 in Order" Thread

[Grimstaff]

I'm curious how viable an option the traditional "3d6 in Order" method of generating stats is for 5E. Anyone interested in participating roll your stats, and advise others on what builds are most practical for their stat arrays.

Here's what I got:

Str: 11, Dex: 7, Con: 16, Int: 9, Wis: 10, Cha: 16.

What do you think? Paladin? Bard? What race?

[grub]

I'm curious how viable an option the traditional "3d6 in Order" method of generating stats is for 5E. Anyone interested in participating roll your stats, and advise others on what builds are most practical for their stat arrays.

Here's what I got:

Str: 11, Dex: 7, Con: 16, Int: 9, Wis: 10, Cha: 16.

What do you think? Paladin? Bard? What race?

Sorceror, High Elf (boosts dex to 9 and int to 10)


Str: 11, Dex: 10, Con: 8, Int: 9, Wis:11, Cha: 8

[Naanomi]

That is brutal, I remember rolling like this in 1e/2e but stats didn't matter much then unless they were very high or very low. Is it bad that I'd say 'moon Druid' for most characters lacking a 14 at least?

[Fighting_Ferret]

Half-Elven Bard or Sorceror would work well with that first roll.

[Grimstaff]

Str: 11, Dex: 10, Con: 8, Int: 9, Wis:11, Cha: 8

Mtn Dwarf Fighter? It'd get your Str/Con up, and with flat stats like that you could use the Fighter's 50% more stat increase / feats.

[MaxWilson]

Str: 11, Dex: 7, Con: 16, Int: 9, Wis: 10, Cha: 16.

Hmm. To me that looks like a Sorlock. Stay on the back lines and blast away, or Polymorph yourself into a T-Rex as needed. He's not too bright, but he's charismatic, so I'm thinking some kind of thuggish Criminal. Low Dex could mean fat, but high Con implies fitness, so... let's go with klutzy instead. Let's call him Crime Nerd.

Here's mine:

Str 10, Dex 6, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 6 [Variant human: increase to Con 14, Int 11]

This guy is healthy, but clumsy and shy. Otherwise average in every way. Now, I could be the world's worst bard, but instead I think I'll make the powergamer's choice and be a class that isn't too stat-dependent: either a support cleric or a Moon Druid. Since I hate clerics I guess it is Moon Druid for me. This guy is an orphan, was raised by relatives who neglected him, spent a lot of time climbing trees, watching field mice and dreaming about soaring eagles until one day he Leaves Home To Seek His Fortune and drinks from a well in the woods which puts him In Touch With Nature. Once he leaves home and comes into his druid powers, he finds that suddenly he loses a lot of inhibitions he once associated with his clumsy human body in his quaint old village. He has no problems being the friendly, goofy dog who comes up to the cute girl with a stick and barks until she starts playing with him. He's still a dork with Cha 6 and little social presence or insight, but at least he is willing to try to be a friendly dog. And when trouble comes along, he's not afraid to step up and defend his new friends.

So anyway, meet

Jack "Just Jack" from Tilmore
Variant Human (Mobile) Folk Hero Moon Druid.
Favorite combat forms: Dire Wolf, Giant Eagle, Giant Owl.
Favored Spells: Longstrider, Goodberry, Pass Without Trace, Conjure Animals, Enhance Ability (Charisma or Dexterity).

[ruy343]

A sorcerer or bard would be good, but not a half-elf. I would choose a mountain dwarf because if grants you free proficiency with medium armor/shields at first level, allowing you to get the heavy armor feat pretty early on and remove your Dex from your AC entirely, so that it only applies to saves/skills.

A mountain dwarf wild magic sorcerer sounds fun to me...

[Naanomi]

I got 8, 12, 6, 15, 7, 10

Which frankly isn't a bad wizard apart from that abysmal constitution. Abjurer to keep myself alive, or diviner and really work hard to avoid the front lines, probably V human with warmage to attempt to keep concentration occasionally

[Grimstaff]

He's not too bright, but he's charismatic, so I'm thinking some kind of thuggish Criminal. Low Dex could mean fat, but high Con implies fitness, so... let's go with klutzy instead. Let's call him Crime Nerd.

I love this kind of stuff - the unexpected personality/characterization implications that come from randomly generated (not to mention suboptimal) ability scores :)

[Grimstaff]

I got 8, 12, 6, 15, 7, 10

Which frankly isn't a bad wizard apart from that abysmal constitution. Abjurer to keep myself alive, or diviner and really work hard to avoid the front lines, probably V human with warmage to attempt to keep concentration occasionally

High elf to boost Dex/Int? Low Str/Con/Wis could imply a wizard who's dark arts have horribly maimed her, both physically and mentally!

[MaxWilson]

A sorcerer or bard would be good, but not a half-elf. I would choose a mountain dwarf because if grants you free proficiency with medium armor/shields at first level

Mountain dwarf grants medium armor proficiency but not shield proficiency. :(

[Demonic Spoon]

One way to get randomized ability scores without completely shafting unlucky players would be to start with either a standard array or a point buy distribution of your choice, and then randomly assign them to different ability scores. If you're worried about CON, maybe allow the player to swap one score to CON.

You get the excitement of not knowing what you'll be able to play or what your character will be good at without having to play a game where you're bad at everything.

[ZenBear]

Hmm. To me that looks like a Sorlock. Stay on the back lines and blast away, or Polymorph yourself into a T-Rex as needed. He's not too bright, but he's charismatic, so I'm thinking some kind of thuggish Criminal. Low Dex could mean fat, but high Con implies fitness, so... let's go with klutzy instead. Let's call him Crime Nerd.

Here's mine:

Str 10, Dex 6, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 6 [Variant human: increase to Con 14, Int 11]

This guy is healthy, but clumsy and shy. Otherwise average in every way. Now, I could be the world's worst bard, but instead I think I'll make the powergamer's choice and be a class that isn't too stat-dependent: either a support cleric or a Moon Druid. Since I hate clerics I guess it is Moon Druid for me. This guy is an orphan, was raised by relatives who neglected him, spent a lot of time climbing trees, watching field mice and dreaming about soaring eagles until one day he Leaves Home To Seek His Fortune and drinks from a well in the woods which puts him In Touch With Nature. Once he leaves home and comes into his druid powers, he finds that suddenly he loses a lot of inhibitions he once associated with his clumsy human body in his quaint old village. He has no problems being the friendly, goofy dog who comes up to the cute girl with a stick and barks until she starts playing with him. He's still a dork with Cha 6 and little social presence or insight, but at least he is willing to try to be a friendly dog. And when trouble comes along, he's not afraid to step up and defend his new friends.

So anyway, meet

Jack "Just Jack" from Tilmore
Variant Human (Mobile) Folk Hero Moon Druid.
Favorite combat forms: Dire Wolf, Giant Eagle, Giant Owl.
Favored Spells: Longstrider, Goodberry, Pass Without Trace, Conjure Animals, Enhance Ability (Charisma or Dexterity).

That's a really cool character. Well done! :smallsmile:

My rolls: 9 STR/17 DEX/11 CON/10 INT/8 WIS/7 CHA

VHuman Rogue (+1 STR/DEX) Crossbow Expert/Sharpshooter. Boring. :smalltongue:

[Naanomi]

High elf to boost Dex/Int? Low Str/Con/Wis could imply a wizard who's dark arts have horribly maimed her, both physically and mentally!
My interpretation is a very reluctant adventurer... A lifelong scholar with little real-world experience and less time outside the library, forced by circumstances beyond his control into the dangerous world

[MaxWilson]

One way to get randomized ability scores without completely shafting unlucky players would be to start with either a standard array or a point buy distribution of your choice, and then randomly assign them to different ability scores. If you're worried about CON, maybe allow the player to swap one score to CON.

You get the excitement of not knowing what you'll be able to play or what your character will be good at without having to play a game where you're bad at everything.

I think the main attraction, for me, of the occasional 3d6 character is less about the randomization and more about normalizing your expectations--it's about realizing for example that Con 13 is in actuality a pretty healthy body! Then when you play 4d6 drop lowest, you won't look down so much on a fighter who has "only" Str 14.

[DanyBallon]

Never been so lucky!!!

STR 12 DEX 13 CON 16 INT 11 WIS 10 CHA 18 :smallbiggrin:

sorcerer, bard, warlock and paladin would be sure choice, as well as being an half-elf

But I like odd non-optimal character, so I might go with a human (non-variant) fighter with the charlatan background. And looking to become a swashbuckler
Skills: Deception, Sleight of hand (might ask DM if he would let me trade it for Persuasion), Intimidation and Insight

This guy is way too talkative for is own good, can't say two words without lying/embellishing/bullsh*ting, and is not wise enough to realise when he went too far. Fortunately for him, he's a decent fighter that old his own in a fight, and is not above using dirty trick to gain advantage on his numerous enemies, as running away when thing gets to sour is totally an acceptable option for him. His pretend that he has dwarven lineage and that's how he had survive so many poisoning attempts on him, but in fact, it's more that he's such a bad cook that his "fine cuisine" got his stomach to digest almost anything!

[Grimstaff]

One way to get randomized ability scores without completely shafting unlucky players would be to start with either a standard array or a point buy distribution of your choice, and then randomly assign them to different ability scores. If you're worried about CON, maybe allow the player to swap one score to CON.

You get the excitement of not knowing what you'll be able to play or what your character will be good at without having to play a game where you're bad at everything.

One player's "shafting" is another player's RP challenge. I think standard array will likely be the "gold standard" of 5E, but its interesting to, so far at least, see that everyone's character rolled in this thread has potential to be a fun character to run, something I didn't really see in the prior few editions.

[Grimstaff]

Never been so lucky!!!

