What to do with this 6?!

[EroGaki]

I've recently joined a new 5e game, and the DM has had us roll for our stats rather than use point buy. It was 4d6, drop the lowest roll, and I ended up with: 16, 17, 11, 10, 10, 11, 6.

Two high stats, three meh, and one very low stat. I'm honestly uncertain what to play, considering I have to find a way to fit in that awful 6. I'm not a fan of playing with extremely low stats, and having it there is killing most of my character concepts.

And advice or ideas on what (and how) to play with that?

[Rysto]

Meh. Pick the character concept you want to play and run with it. Roleplaying-wise, ignore the 6 if you have to. Don't let a number on your sheet take away from playing the character that you want to play.

[Crgaston]

Bookworm mage.., Put your high scores in Int/Wis, average physical scores, and dump Cha. RP as either extremely shy or otherwise socially awkward.

Quiet warrior... high scores in Str/Con or Dex/Con. Dump Cha again. You've got a scar or speech impediment that makes you shy/awkward.

Feral Druid... push Wis/Dex. Dump Cha. Too much time with animals means you're uncivilized. Pick an animal persona and play it up.

Lots of good rp opportunity with a low stat. The trick is figuring out why it's low and incorporating that into your character.

What do you want to play?

[LuminousWarrior]

Well, there are the generic dump stat characters, idiot Barbarian, wimpy Wizard, socially-inept Fighter, etc..
But, I can see why you might not want to play those characters. Common and a bit cliche. I'm not so sure. But, depending on how your DM feels about homebrew, Middle Finger of Vecna has a list of feats that are based around low ability scores. I haven't posted enough yet to link to it, but it's called "Feats for the Incompetent".

[The_Hansard]

See Fallout New Vegas for ideas on how to play hilarious idiot characters

[Hooligan]

Put in Int. Play Charlatan Diviner wizard

[lunaticfringe]

An uncharasmatic Half Elf Not-Paladin/Bard/Sorcerer/Warlock. A wimpy Mountain Dwarf Wizard. A below average intelligence Rock Gnome Archer Battlemaster.

You have a 17 & 16 which is perfectly workable for any class dependant on 2 stats. If you don't like the 6 play against type and use a Racial +2 Bump to make it an 8.

[mephnick]

If in doubt I dump CHA and play a socially oblivious a--hole.

[Laserlight]

I've had a great deal of fun playing low INT fighters or barbarians. Dr Gilmartin Bottlethroop, who forgot the cardinal rule of alchemical experimentation ("try it on a student first") was transformed into a gnomish hulk. He hardly said anything except for "Boom!" (usually with glee), but could still make potions. Exactly which potions was always an interesting question. I rolled a d20 and on a 1-10 it wasn't a potion, 11-15 it was something from the Wild Sorc Oops list, and 16+ it was a legitimate potion--but Dr Bottlethroop didn't know what he'd made and couldn't have told anyone anyway. We had several conversations like this:

"He scraped some paint off the wall, crumbled some bread into it, poured beer, and I'm pretty sure that's all, there wasn't anything else, but when he stirred it a puff of smoke came out of the bottle, and now it's a blue oily liquid with gold flecks. How in Hel's name did he do that?"
"BOOM!"
"I think he wants me to drink it."
"Tell him no."
"BOOM!"
"You want me to tell the berserker gnome hulk 'No'?"
"Good point. See if you can distract him. Make balloon animals or something. Quick."

[Easy_Lee]

You could play a lawful stupid paladin with that six. If that isn't iconic, I don't know what is.

Probably the most playable character would be a big stupid fighter. As a half-orc or dwarf, you could easily put those scores in strength and constitution, then dump everything else.

[smcmike]

Big stupid Paladins are the best. If you do it just right, it's hard to tell if they are stupid or everyone else is simply overthinking things.

You can also play one of the little races and dump strength. It's weird that they get normal strength anyways.

[Sigreid]

With those stats I would pick a race that has a +2 where you put it. For example, perhaps a half elf fighter with the 6 put in Cha which will become an 8 with the racial bonus. That means he can be excellent in 2 stats, solid in 3 and just slightly below average in 1.

without knowing what you like to play, it's hard to be more specific.