STR 12 DEX 13 CON 16 INT 11 WIS 10 CHA 18 :smallbiggrin:



Nice. Please go get us all a lottery ticket now :smallcool:

[Phawksin]

That OP looks like a Sorcerer version of one of my first 5e characters. Take Mountain Dwarf, talk your DM into letting you trade your racial weapon proficiencies for Shield proficiency. Throw on some medium armor (that you can upgrade to heavy at your earliest convenience) grab your family shield and light up shocking grasp to have the jovial Noble who has set off into the world to make a better name for himself than his family's. As a playstyle run in and electrically slap the snot out of baddies. You might get beat to the ground a lot (especially before 4th level), but you just laugh it off and fly back into the fray.

My rolls were Str: 15 Dex: 11 Con: 15 Int: 5 Wis: 14 Cha: 7

I'm thinking a non-variant Human Cleric. He desperately wants to help everyone he meets, but he isn't particularly good at it. Screaming at his allies "I am coming to heal you!" and other silly, uncharismatic shenanigans.

[Grimstaff]

My rolls were Str: 15 Dex: 11 Con: 15 Int: 5 Wis: 14 Cha: 7

I'm thinking a non-variant Human Cleric. He desperately wants to help everyone he meets, but he isn't particularly good at it. Screaming at his allies "I am coming to heal you!" and other silly, uncharismatic shenanigans.

Or a Barbarian with a horrible open head wound that never really closes up all the way (yeah, gross).

[TheOOB]

If I were going to roll stats it would be in order, it sets up a party where you can't plan what you get. Rolling stats and choosing where they go is pointless IMO, you're just randomly determining how good you are, not what you're playing

[Ardantis]

Str 15 Dex 15 Con 9 Int 8 Wis 9 Cha 5

Sooo much value out of regular human...

Human fighter, urchin background. Aims for medium armor master, pole arm master, great weapon master, max Str in ASIs. Stealthy, strong, poor at asserting self. Went from homeless to town guard to adventurer as a hapless victim of a series of mishaps. Practical, dumb, and easily led. Makes things happen with his body, but mostly for others.

I feel like the big, uncharismatic fighter is more difficult a play concept than the big dumb one, especially as a PC.

[TheOOB]

Let's see what I come up with. Before I roll stats, I'll roll race on the reincarnate table. If you can't decide your stats, you can't decide your race.

I am a mountain dwarf with
Str 16(14 base + 2 racial)
Dex 6
Con 6(4 base + 2 racial)
Int 9
Wis 7
Cha 11

And this is why I hate rolling. This character is completely inappropriate for adventuring, and wouldn't even make it as a laborer

[PoeticDwarf]

I'm curious how viable an option the traditional "3d6 in Order" method of generating stats is for 5E. Anyone interested in participating roll your stats, and advise others on what builds are most practical for their stat arrays.

Here's what I got:

Str: 11, Dex: 7, Con: 16, Int: 9, Wis: 10, Cha: 16.

What do you think? Paladin? Bard? What race?

3d6 in order is just nothing. You can better go for pointbuy, or 3d4b6. What you have know is just stupid, and you were lucky, if you roll 3d6 you don't often have 2 times a 16...

Also, if you roll 4 for constitution or dexterity you can't do anything.

[Gwendol]

3d6 in order is just nothing. You can better go for pointbuy, or 3d4b6. What you have know is just stupid, and you were lucky, if you roll 3d6 you don't often have 2 times a 16...

Also, if you roll 4 for constitution or dexterity you can't do anything.

Of course you can, but maybe not for too long. I wouldn't call it stupid: it's a game and this is one way to play it.

[JoeJ]

Let's see what I come up with. Before I roll stats, I'll roll race on the reincarnate table. If you can't decide your stats, you can't decide your race.

I am a mountain dwarf with
Str 16(14 base + 2 racial)
Dex 6
Con 6(4 base + 2 racial)
Int 9
Wis 7
Cha 11

And this is why I hate rolling. This character is completely inappropriate for adventuring, and wouldn't even make it as a laborer

Life cleric could work, despite the poor WIS. Get heavy armor and stay in the back, focusing on healing and buffing spells that don't require hit rolls or saves.

You could also go paladin or fighter, again with heavy armor. Protect your poor hit points by standing back and using your STR with thrown weapons.

[MadBear]

Let's see what I come up with. Before I roll stats, I'll roll race on the reincarnate table. If you can't decide your stats, you can't decide your race.

I am a mountain dwarf with
Str 16(14 base + 2 racial)
Dex 6
Con 6(4 base + 2 racial)
Int 9
Wis 7
Cha 11

And this is why I hate rolling. This character is completely inappropriate for adventuring, and wouldn't even make it as a laborer

Maybe inappropriate for adventuring, but with a wisdom of 7, and a strength of 16, he'd probably think he'd be fine. I mean sure with a Con of 6, he can't take a punch from a floating butterfly, and with a dex of 6 he's definitely going to get hit by the butterfly as well, but he'd be a bit oblivious.

In fact he's the exact kind of skeleton corpse the other adventures find when their out doing the actual adventuring.

[Flashy]

I got the most ordinary person in the universe!

Str: 11
Dex: 11
Con: 10
Int: 12
Wis: 10
Cha: 11

Probably a wizard? Not a terribly successful one, but still a wizard.

[MadBear]

I like the random race idea so here he is:

Race: High Elf

Strength: 9
Dex: 8 (6->8)
Con: 11
Int: 14 (13->14)
Wis: 9
Char: 11

I present Feno, the most generic high elf wizard ever. He's not very strong, he's not very agile, and he's moderately tough. He makes up for it by being of slightly above average intellect, a bit naive, and his personality is forgettable.

[Jermz]

This is very similar to how I rolled my character. We had only just begun 5e and I didn't really know what character I wanted, what race to play and had a very very faint grasp of the rules. So I said screw it - I rolled randomly for a race, and then I rolled stats 4d6, in order, and decided that whatever came out, I'd play. This is the character after modifiers

Rudolf - wood elf rogue

Str - 16
Dex - 17
Con - 16
Int - 13
Wis - 16
Cha - 11

I know that the stats are shockingly awesome, though I feel like the 16 in strength would probably be much better placed in intelligence. Still, that's the way the dice fell and I stood by my decision. We've now hit level 4 and I've taken the alert feat. He's great fun to play, though I'm still fleshing out his identity/background/motivations.

I see him as the world-weary elf, who's lived for a long time around humans as a caravan guide (outlander background). He's seen a lot, but he knows that he doesn't really know anything. He's a brute, probably the largest elf that most people will ever see, yet he's stealthy and speedy like a cat. I like the thought of this massive dude that nobody ever seems to notice, even though he's probably one of the biggest guys in the room.

[KorvinStarmast]

What you have know is just stupid, and you were lucky, if you roll 3d6 you don't often have 2 times a 16. "Is just stupid" says the poster who spells "now" "know." Got it.

*Casts Grognard Emergence Spell*

When we played back in the 70's, we rolled in order just as it said in Men and Magic. We played what we got. Were we just stupid?

No. Without curious people like us this hobby would not have thrived, would not have survived. You are welcome, now ...

Get Off Of My Lawn! :smallbiggrin:

*Spell expires*

[Naanomi]

When we played back in the 70's, we rolled in order just as it said in Men and Magic. We played what we got. Were we just stupid?
The difference being back then stats barely matters unless very high or very low (or for casters, unless very high level) and most classes needed one stat decent at best. Different game now with different rules supporting different expectations

[MaxWilson]

Let's see what I come up with. Before I roll stats, I'll roll race on the reincarnate table. If you can't decide your stats, you can't decide your race.

I am a mountain dwarf with
Str 16(14 base + 2 racial)
Dex 6
Con 6(4 base + 2 racial)
Int 9
Wis 7
Cha 11

And this is why I hate rolling. This character is completely inappropriate for adventuring, and wouldn't even make it as a laborer

He's make a pretty decent caravan guard (fighter) actually. Only 8 HP at first level, and 4 per level after that until he hits 4th and gets Toughness (+2 HP/level), but still a useful meat shield capable of wearing heavy armor, and he still has all the usual fighter abilities like Second Wind and Action Surge. I wouldn't kick him off the team, I just wouldn't let him wear leather armor or fire a longbow in my direction. "He's also the only dwarf I know who can't hold his liquor. Other than that, he's completely typical for a dwarf." ;-)

If you put him in chain mail or plate armor his Dex 6 doesn't matter (much). He's still AC 16 or 18 either way, possibly as high as AC 21, depending. Take Defense style and Athletics proficiency and voila! useful character. This guy will grab you and throw you to the ground for other people to beat on at advantage, head-butting you all the while since both hands are full. Maybe not a fun primary PC but a great henchman. Dwarf, I dub thee Thungle.


The difference being back then stats barely matters unless very high or very low (or for casters, unless very high level) and most classes needed one stat decent at best. Different game now with different rules supporting different expectations

I'd argue that in 5E, stats still don't matter very much. If they did, Thungle here wouldn't be a useful character.

[DanyBallon]

The difference being back then stats barely matters unless very high or very low (or for casters, unless very high level) and most classes needed one stat decent at best. Different game now with different rules supporting different expectations

5e isn't as much stat dependent as 3.P was. Bond Accuracy let you be competent even if you don't have 20 in you main stat. Characters have much more Hit Points than the early editions, sure having a high constitution help you live longer, but it ain't an absolute necessity. Spell DC might suffer the most from low stats as someone has around 50% chance succeeding without any bonus against a caster how have a low spellcasting stat, but not all spells require saving throws.

A 3d6 in order campaign is quite possible and enjoyable, but will require the DM to be a bit more careful while preparing encounter and it will certainly more deadly.

[Naanomi]

5e is as much stat dependent as 3.P was.
3.X is old timey to you? Way to make me feel old, I was talking 1e/2e

[DanyBallon]

3.X is old timey to you? Way to make me feel old, I was talking 1e/2e

Oups, I meant isn't as stat much stat dependent :smallbiggrin:

[INDYSTAR188]

I rolled an interesting array:

Str 11
Dex 7
Con 11
Int 13
Wis 12
Cha 18

Looks like a Half-elf Sorcerer to me!

After racials, 11, 7, 12,14, 12, 20.

[Socko525]

Str: 11
Dex: 14
Con: 17
Int: 9
Wis: 9
Cha: 9

Yikes...

I guess that makes a good case for non-variant human, and class....spell-less ranger? More realistically, dex fighter. That way I can make use of all those ASIs

[JNAProductions]

Right, dice roller is not working for me. Rolling at home.

Race: Half-Elf (56)

Stats (Before racial mods)



Strength
10


Dexterity
14


Constitution
12


Intelligence
15


Wisdom
12


Charisma
10




Wow. With stats like that, I can be almost anything. Wizard would probably be best, though.

Kinda boring, really.

[Grimstaff]

This character is completely inappropriate for adventuring

Why? He's strong enough to wear the best armor, so AC's not an issue, which mitigates the low Dex and Con at least.

[Grimstaff]

3d6 in order is just nothing. You can better go for pointbuy, or 3d4b6. What you have know is just stupid, and you were lucky, if you roll 3d6 you don't often have 2 times a 16...

Also, if you roll 4 for constitution or dexterity you can't do anything.

The point isn't what's more optimized - of course point buy is (barring some awesome rolls) - but whether you can reliably have a fun game rolling 3d6 in order. From what I've seen in the thread so far, parties would tend to be a bit Fighter-heavy, but otherwise playable and even enjoyable, especially from a RP perspective.

[MaxWilson]

Str: 11
Dex: 14
Con: 17
Int: 9
Wis: 9
Cha: 9

Yikes...

I guess that makes a good case for non-variant human, and class....spell-less ranger? More realistically, dex fighter. That way I can make use of all those ASIs

I've run Sharpshooter fighters with worse stats than this. Pick a variant human, give him Con 18 and In 10, make him moody and a recovering alcoholic (because Cha/Wis), and give him Sharpshooter and archery style as a 1st level fighter. He'll be just fine.

I'm flabberghasted really how well people in this thread are rolling with the 16s, 17s, and 18s. I suspect some selection bias, that those who roll poor stats are disproportionately likely not to post. I just rolled again and got "9 7 8 15 12 13" which looks to me like a bog-standard bookish 1st level wizard who dies to housecats. :) Notable for the fact that he has an AC of only 8, but besides that he would probably play pretty much like any other 5E wizard.

[Knaight]

"Is just stupid" says the poster who spells "now" "know." Got it.

*Casts Grognard Emergence Spell*

When we played back in the 70's, we rolled in order just as it said in Men and Magic. We played what we got. Were we just stupid?

No. Without curious people like us this hobby would not have thrived, would not have survived. You are welcome, now ...

Get Off Of My Lawn! :smallbiggrin:

*Spell expires*
You realize that this line of argument can defend any design decision whatsoever, regardless of how terrible it was, right? Reinterpret a statement that a design decision was stupid as saying that those that used it were, argue they weren't, then throw in the rhetorical hammer that modern gaming wouldn't exist without people playing the earlier games, ergo those games must have been well designed.

Alternately, an interpretation would be that there were a number of questionably designed mechanics, which tended to still see use because early designers were working without the hindsight of the way tons of extant systems built things.

[DanyBallon]

I'm flabberghasted really how well people in this thread are rolling with the 16s, 17s, and 18s. I suspect some selection bias, that those who roll poor stats are disproportionately likely not to post. I just rolled again and got "9 7 8 15 12 13" which looks to me like a bog-standard bookish 1st level wizard who dies to housecats. :) Notable for the fact that he has an AC of only 8, but besides that he would probably play pretty much like any other 5E wizard.

I'm at work so I used a dice roller a few time just for fun and I got the following:

15, 9, 10, 15, 12, 9
13, 10, 11, 9, 13, 13
11, 13, 13, 12, 7, 12
13, 9, 11, 11, 4, 6

Not as exceptionnal as yersterday roll, but except for the last one, all could make decent character without big drawback.

I'm quite surprised how good the stats turn out to be for 3d6 in order. But I fear, that the day we'd try this for a one shot, I'll roll like crap :smallbiggrin:

[DanyBallon]

You realize that this line of argument can defend any design decision whatsoever, regardless of how terrible it was, right? Reinterpret a statement that a design decision was stupid as saying that those that used it were, argue they weren't, then throw in the rhetorical hammer that modern gaming wouldn't exist without people playing the earlier games, ergo those games must have been well designed.

Alternately, an interpretation would be that there were a number of questionably designed mechanics, which tended to still see use because early designers were working without the hindsight of the way tons of extant systems built things.

I believe his point was that in the early editions, there was people that played D&D with a method we consider harsh/unfair today, and yet they had fun, and if they didn't we might not be here today enjoying the 5th edition of that game.

[Grimstaff]

I'd argue that in 5E, stats still don't matter very much. If they did, Thungle here wouldn't be a useful character.

It does seem like there are enough options in 5E, between stat bumps, races, and class abilities, that you can swing having a couple of suboptimal stats and still pursue a successful adventuring career. I can see how it would take a little more "player skill" than "character skill" to really prosper though.

Non-variant human, especially, seems like a big mitigator for this generation style.

[mephnick]

Rolled with real dice:

9
8
9
11
4
9

I will be jumping off the first cliff I see. New character!

[Merc_Kilsek]

Str: 8
Dex: 12 (+2) 14
Con: 17 (+1) 18
Int: 13
Wis: 11
Cha: 4

Hmm, dex base eldritch knight maybe? Stout Halfling. I could play this and have fun. The low cha score will bite me in the butt thou for a long term campaign.

[bardo]

I got the most ordinary person in the universe!

Str: 11
Dex: 11
Con: 10
Int: 12
Wis: 10
Cha: 11

Probably a wizard? Not a terribly successful one, but still a wizard.

The law of averages strikes again =)

We used to roll 3d6 in order and then swap two ability scores. Flashy here could swap STR/INT to get that 12 into STR to play a fighter. or DEX/INT to play a rogue. Or INT/WIS to play a cleric. Really gives you a lot of options, while at the same time keeping you stuck with what you rolled.

If anyone rolled an 18 they would, of course, swap it into STR for the percentiles.

Bardo

[KorvinStarmast]

The difference being back then stats barely matters unless very high or very low (or for casters, unless very high level) and most classes needed one stat decent at best. Different game now with different rules supporting different expectations
Just a note: as soon as Greyhawk came out with the additional boosts and penalties for stats, and with the percentile strength for those with 18 strength, scores mattered.
Note 1: in Greyhawk the limits of spell caseing and spells known based on Int score was introduced . That spell you may recall from the 1e PHB.
Also this limit on higher level spells from page 8:

The intelligence of the magic-user also serves to delineate the use of spells above the 5th level:
— Only magic-users above 11 intelligence are able to employ 6th level spells.
— Only magic-users above 13 intelligence are able to employ 7th level spells.
— Only magic-users above 15 intelligence are able to employ 8th level spells.
— Only magic-users above 17 intelligence are able to employ 9th level spells
Constitution + and - to HP, Resurrection % chance of success, and Spell Survival % were introduced. More Con = better.

Likewise with Dexterity. Only for Fighters you get this:


Fighters with a dexterity of greater than 14 can use their unusual manual dexterity to attempt to dodge or parry opponents' attacks. For every
point over 14 they are able to reduce their opponents' chances of hitting them by 1 (5%). Other classes didn't get this benefit until 1e was published.

[Dizlag]

Rolled with real dice:

9
8
9
11
4
9

I will be jumping off the first cliff I see. New character!

Oh in HackMaster we call that a "Shopkeeper roll" ... give those stats to the GM so he can make a "Shopkeeper" NPC out of him. In that system, you can reroll your stats if no one stat is 13 or greater or if 2 stats are 5 or less. =)

I got ... 7, 11, 5, 12, 14, 10. He grew up as an acolyte in the church as he was left on the front step as a child. And maybe a Life Domain Cleric because all of his life he has been sick and always taken care of with the 5 Con. But, no more. He's put on the vestments and has now vowed to travel the world healing others. Not sure what race though. What race, other than human, would leave their young on the steps of a church? Not seeing a halfling family or dwarven family doing that. Half-orc? Hmmm ...

This is a great thread!

Dizlag

[Knaight]

10, 15, 10, 10, 12, 7

I'm thinking this would work okay for an archer, probably with some rogue mixed in to get Expertise and be marginally less terrible at skills. Personality-wise, this seems evocative of someone who lives in the wilderness, interacting with people minimally and not particularly well, a bit more aware of their surroundings and a decent shot with a bow. Perhaps a former fur trader, spending months at a time in the wilderness hunting and building up fur supplies, coming occasionally to frontier trading posts. They're generally pretty hardy, but malnutrition has taken its toll (hence the surprisingly low strength and constitution).

[KorvinStarmast]

OK, look who I got on my first two tries, Ugly Fred and Joseph Average!
OD&D
........Joseph .................................Fred
S........9........................................ ..11
I........12....................................... ..13
W.......11........................................ .11
D........11....................................... .13
Con......9........................................ .. 9
Ch........9....................................... ....6

In 5th edition

........Joseph .................................Fred
S........9........................................ ..11
D........12....................................... ..13
C.......11........................................ .11
I........11....................................... .13
W......9.......................................... 9
Ch.......9........................................ ...6

So, in old D&D I make Joe Average a magic user and Fred a Thief.
===========
In 5e I'd make Fred a Wizard, and as for Joe

Joe never excelled in anything, and never stood out among his peers. He was decent a throwing rocks and wood carving with that knife grandfather had left for him. He got into his share of trouble, and had to often duck and dodge the older boys who thumped him when they could catch him. Busted for shoplifting twice, his uncle sent him to the city to apprentice with a scribe, to give his nimble fingers something to do.

Joe caught on well enough, but hated working for that irritable old man. One day he noticed an older customer paying for a copy of a small booklet. His coin purse looked full, and heavy.
It was raining, almost closing time.
Joe snuck out the back, fingering grandfather's blade. He crept up behind the old man and stuck his foot out to trip him. Down the man went, into the muddy street. Joe spotted his purse and quickly sliced at the bottom of it as he moved to the man's head, kneeling down.
"Sir, are you OK? Here, let me help you up!"
A number of coins fell into the mud, nearly noiselessly as Joe helped him up.
"Thanks, young man."
"Best get home to your wife and a hot dinner, Sir. Hopefully the footing is better in your neighborhood."