[Temperjoke]

If you put it in DEX, then your character has a leg injury or is older person who just can't dodge anymore. If you put it in STR, maybe they've lost an arm which impacts their lifting and physical abilities (but they learned to compensate in their spellcasting). If you put it in CON, maybe they're a sickly person (think Raistlin from Dragonlance).

[Easy_Lee]

If you put it in CON, maybe they're a sickly person (think Raistlin from Dragonlance).

Putting a 6 in CON is asking for trouble.

[Ixidor92]

Wherever you end up putting that stat, I would say play it to your character's strength role-play wise. Play up the fact that your character is very physically weak, or has all the social grace of a stampeding rhino. But regardless, I would say just pick a class you like, and then choose a stat that is not absolutely vital. Think about how your character has dealt with this weakness he was born with. Does he try to fix it with training, or does he strive to be as good as he can in other areas? I know those aren't really any concrete character ideas, but it's the thought process I would take when designing a character like that.

[Naanomi]

Be an Orc or Kobold, get that stat down to a 4!

[Koren]

Dump Int, be someone who really THINKS he has the best ideas. Channel Caboose from Red Vs Blue.

Dump Strength, focus Dex and Cha, play a bard who would rather play a fancy tune than actually follow through with his bragging.

Str, Int, and Cha are the only three stats capable of taking a dump that hard. Wis saves are too important when they come up, Dex does everything, and con is life in the most literal sense. Pick a build, choose a stat to dump, and then whatever you pick just make him comically bad at whatever it is.

If you don't want a funny character you can always dump Cha and make him a strong silent type.

[Temperjoke]

Putting a 6 in CON is asking for trouble.

Probably, from a mechanics stand point, but he was asking for character ideas. We also don't know what sort of campaign he'll be playing in. It might not be as big an issue as it could be.

[Mortis_Elrod]

What's allowed ? Phb only ? Printed only? All books and articles ? Homebrew ?

Assuming phb only I would make a paladin and put that 6 in to Dex , be a vHuman and pick up tavernbrawler. Now use shields as weapons and at 4 pick up shield master. At 8 pick up dual wielder. Shield master is gonna negate the need for high Dex, you're already wearing heavy armor, and if you feel like you need to have better initiative take alert early. Now smite with shield.

[Potato_Priest]

One of the most memorable fellows I ever played with put a 6 into con.

The character was otherwise unremarkable, your typical steal everything halfling rogue with a huge ego, but that 6 in con and his complete arrogance really made him shine. He went toe to toe with dinosaurs in melee, outleveled the rest of the party because everyone else died at some point or another, and did it all with under 20 hp at level 5. It was hilarious to watch him miraculously survive close call after close call.

If you choose to go this route, the lucky feat is your go-to grab. It'll allow you to reroll those enemy attacks and better yet, those critical saving throws that are the death of so many fine characters.

Go for con. Your character may not live long in the game, but they will live forever in the memories of your gaming group.

[EroGaki]

Probably, from a mechanics stand point, but he was asking for character ideas. We also don't know what sort of campaign he'll be playing in. It might not be as big an issue as it could be.

We will be going through the Tales From the Yawning Portal, beginning at level 1. Thus far, we have a tiefling sorcerer and a rogue of an unknown race in the group. I don't know what everyone else is playing yet.

[Kane0]

Str 6 Wizard: Old cripple. Mage hand/Floating Disk/Unseen Servant for everything
Dex 6 Fighter/Cleric/Paladin: Brick wall
Con 6 anything: hard mode, challenge accepted! Not for the faint of heart.
Int 6 Druid: Raised by wolves
Wis 6 Warlock: Of course I have the right wards for this, it's only a Quasit for pity's sake!
Cha 6 Cleric: Evangelist extraordinaire

[Tetrasodium]

I've recently joined a new 5e game, and the DM has had us roll for our stats rather than use point buy. It was 4d6, drop the lowest roll, and I ended up with: 16, 17, 11, 10, 10, 11, 6.