As the man turned to go, Joe dropped to his knees, picking up the dirty coins as quickly as he could.

He turned to look over his shoulder as the man walked away, and nearly froze as he saw the man reach for his belt and stop suddenly in the street.

Joe got up, a few silvers still in the mud, and took off as though the entire gang of bullies was on his heels.

"I've been robbed!" came the old man's shout, but Joseph never looked back.

He never went back to work either. The old man had seen his face.

[JoeJ]

Rolled with dice:

Dragonborn (04 for race)

STR 16 + 2 = 18
DEX 15
CON 8
INT 11
WIS 9
CHA 13 + 1 = 14

Hmmm. This is a lot better than these dice usually give me during play. This looks like it could be decent as a fighter or paladin. With that CON and DEX I'd want at least medium armor.

[PoeticDwarf]

"Is just stupid" says the poster who spells "now" "know." Got it.

*Casts Grognard Emergence Spell*

When we played back in the 70's, we rolled in order just as it said in Men and Magic. We played what we got. Were we just stupid?

No. Without curious people like us this hobby would not have thrived, would not have survived. You are welcome, now ...

Get Off Of My Lawn! :smallbiggrin:

*Spell expires*

Lol maybe I was just in a hurry, if you want to hate it's your choice. Your reply is just the most rubbish one I've ever seen... I only say that 3d6 is a bad way to get stats

[DanyBallon]

Lol maybe I was just in a hurry, if you want to hate it's your can choice. Ypur reply is just the most rubbish one I've ever seen... I only say that 3d6 is aa bad way to get stats

Yet this very thread shows up that with a bit of creativity you can build interesting character rolling 3d6 placed in order. Sure they are not optimal, but they can be fun to play and in the end that's all that matter.

[XmonkTad]

13, 11, 11, 13, 11, 11.
That's pretty average. The optimizer in me wants to play it non-variant human eldrich knight. Since they have such mediocre everything I'll say archery style javelin thrower.

I'm actually kind of disappointed by these rolls because the numbers are so consistent. I feel like a character without a 16 and an 8 doesn't have any significant strengths or weaknesses, and doesn't stand out. Then again, a character should stand out via their actions, not their stats.

[Naanomi]

In a real game I've only rolled one 18 and one 3 on a character, good ol' Alena, evoker with the noble kit. Stats were something like 5, 7, 16, 15, 4, 18 and I was thrilled

[LaserFace]

I really enjoy 3d6 in-order experiments; sometimes it helps me to consider new concepts that otherwise just don't occur to me. It also appeals to my desire to play highly-lethal dungeon crawls.

I rolled:

Str 5
Dex 8
Con 17
Int 11
Wis 8
Cha 12

A Half-Elf Sorcerer of Draconic Origin might survive an adventure. I'd probably bump Con and Int with my +1s.

I can kinda imagine him to be a haphazard adventurer just relies on long-distance running to survive all the perils of adventuring life. Would probably be pretty fun to play.

[Stan]

A year or so ago, I ran 3-4 session adventure for 3d6 characters. They were reluctant adventurers thrown into a situation. I definitely wouldn't run every campaign that way but it's fun for a light change.

6
12
17(18)
9(10)
11
14(16)

These rolls are decent. Low strength is manageable, mainly limiting encumbrance, just use a finesse weapon or spells for damage. Moderately low Int doesn't hurt much. As a half-elf, they could be a decent draconic sorcerer, 14 AC and decent hp makes them less afraid of someone getting close, though they're still not melee material. They're likely to survive a while due to 18 con.

6
12(14)
17(18)
9
11
14
Same rolls, different character. Not as optimized but a stout halfling rogue would be quite playable. Have a few social skills that make use of the charisma. 18 con is still nice.

[EvanescentHero]

Rolled on a virtual roller:
Str: 5
Dex: 8
Con: 11
Int: 16
Wis: 10
Cha: 11

So I guess I'm a wizard. I'd probably take variant human for the medium armor feat and to bump my Con and Dex, or mountain dwarf for medium armor proficiency and a Con bump, though the Str would be useless.

I dislike wizards, but the one wizard concept I liked was one who used his slots for almost nothing but catapult, so I guess I'll play that guy. Increase my Dex as soon as possible so I don't have a negative in my AC, and keep bumping my Int and Con. Unfortunately this guy will never have the strength to wear heavy armor.

If he's a dwarf, maybe he uses catapult so much because he doesn't have the strength to wield a weapon, so he flings them around the battlefield.

[Stan]

7
14
5
9
10
8

Yea, that'd be tough. Make a sneaky rogue who stealths around. NPC material.

14(16)
8
8(10)
10
10
8
mountain dwarf fighter. Heavy armor makes 8 dex less painful. This is your typical dwarf, unremarkable mental stats, relies on a big axe and heavy armor, like an NPC made PC.

[MadBear]

Unfortunately this guy will never have the strength to wear heavy armor.

ahh, but you forget that the only thing a low strength does for heavy armor is it reduces your speed by 10 ft. Now this would be bad except dwarves can never have their speed reduced due to armor, thereby mitigating the effect entirely.

[JNAProductions]

Dwarves suffer no penalties for having low strength in heavy armor.

And ninja'd.

[YossarianLives]

What the heck, I don't play 5e but this looks fun.

Str: 10
Con: 10
Dex: 10
Int: 13
Wis: 7
Cha: 12

I guess this could be a high-elf wizard.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Rolled on real dice:

STR 13
DEX 14
CON 12
INT 14
WIS 11
CHA 12

Hmm... when I saw the dice fall, there were a lot of pips on the table. The dice felt hot. But now that I look at the stats... :smallconfused:

I reckon this is an Arcane trickster, so... Variant Human with +1 STR, +1 DEX, Athlete (DEX) feat?

Coin toss for sex: female
Roll for sexuality: straight
Roll for alignment: CN
Roll for background: Criminal (highwaywoman)
Randomly generated name...


Sunset "Maverick" Stromdagger
Human Rogue


STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA


14 (+2)
16 (+3)
12 (+1)
14 (+2)
11 (+0)
12 (+1)


Skills: Acrobatics +7, Athletics +6, Deception +3, Intimidation +3, Investigation +4, Sleight of Hand +5, Stealth +5

A woman at home in barroom brawls, armed robberies and moonlit caravan trails, Sunset is a dangerous and volatile character. She takes what she wants, when she wants it. And now that she's started studying magic, the authorities have put a bounty on her head. The only question is: can they find a bounty hunter capable of wrestling her to the ground?

Hey, this is fun!

[EvanescentHero]

ahh, but you forget that the only thing a low strength does for heavy armor is it reduces your speed by 10 ft. Now this would be bad except dwarves can never have their speed reduced due to armor, thereby mitigating the effect entirely.


Dwarves suffer no penalties for having low strength in heavy armor.

And ninja'd.

Holy crap, you're right. Dwarven wizard, here I come!

[jkat718]

Coin toss for sex: female
Roll for sexuality: straight
Roll for alignment: CN
Roll for background: Criminal (highwaywoman)
Randomly generated name...

Where did you get a "roll for sexuality" table? :smallconfused: And...why?
STR: 11
DEX: 10
CON: 8
INT: 7
WIS: 16
CHA: 14

Hm...I could take this two ways. The first option is to boost CON with Hill Dwarf and go WIS-caster. Optimised? Sure. Fun? Not so much. The second option is to boost DEX with High Elf and go "lovable but stupid" Rogue (think Guilded Age (guildedage.net)'s Payet Best). Now that would be fun.

[Jigawatts]

The difference being back then stats barely matters unless very high or very low (or for casters, unless very high level) and most classes needed one stat decent at best. Different game now with different rules supporting different expectations
This is true in AD&D, however in the Basic rules (B/X, BECMI, Rules Compendium, and I believe the white books) only a 9-12 is a net 0 modifier, it goes

3: -3
4-5: -2
6-8: -1
9-12: 0
13-15: +1
16-17: +2
18: +3

It always did irk me that in 1E/2E a 7 or 8 through a 14 or 15 is basically the same thing, I do love the unique ridiculousness of exceptional strength though.

[hecetv]

Well I got a stout halfling with:

7
7+2=9
7+1=8
11
9
15

So I'm thinking warlock...

[XmonkTad]

Where did you get a "roll for sexuality" table? :smallconfused: And...why?


You can roll more than that if you look up the worst tabletop RPG ever made. It has tables for everything.
F.A.T.A.L. it's super NSFW, horrible and deplorable in every way. If Acererak tried to make an RPG to suck your soul out, he would scrap it and use this instead.

[JNAProductions]

Except that table (like everything else in that... abomination) is godawful.

I'd just use a quick table like so:

1-Heterosexual
2-Homosexual
3-Bisexual
4-Asexual

With possible modifiers for cultural influences. (Elves are usually asexual? Roll a d6, 4-6 is ace. Dwarves are usually gay? Roll a d6 (again), 2-4 is homosexual.)

[MaxWilson]

I rolled:

Str 5
Dex 8
Con 17
Int 11
Wis 8
Cha 12

A Half-Elf Sorcerer of Draconic Origin might survive an adventure. I'd probably bump Con and Int with my +1s.

I can kinda imagine him to be a haphazard adventurer just relies on long-distance running to survive all the perils of adventuring life. Would probably be pretty fun to play.

Apropos:

"Now, I'm not as strong as those really big guys. . . . I don't do swordplay as well as [other folks]. I don't yet have the magical experience and know-how to outfinesse the really experienced wizards and sorcerers who have been hanging around for centuries. . . . But I'll take any of those guys in a footrace. Guaranteed. I run -- and not so that I'll be skinny and look good, either. I run so that when something that wants to kill me is chasing me, I'll be good at running." --Harry Dresden, professional wizard (in Jim Butcher's Small Favor)

[Atalas]

Str: 18 Dex: 11 Con: 12 Int: 15 Wis: 13 Cha: 13

I'm thinking Fire Genasi Eldritch Knight here. Or Half-Elf Paladin, boosting Int and Wis. Dragonborn Paladin wouldn't be too bad either. some decent choices here. Maybe even a gnome Eldritch Knight. Hill Dwarf Ranger might be hilarious.

[MaxWilson]

ahh, but you forget that the only thing a low strength does for heavy armor is it reduces your speed by 10 ft. Now this would be bad except dwarves can never have their speed reduced due to armor, thereby mitigating the effect entirely.

Even for non-dwarves the effect is completely mitigated by the Longstrider spell.


Except that table (like everything else in that... abomination) is godawful.

I'd just use a quick table like so:

1-Heterosexual
2-Homosexual
3-Bisexual
4-Asexual

With possible modifiers for cultural influences. (Elves are usually asexual? Roll a d6, 4-6 is ace. Dwarves are usually gay? Roll a d6 (again), 2-4 is homosexual.)

In order to produce a stable population equilibrium from that table, the average heterosexual or bisexual creature will need to produce four offspring on average even if all of them are guaranteed to survive to adulthood. Given D&D mortality rate tropes, it's probably something more like 8 kids per couple. Each adventurer comes from a family of 6 to 12 siblings...

[JNAProductions]

*Shurg*

Chart took me under a minute to make, so I make no guarantees to its practicality.

Then again, you never usually see big families in my experience of D&D, so it'd make a nice change.

[Nifft]

Then again, you never usually see big families in my experience of D&D, so it'd make a nice change.

"You have six brothers? That's wonderful! That means six BBEG plot hooks when I murder them!"
-- The DM of Future Orphans

[djreynolds]

I'm curious how viable an option the traditional "3d6 in Order" method of generating stats is for 5E. Anyone interested in participating roll your stats, and advise others on what builds are most practical for their stat arrays.

Here's what I got:

Str: 11, Dex: 7, Con: 16, Int: 9, Wis: 10, Cha: 16.

What do you think? Paladin? Bard? What race?

You should play a Zombie or something undead, because you're going to die a lot.

No, seriously. Those stats are more than fine. With SPBI all you can hope to have are 15/15/15/8/8/8/ .

What to take? Many will say mountain dwarf for the armor and "thrown" weapon, or half -elf for the charisma bonus and "even out" the dex and int. Obviously sorcerer is just fine, both of your 16's are in the primary stats for a caster. Great for hit point and concentration. Hill dwarf is fine also for the extra hit point and proficiency in weapons, like thrown hand axes . At level 8,at you have a 20 in charisma and level 14 you will have a 20 in constitution.

I think people can become spoiled. I play right now with people who have outrageous stats and homebrewed races. You have to 16's and sorcerer is awesome. Some great guides out there for what spells to take as a sorcerer.

Why did you become a sorcerer?

Why is your dex a 7? Maybe you have one leg.

Maybe you got hit in the head and your intelligence reflects not "your" stupidity buy you can't remember things now, like dementia or amnesia.

Strength, well you got one leg.

Infact your low dex, str, and int are a result of your town being attacked by a dragon, leaving you almost dead, but with a particular talent now for magic.

[Flashy]

I really liked this premise so I decided to do another and rolled...

Race: Water Genasi

Str: 8
Dex: 9
Con: 3 (+2)
Int: 4
Wis: 9 (+1)
Cha: 11

Cleric? I like the idea of a nature cleric. Not particularly wise or strong, but committed to nature. Fluff the incredibly low Con/Int as a water elemental corrupted by brine.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Lol. I like how you all focused on that one line of mine. I make enough NPCs that I built an excel sheet to roll things like that for me. It rolls a d6: 1-5 is straight, 6 is 'roll a d4'. On the d4, 1 is asexual, 2-3 is homosexual and 4 is bisexual. The sheet also rolls backgrounds, personality traits, ages, heights, weights, hair colour, the whole business.

[djreynolds]

Lol. I like how you all focused on that one line of mine. I make enough NPCs that I built an excel sheet to roll things like that for me. It rolls a d6: 1-5 is straight, 6 is 'roll a d4'. On the d4, 1 is asexual, 2-3 is homosexual and 4 is bisexual. The sheet also rolls backgrounds, personality traits, ages, heights, weights, hair colour, the whole business.

Or you roll a 7 and have to play my character, a champion fighter who has only crit twice.

[KorvinStarmast]

Lol maybe I was just in a hurry, if you want to hate it's your choice. Your reply is just the most rubbish one I've ever seen...
Irony is a funny thing, Mister Dwarf.

I only say that 3d6 is a bad way to get stats
Perhaps this isn't the thread for you.

[warper]

Str: 12
Dex: 11 (+1)
Con: 13(+1)
Int: 10
Wis: 8
Cha: 10

I was trying to get a little more generic than that but... this will have to do.
Human ranger who archery's everything to death or runs because he just wont risk getting any closer than 50ft away.

[Grimstaff]

Another interesting concept of "3d6 in order" is that you have the potential of ending up with some interesting party combinations, like a party full of Sorcerers because of a run of high Cha, or full of Dwarves to offset a run of low Con, etc.

[djreynolds]

I'm curious how viable an option the traditional "3d6 in Order" method of generating stats is for 5E. Anyone interested in participating roll your stats, and advise others on what builds are most practical for their stat arrays.

Here's what I got:

Str: 11, Dex: 7, Con: 16, Int: 9, Wis: 10, Cha: 16.

What do you think? Paladin? Bard? What race?

So what did you make? I like the traditional array. Its fair.

I find players can get spoiled and whine about "crappy scores". Its tough to DM, and get players to be invested and yet be fair to the game. I even tried 5d6. Crazy. But I said you had to pick out your class and race first and still people whined. Guys had 15's in every stat and whined. And the crazy thing is the 20 sided die rules all. In fact all the die rule. I'm currently playing a fighter and the rogue has more hit points. The rogue just rolls better than I. But players sometimes play in the "future" and what his character will be. They're not invested in the moment. You may have a 9 intelligence, but "you" don't, of that I'm sure. So what does it matter.
5e is great because you have any class with any ability, you just can't multiclass.

Put it this way, who are your favorite comic book characters. For me, its the one's with flaws. I as a reader feel more kinship to them. Peter Parker's personal life is worse than mine.

[Knaight]

Put it this way, who are your favorite comic book characters. For me, its the one's with flaws. I as a reader feel more kinship to them. Peter Parker's personal life is worse than mine.

On the other hand, his attributes would be pretty good across the board, though charisma is a bit depiction dependent. A lot of characters with more interesting flaws have flaws that wouldn't map particularly well to low ability scores, and the idea that low ability scores inherently make characters more interesting is laughable. There are interesting character concepts that couldn't be represented with them, and there are interesting character concepts that couldn't be represented without them.

[georgie_leech]

I sometimes like the random character gen process, but mostly the dice seem to hate me. So usually, I'll roll dice with the 3d6 in order bit, then envision a character like I was making a character in AD&D. Then I scrap the stats and try to make the character in whatever system I happen to be playing with instead. Maybe and INT of 7 gets translated to a 10, but the character doesn't pick up on clues quickly, doesn't take proficiency in knowledge skills, and generally doesn't even make the attempt, figuring that someone else will know better. Maybe that 18 STR gets lowered to a 15, but they're a variant human and pick up GWM to reflect their ease with heavy weapons.

[Alerad]

I got 8, 10, 14, 8, 9, 14 from random.org :)

Not so bad. I'm thinking of Warlock but I'll do it later today. This looks like fun.

EDIT: Tiefling (Urchin), Warlock 1, Neutral, trying to be good, but constantly being drawn to evil by his patron
Stats: STR 8, DEX 10, CON 14, INT 9 (8+1), WIS 9, CHA 16 (14+2)
Traits: Darkvision 60ft, Hellish (fire) resistance, Infernal Legacy (Thaumaturgy)
Languages: Common, Infernal
Saves: Wis (+1), Cha (+5)
Skills: Deception (+5), Intimidation (+5), Sleight of Hand (+2), Stealth (+2)
Tools: Disguise, Thieves' tools
Patron (The Fiend): Dark One's Blessing (THP = 4)

Spell Atk +5, Spell DC 13
Cantrips (2+1): Thaumaturgy, Eldritch blast, Minor illusion
Spells (2): Burning hands, Protection from Good & Evil (to guard himself from his patron's minions)

HP: 10/10, AC: 11 (Leather)
Items: Imp arm (arcane focus), seldom used crossbow (20), two daggers, knife, map, a small mouse (probably infernal, sent to spy on him, too afraid to end its life), a token (burnt horn from his mother), 10 gp

Backstory: Kairon "Fear" Xibalba struck a deal with the devil at early age, trying to protect his family from some bad people they got messed up with. Too young and too naive to understand what's going on, he traded his immortal soul and a life of service in exchange of help for his family. The "help" the devil sent resulted in massacre, which set his parents "free" - and dead. Left alone he turned to life of begging and stealing, but the devil had different plans for him. Kairon was visited several times by imps, once by a spiked devil, and once by a witch. He tried to escape, but all of them caught him eventually and each one taught him a painful, but important lesson. He spent weeks of training with the witch alone, which was his final, but most difficult training.
Two tricks he developed by himself however - the ability to create illusions, and to guard himself against fiends.
In an attempt to escape his fate and try to destroy the contract he signed as a child, he embarks on an epic journey...

[Stan]

the idea that low ability scores inherently make characters more interesting is laughable.

It depends on how you want to define interesting. 3d6 straight (method I in the old tongue) increases the variability of the values. They have the same min/max but 4d6 tends have scores bunched on the higher end and has a lower standard deviation. If all of a character's abilities fall between 14 and 18, there is less difference between them than most 3d6 characters and they don't have to compensate for any weakness. The cost structure of most point systems are even worse for tending to make homogeneous ability scores. You can wind up with boring characters in 3d6 with all 11's but those always feel like a disappointment that they are so normal.

Many people who like 3d6 straight like it because it pushes people out of their standard ruts, even if they didn't realize they had a rut or set of tendencies. They might be forced to try a different class or play style. If you also randomize race, you can get things rarely seen such as muscular elves and orcish wizards. Instead of the same dump stat, unusual stat combos come up.

Some people don't enjoy the challenge of making do with what they get. That's fine but it doesn't make other methods inherently better; it's a matter of taste.

Yes, there are many other parts of character creation that can also be used to model flaws and abilities. However, these are equally available to all characters regardless of method of ability score generation; therefore, they are not relevant to a discussion of ability score generation methods.

[EvanescentHero]

So usually, I'll roll dice with the 3d6 in order bit, then envision a character like I was making a character in AD&D. Then I scrap the stats and try to make the character in whatever system I happen to be playing with instead.

That's what I intend to use this for in the future. Build a character concept around those stats, then remake them with the system I intend to use.

[Thisguy_]

Gotta share something interesting here. An RL Saturday campaign had most of us roll stats by choice. I wanted to point-buy, but people were rolling high that day on the 4d6 drop 1 game. So the DM had me roll up stats, and I got something about on the level of standard array, not QUITE as good all-around but with a good focus. And he had me roll again.

This was a mistake.

Those stats came out, 18, 17, 16, 17, 18, 15. No lies.

I didn't want them ALL that high, and he activated DM fiat mode to nerf me anyway, so we collaborated on it. I now have 10 STR, 10 DEX, 16 CON, 16 INT, 16 CHA, and 18 WIS. Good lord. Going to multiclass for 2 or 3 levels of warlock at some point decided by the story.

Anyway, back to the 3d6 straight topic. On real dice:

12 STR
8 DEX
11 CON
11 INT
7 WIS
10 CHA

Looks like I'm going to end up with a fighter or barbarian... perhaps I'll make a nice half-orc. Kinda close-together stats, he doesn't really shine at anything, but starting with a fiend 'lock and multiclassing into Barbarian as a half-orc would be fun. He could use the blade diddle for a big farqin' Daedric (?) axe. We'll call him Scruffy, the Janitor.

[MaxWilson]

Gotta share something interesting here. An RL Saturday campaign had most of us roll stats by choice. I wanted to point-buy, but people were rolling high that day on the 4d6 drop 1 game. So the DM had me roll up stats, and I got something about on the level of standard array, not QUITE as good all-around but with a good focus. And he had me roll again.

This was a mistake.

Those stats came out, 18, 17, 16, 17, 18, 15. No lies.

I didn't want them ALL that high, and he activated DM fiat mode to nerf me anyway, so we collaborated on it. I now have 10 STR, 10 DEX, 16 CON, 16 INT, 16 CHA, and 18 WIS.

Wow, that's an amazing array!

Here's the interesting thing about 5E: both of these arrays will play pretty similarly. Having 16s and 17s in your tertiary attributes doesn't really help you in 5E. E.g. a wizard with Str 17 is way harder to grapple than an ordinary Str 10 wizard, but he's still way easier than a fighter would be.

The primary thing an amazing stat array will let you do is make a weird MAD multiclass combo, but even those typically don't need more than 4 high stats. So here's my challenge: is there anyone who can come up with a character using the 18, 17, 16, 17, 18, 15 array who is significantly more powerful than anything you could make with 18, 16, 16, 16, 10, 10?

By "significantly" I mean more than just "has an extra +1 to Con saves and HP." I mean, "someone watching the game but not seeing the dice rolls would notice that one of these guys is doing better than the other."

[One Tin Soldier]

Let's see how my luck fares...

9 (10)
7 (8)
8 (9)
13 (14)
9 (10)
10 (11)

Yep, that's about par for the course for me. I'd make this one as a standard human wizard, possibly a bit overweight and clumsy, generally intelligent. As long as he stays away from the front lines, he should be alright.


And for my friends, who also wanted in on this:
7
11 (12)
9
13
12
15 (17)
She said that she would make a bard, mostly likely half-elf. Mostly reliant on spellcasting and social abilities, but able to pull out a finesse weapon in a pinch.


8
12 (14)
10
7
10
11 (12)
He'd make a drow swashbuckler; fairly light on his feet and gifted with a quick tongue, if a bit dim at times. A bit better suited to the front line than the other two members of his party.

[Raevum]

Hmm this looks really fun whether you roll good or bad so let's give 'er a go.

Str: 12
Dex: 6
Con: 10
Int: 14
Wis: 6
Cha: 11

Looks like I'm going Mountain dwarf Eldritch knight, dwarf who uses Magic to compensate for every who's always lying to him and his lack of being able to actually focus enough to utilize his intelligence as an actual wizard. And for getting back at people making fun of his stubby unflexible limbs.

[Flashy]

So here's my challenge: is there anyone who can come up with a character using the 18, 17, 16, 17, 18, 15 array who is significantly more powerful than anything you could make with 18, 16, 16, 16, 10, 10?

Greatsword eldritch knight/shadow monk who's also the party face? It's not actually more powerful than anything else but it was the only combo I could think of that genuinely needed all the attributes. It's a hideously unfavorable multiclass but as you pointed out that's all that stat spread enables.

[Ultimate_Coffee]

My spread:
STR: 12(14)
DEX: 13
CON: 16(17)
INT: 6
WIS: 11
CHA: 9

A Goliath Barbarian, pretty dimwitted and easily provoked to violence. Because of his aggressive nature and blunt approach to conversation, people don't tend to like him very much outside his party.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Let's have another crack (with random names, alignment, background, race and sex)...

STR 11 (12)
DEX 11 (12)
CON 4 (5)
INT 11 (12)
WIS 11 (12)
CHA 5 (6)

Grobert Jorde
Human Male Cleric, LG
Background: Acolyte (preacher)

Grobert was a whiny and annoying child, who was often picked on due to being smaller and frailer than the other children. When he was 13, the constant abuse became too much for him and he withdrew from mainstream society to join a church. Here, his love of peace and rightness meshed well with his tendency to nitpick and complain and he became a moderately successful preacher.

After a few years, however, it became clear that he lacked the natural charm and agreeableness to lead a large congregation, so the church hierarchy stepped in an relieved him of his post. At his wit's end, Grobert spent a whole month fasting and praying for divine guidance - until finally, half-dead from hunger, his god appeared to him and bestowed upon him a holy quest.

Unfortunately, an early encounter with some zombies left him severely wounded. Now that he has (mostly) recovered, he seeks allies to aid him in his quest, though few have been forthcoming as of yet.

[KombatKarl]

I love this system, because it leads to less "What can my character do?' and more "Why does my character do it?"

Str 7 (+1) =8
Dex 10 =10
Con 12 =12
Int 12 =12
Wis 7 (+1) =8
Cha 6 =6

I'm gonna say Female VHuman Fighter. Mobile for feat choice.

Introducing Arlette Kishi

Arlette came from a family of adventurers. Her father, grandfather, and older brother were all accomplished warriors, each having earned fame with a blade. Born into such a household, it seemed only natural to her naive mind that this would be her destiny as well. For as long as she can remember, she's been studying, reading books on tactics, and watching her father teach swordplay to the local boys whose parents could afford his tutelage.
However, her father had no intentions of letting her become a warrior, thinking it was not a fitting lifestyle for a woman. He indulged her far enough to let her do these acts, but refused to train her himself. As such, the only time she got to work on her skills with a sword was when she tried recreating the moves she'd seen on her own, and when her father would take a break from training long enough for her to pick a fight and spar with a student.
She spent her days like this until shortly after her seventeenth birthday. A courier had come with a request for aid from a local noble. The lord was calling for adventurers from the area to handle an 'important task,' and he had made sure to specifically request the help of the Kishis. As Arlette was on her way home from a somewhat less than fortuitous event, she ran into the courier before he could deliver his message to her father. She took the message, intended to pass it along, but curiousity got there better of her.
Upon reading the call to arms, Arlette saw her chance for freedom, and knew she'd probably only have this one time in life to prove herself. She flew to action, packing the gear she knew she would need, and as many supplies as she could get in her bag. She then went for what was most important, snagging a worn suit of armor that fit her fairly well, a short sword used in training, as well as an old buckler with her family crest still mostly visivle on it, and a bow in case she needed to keep any particularly tough enemies at bay. She then left a note with a friend, along with instructions that it be delivered after a few days, so she could get a headstart.

I like this concept because I can make my character really grow as she levels. As opposed to simply, 'now I hit better' I can focus on her training, and utilize her studies in becoming a battlemaster at level three, then have her user her +2 on strength at level four, allowing her to upgrade to a longsword, showing her gaining skills and strength as she journeys...I'm going to have to use this character in my next campaign now.

[Cybren]

Greatsword eldritch knight/shadow monk who's also the party face? It's not actually more powerful than anything else but it was the only combo I could think of that genuinely needed all the attributes. It's a hideously unfavorable multiclass but as you pointed out that's all that stat spread enables.

Yeah but that kind of character still isn't 'table friendly'. There's only so many party roles/archetypes in D&D, what with its insistence that everyone be good at fighting. That means that for every non-combat role you take, (spellcaster, stealth guy, face, etc) is just depriving another character of meaningful spotlight time.

The problem with super high stats in this edition isnt' that you're too powerful. It's usually not that in any edition of D&D. The problem is ti makes you a ball hog.

[Nifft]

That means that for every non-combat role you take, (spellcaster, stealth guy, face, etc) is just depriving another character of meaningful spotlight time.

Disagree strongly.

A whole table full of Stealth-guys makes the Assassin Rogue get even more spotlight, since more combats will begin with surprise in favor of the PCs.

A whole table full of Face-guys means the whole table is amenable to using diplomacy as a solution, rather than rolling initiative. Being the only Face in a group might mean you NEVER get to use Diplomacy; being in a group of all-Faces might mean you USUALLY try Diplomacy first, even if you're not always the lead Face.

[Cybren]

Disagree strongly.

A whole table full of Stealth-guys makes the Assassin Rogue get even more spotlight, since more combats will begin with surprise in favor of the PCs.

A whole table full of Face-guys means the whole table is amenable to using diplomacy as a solution, rather than rolling initiative. Being the only Face in a group might mean you NEVER get to use Diplomacy; being in a group of all-Faces might mean you USUALLY try Diplomacy first, even if you're not always the lead Face.

You can disagree, but you're still wrong. To quote Syndrome "If everyone is special, no one is." While stealth can be an exception (if the whole group is trying to sneak vs one person scout ahead or wait in ambush, you want some option or another), allowing each character to have their own individual expertise makes for better gameplay. (well, if your players are all well mannered and respectful of each characters niche, it could work. But the better way to enforce niches is to just... use gameplay to make that character the best in that niche).

This is the entire crux of the argument for spellcasters being too good in previous editions.

[MaxWilson]

You can disagree, but you're still wrong. To quote Syndrome "If everyone is special, no one is." While stealth can be an exception (if the whole group is trying to sneak vs one person scout ahead or wait in ambush, you want some option or another), allowing each character to have their own individual expertise makes for better gameplay. (well, if your players are all well mannered and respectful of each characters niche, it could work. But the better way to enforce niches is to just... use gameplay to make that character the best in that niche).

This is the entire crux of the argument for spellcasters being too good in previous editions.

High stats will make you second-best in lots of things. Trained skills are still better, and after a few ASIs they will be operating off a higher base than your 18s unless you spend your own ASIs to raise them. You're not going to be beating or even matching the Shadow Monk in Stealth or the Bard in Persuasion unless you also pick up dedicated features like Expertise and Pass Without Trace. Is the sneaky Shadow Monk 8 with +18 to Stealth going to be sad that there's a high-stats all 18s Warlock 8 in the party who has +4 to Stealth without even being proficient in Stealth? Probably not.

[JackPhoenix]

RL rolls:

Str: 11 (12 with race)
Dex: 12
Con: 8
Int: 13 (14 with race)
Wis: 6
Cha: 14 (16 with race)

Looks like half-elf goo tomelock to me, mingling with otherwordly forces wasn't good for his health and sanity!

[Nifft]

You can disagree, but you're still wrong. That was my first post on that topic. So, you're both wrong about the topic and you're wrong about the identity of the person to whom you're responding.

That makes you double wrong.

Sorry.


While stealth can be an exception (if the whole group is trying to sneak vs one person scout ahead or wait in ambush, you want some option or another), allowing each character to have their own individual expertise makes for better gameplay. (well, if your players are all well mannered and respectful of each characters niche, it could work. But the better way to enforce niches is to just... use gameplay to make that character the best in that niche). Niches are a crutch, and niche protection is very poor game design.

Ideally, everyone should have something to contribute in most scenes.

In your world, a Diplomacy scene means one player talks and everyone else sits still and shuts up.

That's a great way to motivate LEEROY JENKINS behavior ("screw Diplomacy, I have a sword") -- which, by the way, exterminates any hope of Diplomacy-guy having the spotlight, because "roll Initiative dirtbags"-guy is not motivated to allow that niche to exist.


This is the entire crux of the argument for spellcasters being too good in previous editions. No, the crux of that argument is that spellcasters can eclipse anyone else's niche while still being top in their own niche. Invisibility is better than Hide. Fly is better than Climb. Not equal, better.

Did you notice how, in my example, nobody is eclipsing the Assassin Rogue in surprise first-round damage?

Instead, they're enabling the first round to be a surprise.

[Grimstaff]

mingling with otherwordly forces wasn't good for his health and sanity!

LOL! Cthulhu approves.:smallbiggrin:

[Cybren]

That was my first post on that topic. So, you're both wrong about the topic and you're wrong about the identity of the person to whom you're responding.

That makes you double wrong.

Sorry.

If we want to be pedantic, you are "still wrong" after disagreeing. Not "still wrong after your previous statement". The "still" refers to the "i disagree", and isn't contingent on you having participated at all earlier.


No, the crux of that argument is that spellcasters can eclipse anyone else's niche while still being top in their own niche. Invisibility is better than Hide. Fly is better than Climb. Not equal, better.

That's... What I said. At any rate, even if fly is just as good as climbing, and the same for invisibility and hiding, that flexibility is the problem. The ability to always be as good as someone else is just as bad as the ability to always be better than them. Either way, you are stealing that players game time. Their ability to do the thing their character wants to do. It's rude whether you are eclipsing the other person or just matching them, at all times (or even most times). 'jack of all trades' could be a viable niche- if you accept that you're going to be mostly doing things the party isn't already doing, or supporting the various specialists in their thing.


Did you notice how, in my example, nobody is eclipsing the Assassin Rogue in surprise first-round damage?

Surprise first round damage isn't a niche. It's a sub-specialty of a niche. The niche is combat. Your specialize in surprise attacks or ambushes or whatever you want to call it. The premise of having each character have a niche is that they have an area to shine. The more specific that is, the less reliably you can expect it to happen. Which is fine. Because you'll still be good at the more general pillar of combat. And as a rogue, you'll have great skills. The issue becomes when you want to be good at things other people in the party are already good at. The issue is worse if the game mechanics actively encourage you to be an attention hog.

Which is why I criticized D&D in the abstract for demanding that not only are all people good at fighting, but that they're roughly equally as good at fighting. It makes character less able to specialize, everyone is just a different flavor of murderer.

[georgie_leech]

I would disagree. When I'm playing a Rogue, I'm not offended by the Fighter being better able to fight enemies face to face than I do, I have a different approach to combat. When I've got another Rogue in the party, my thought is "alright, sneaking buddies," not "ugh, now I won't look as awesome for being the only one who can stealth." I get upset if someone is deliberately trying to hog screen time, but that's a player issue, not a mechanics one.

[Nifft]

If we want to be pedantic, We'd prefer a polite discussion with reasoned arguments over merely hammering the table.


That's... What I said. It's actually not.

You're arguing against the position that many people with the same "niche" can make for good game-play.

You tried to equate that with 3rd edition spellcasters eclipsing 3rd edition Rogues.

It's a poor analogy, because those spellcasters did not share the Rogue's niche, they flat-out made the Rogue obsolete.


Surprise first round damage isn't a niche. It's a sub-specialty of a niche. The niche is combat. Your specialize in surprise attacks or ambushes or whatever you want to call it. Nope. The niche is STEALTH, because the only way the Assassin gets his class feature to work is if the combat is preceded by SUCCESSFUL Stealth.

The way you get successful Stealth to happen often is to make it a focus of the party as a whole.

This is the consequence of treating Stealth like a "niche" which most characters lack: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0024.html

I bet that sneaky guy feels really special, right? Since he's the only Stealthy one? Super special that he gets to ... uh ... not benefit from Stealth because the guy in armor is ruining everything?

Isn't niche protection great? (Spoiler: the answer is "no".)



The premise of having each character have a niche is that they have an area to shine. The more specific that is, the less reliably you can expect it to happen. Which is fine. Because you'll still be good at the more general pillar of combat. And as a rogue, you'll have great skills. Combat is a great example of an are where everyone is expected to shine at the same time.

Combat is the least niche-protected part of D&D, and therefore the most successful part of D&D.


The issue becomes when you want to be good at things other people in the party are already good at. The issue is worse if the game mechanics actively encourage you to be an attention hog. I gave two examples about times that I've seen niche overlap lead to more focus for every character within that niche.

What niche protection does is allow people to hog attention by demanding that only one person get attention at a time. That's terrible design for a collaborative social game.


Which is why I criticized D&D in the abstract for demanding that not only are all people good at fighting, but that they're roughly equally as good at fighting. It makes character less able to specialize, everyone is just a different flavor of murderer. Again, combat is the least niche-protected part of D&D, and therefore the most successful part of D&D.

Syndrome was not a smart villain.

If everyone is special, then everyone is special.

If everybody has fun, then everybody has fun.

Special-ness and fun are not zero-sum games, and it's self-defeating to try to ration fun into isolated time-sharing portions when the alternative is for everyone to have fun together, all the time.

[Falco1029]

Rolls:
Str: 9
Dex: 16
Con: 7
Int: 9
Wis: 4
Cha: 9

You know, I'd so rarely suggest it, but the standard human might be a good plan there, giving you 10/17/8/10/5/10. Could probably manage a ranged fighter with that. Probably make a good battlemaster.

[Ichneumon]

This seems amazingly fun, especially from a roleplaying perspective in rules and combat light games.

Let's give it a try!

Rolls:
Strength: 9
Dexterity: 18
Constitution: 16
Intelligence: 9
Wisdom: 11
Charisma: 9

Of course, we also have to roll a race. I got a elf and when rolling randomly for the sub-races, I got a wood elf. This means, for the ability scores, that my dexterity would increase to 20 and my wisdom score to 12. So... what to make of this character?

I also rolled dice to determine the character's gender, which ended up being female.

Looking at her scores, she is not very strong, but very nimble and has a lot of stamina. Most of her other abilities are very average, not a large difference between them. I would interpret it as her having little book knowledge and also being somewhat shy or at least socially inexperienced, but still being very aware and having great insight.

Given that dexterity is the largest ability, classes like rogue rogue, ranger or monk, would seem like good fit. Ranger might be thematically appropriate for a wood-elf, but it is also very cliché. A low score in wisdom might not be too big a problem, depending on what spells I select and with such a high score in dexterity, she could really do an awful lot of damage as a two weapon fighter, for example.

Rogue would be possible too, but lacking really high scores in either charisma or intelligence, means she wouldn't really work as an arcane trickster or function as a real social manipulator. Instead, maybe she can specialize in being an assassin instead. The fact that she wouldn't be that good in deceiving people is bound to result in trouble, but given her high constitution, I think she'll survive. :smallamused:

[SCAL37]

I've been looking for an excuse to roll some dice:

Str: 13
Dex: 8
Con: 10
Int: 8
Wis: 10
Cha: 8

I don't think it matters; looks like I'm pretty screwed not matter what I play.

[Stan]

I've been looking for an excuse to roll some dice:

Str: 13
Dex: 8
Con: 10
Int: 8
Wis: 10
Cha: 8

I don't think it matters; looks like I'm pretty screwed not matter what I play.

That's not too bad. go with a race that boosts str, and hopefully con as well. Slap on heavy armor so dex hurts less. A minor ding to int and cha can be worked around.

[EvanescentHero]

That's not too bad. go with a race that boosts str, and hopefully con as well. Slap on heavy armor so dex hurts less. A minor ding to int and cha can be worked around.

Sounds like a dwarven fighter to me, and with a fifteen strength and twelve constitution, not a bad one.

[Tafkam Hokie]

My turn:

Str 15
Dex 11
Con 11
Int 14
Wis 12
Cha 10

Given my general luck with rolling stats, I was stunned with that result. I was expecting a lot of 6's and 7's with nothing above a 12.

Kinda screams human eldritch knight to me.

[Grimstaff]

Trying another one:
4
15(17)
16
4
12(13)
7

Since he's as weak (and as smart) as a baby, I could actually make him some kind of creepy, freakish baby thing. Maybe Tiefling.

Instead, I'm going to Wood Elf Rogue (Assassin). This guy took a sword through the skull or something during training or a mission, and now basically sleepwalks through life, in fact, we'll call him Sleepwalker. His nervous system is too damaged for him to hold anything bigger than a knife or dart. But all that training does kick in when he (or a friend) is physically threatened, at which time muscle-memory and raw killer instinct turn Sleepy into a whirling wind of sharp steel death.

[ShikomeKidoMi]

3d6 in order is fun, because it gives you a framework to craft a character around, as long as you have a DM that lets you reroll completely useless sets. But it's probably better as an occasional change of pace than a standard rule.

Now let me try:
Strength 16
Dexterity 07
Constitution 09
Intelligence 06
Wisdom 13
Charisma 13

I'm thinking a heavy armor fighter. The low Con hurts a bit, but the armor helps make up for the Dex loss and the Strength is pretty good. Human works, probably variant, though Standard actually wouldn't be too bad with all those odds rolls. As a variant human, I'll raise Dex and Con, it might seem a little counter-intuitive to ignore my attack attribute here but a +1 Str won't benefit me at level one as much as rounding out both of those two. The Intelligence penalty rules out Eldritch Knight and I prefer Half-Orc for my Champions, so it looks like he'll be a Battlemaster. Being a fighter gives you enought ASLs to raise that Con, max Str, and still grab a few feats, too.

Strong but not agile and average endurance, so I think this character is tall and slightly overweight, a bit of fat mixed in with the muscle. He's also dumb as a rock, but likable and observant. Probably gets through life through a mix of muscle and people skills. Instead of trying to understand what people are telling him, he'll just use Insight to determine their motives in telling it, making him more vulnerable to earnest people who are wrong than to con-artists. To that end, I'll pick one of the social backgrounds like Guild Merchant. Let's say he inherited a business but had to take up adventuring after he lost everything on a bad investment. Luckily he could fall back on the fighting skills he learned to protect himself and his caravan on the road between cities. This also explains why he's strong but out of shape, he did some strength exercises as part of his training but over-indulged in good food and spent most of his trips riding on the wagons instead of walking.


So, final stats at level one:
Fighter (Battlemaster) Guild Merchant background
Str 16 Dex 8 Con 10 Int 6 Wis 13 Cha 13
Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Deception (human bonus skill), Insight, Perception, Persuasion
Fighting Style: Great Weapon Fighting
Starting Feat: Polearm Master

Depending on who else is in the party, you might end up the party face and how often does the big, dumb fighter get to do that?

[Notafish]

str 15 (16)
dex 11 (12)
con 9 (10)
int 11 (12)
wis 8 (9)
cha 4 (5)

(Human, according to the reincarnation roll -- there are enough odd numbers that the across-the-board stat increase seems like a decent option). Eldritch Knight?

The best thing one could say about Ludwig's appearance was that he didn't force you to look at him. Fortunately for others, he wasn't around much; he lived well outside the village, only visiting to barter for supplies with animal skins and healing potions. Occasionally, he'd mutter something about "training," and how he was "destined for glory," but nobody paid these ramblings any mind. When he abandoned his shack in the woods, few bothered to wonder where he had gone. Eventually, however, the bards would sing the tales of Ludwig, the Ugly Knight.

[Raimun]

Str: 6
Dex: 12
Con: 12
Int: 6
Wis: 17
Cha: 16

... More useful statline than I expected... even if the character would be a weak idiot. :smalltongue:

Could be a competent Sorcerer, Druid, Cleric or a Bard (though, I'd still steer clear from fighting with weapons, melee or ranged). The other seven classes are not ideal and I still refuse to admit that Warlock is a real class. Race should be either half elf or variant human.

[Nifft]

You rolled 18 dice:

4 4 3 4 4 4 3 4 3 6 1 1 1 5 3 5 5 4

Let's see...

Str = 4+4+3 = 11
Dex = 4+4+4 = 12
Con = 3+4+3 = 10
Int = 6+1+1 = 8
Wis = 1+5+3 = 9
Cha = 5+5+4 = 14

I'm sexy, and that's what matters in this world: Sorcerer, Lore Bard, or Warlock are all valid career choices.

[Longcat]

I used a virtual roller: 16 ; 11 ; 11 ; 17 ; 12 ; 12

Fighter1/Wizard X, I guess? Take Half-Elf or Variant Human and put bonuses in Con and Int. Might even be viable.

[KorvinStarmast]

Rolls:
Strength: 9
Dexterity: 18(20)
Constitution: 16
Intelligence: 9
Wisdom: 11(12)
Charisma: 9

wood elf.
I also rolled dice to determine the character's gender, which ended up being female.

Looking at her scores, she is not very strong, but very nimble and has a lot of stamina.

Given that dexterity is the largest ability, classes like rogue rogue, ranger or monk, would seem like good fit.
Have you considered a barbarian who uses unarmored fighting style with finesse weapons and bows, or finesse weapons and javelins? Take a look at the AC boost your combined Con and Dex provide. The lady may not be very strong, but she's a killer nonetheless!

[Bohrdumb]

9, 9, 10, 13, 11, 11...

Moon Druid!

[DanyBallon]

We were starting the Starter Set quest yesterday and I rolled 3d6 in order for fun and my DM let me use it for my character, so here it is:

Xalathel Xiloscient, LN, High Elf (Sun Elf), Fighter (going for Eldritch Knight)

Str 18
Dex 8 (10)
Con 15
Int 12 (13)
Wis 9
Cha 11

Xalathel is from a minor noble family of house Nashral. He was raised to be loyal to his liege and as a member of nobility was trained in the most traditional elvish knighthood. From a young age he learned swordplay, archery as well as magic. Xalathel is proud of being born an Ar-tel-quessir, and secretly view others as inferior. However his towering stature, for an elf, get him to be often mistaken for a mixblood. Usually a single stare is enough to assure those who made such mistake, to never do it again. Xalathel's duty is to serve and protect house Neshral. He's loyal and polite with everyone, due to respect for those above him, and from condescendence to those below him. Lately he's been tasked to "civilized" the old city of Phandalin, before some kind of evil set roots and become a torn for house Neshral who has assets in the area.

[ShikomeKidoMi]

Xalathel Xiloscient, LN, High Elf (Sun Elf), Fighter (going for Eldritch Knight)
Str 18 Dex 8 (10) Con 15 Int 12 (13)Wis 9 Cha 11

I like the way you used your race to offset your weak Dex instead of buffing your already exceptional strength.

[DanyBallon]

I like the way you used your race to offset your weak Dex instead of buffing your already exceptional strength.

In fact, I didn't plan to offset my low Dex at first, I was more looking for good heavy armor build, but when the Figther/Mage concept kept coming back every time I was looking at my stats, I decide that it would be cool to try to build an Elven Bladesinger. On an other note, I shamefully used fluff (being trained in archery) to justify why I took archery as a fighting style, which kinda offset my low Dex modifier. :smallbiggrin:

As for character advancement, I'm planning to raise his Con and Int with an ASI, then maybe again pump up its Int some more, to represent its training and mastery of the arcane arts, but before that I might get magic initiate, spell sniper, mage slayer, sentinel and/or war caster as feats. I'm still not sure which and when, I think I'll choose how my character play in the campaign and what will make more sense to fit it's background.

[acid_ninja]

Str: 9
Dex: 9
Con: 11
Int: 13
Wis: 9
Cha: 9

How boring.

Avi McAverage
Human (Variant) Wizard - Conjuration 1
Str 9
Dex 10
Con 12
Int 14
Cha 9
Feat (Resilient - Con)

Avi is at least smart enough to know how average he is so he focuses on literally making friends and letting them do the heavy lifting.

[DanyBallon]

Str: 9
Dex: 9
Con: 11
Int: 13
Wis: 9
Cha: 9

How boring.

Avi McAverage
Human (Variant) Wizard - Conjuration 1
Str 9
Dex 10
Con 12
Int 14
Cha 9
Feat (Resilient - Con)

Avi is at least smart enough to know how average he is so he focuses on literally making friends and letting them do the heavy lifting.

You would have been better with a non-variant human as you have only odd stats.

So Avi McAverage non-variant human Wizard
Background, a mix between folk hero and sage

Str 10
Dex 10
Con 12
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 10

Avi was the 1st son of a farmer and was raised to take over his father property when he'll be old enough. Avi, while being a good farmer, spent most its free time tinkering and experimenting new device to help on the farm. His father soon come to realise that it would be a shame to get such a bright mind be wasted into a life of farming. So he gather some of his meager economy and got Avi under the tutelage of the local wizard. From that moment Avi studied magic, and went to help his family on the farm on his few free time.