Two high stats, three meh, and one very low stat. I'm honestly uncertain what to play, considering I have to find a way to fit in that awful 6. I'm not a fan of playing with extremely low stats, and having it there is killing most of my character concepts.

And advice or ideas on what (and how) to play with that?


Moon druid kobold. the strength will affect you in interesting but not crippling ways & wildshape can sidestep and/or bypass it in a pinch.

[JellyPooga]

One of the most memorable fellows I ever played with put a 6 into con.

The character was otherwise unremarkable, your typical steal everything halfling rogue with a huge ego, but that 6 in con and his complete arrogance really made him shine. He went toe to toe with dinosaurs in melee, outleveled the rest of the party because everyone else died at some point or another, and did it all with under 20 hp at level 5. It was hilarious to watch him miraculously survive close call after close call.

If you choose to go this route, the lucky feat is your go-to grab. It'll allow you to reroll those enemy attacks and better yet, those critical saving throws that are the death of so many fine characters.

Go for con. Your character may not live long in the game, but they will live forever in the memories of your gaming group.

I played a similar character in a Pathfinder game. His AC was in the high 20's to low 30's at level 4, without any magical gear, but had lower HP than his AC. He once stopped a charging ogre in its tracks with nothing more than a rapier to the goolies and generally awesomed his way through every encounter...until he met a sticky end as a greasy spot on the floor after one critical hit. It was a blast.

[CountWolfgang]

Play a half elf knowledge cleric, with either sage or acolyte background. Then dump Intelligence. I'd love a character with an insanely low int, but knows 7 languages starting out.

[ZorroGames]

Putting a 6 in CON is asking for trouble.

Or a chance at a new character.

Just saying.

[Laserlight]

Your weaknesses define your character as much as your strengths do, and the more unusual your character is, the more memorable. Whatever stat you put it in, I'd recommend that you play it up. "He wears boots because his DEX isn't high enough to tie shoes." Or the low INT character who only knows a few words, like my gnome hulk "Doc". Or a low STR character who says, haughtily, "I, sirrah, am a noble. I don't carry things; I have a barbarian to do that".

[poolio]

Would work for a Wizard I've been wanting to play, a Divination con man, rather then use his future seeing abilities to help prevent city or even world ending disasters, he's cheating at games of chance to earn a quick gold, just dump strength, he's no fighter, focus on int and cha and you're good

[MarkVIIIMarc]

If my Lore Bard had 6 int instead of 8 or 9 I doubt anything would be very different battlewise if you are worried about optimization.

Roleplay? Maybe. The combo of 18 Cha and 6 Int and 13 Wis would be really interesting. She'd be kinda dumb but sound pretty smart I'd think, totally able to talk people into things. The Wisdom/Cha combo would let her know when she was in over her head.

Don't hide from that 6, embrace it.

[Sigreid]

If my Lore Bard had 6 int instead of 8 or 9 I doubt anything would be very different battlewise if you are worried about optimization.

Roleplay? Maybe. The combo of 18 Cha and 6 Int and 13 Wis would be really interesting. She'd be kinda dumb but sound pretty smart I'd think, totally able to talk people into things. The Wisdom/Cha combo would let her know when she was in over her head.

Don't hide from that 6, embrace it.

People with poor memory and logic skills can frequently be surprisingly charming and insightful. It's not much of a reach.

[smcmike]

People with poor memory and logic skills can frequently be surprisingly charming and insightful. It's not much of a reach.

Mohammed Ali wasn't much of a reader, but was a heck of a poet nevertheless.

[Rynjin]

Unless you're a Wizard or want to be the knowledge skill monkey, Int is utterly useless in 5e in a pure mechanical sense. Int saves are vanishingly rare, you don't get skill points from Int any more, you don't get bonus languages from Int any more, so there's no point having it if you don't cast with it.

Int is the new prime dump stat since Cha is relatively more useful in 5e (since Cha saves are more common than Int saves if nothing else).

[Rogerdodger557]

I've recently joined a new 5e game, and the DM has had us roll for our stats rather than use point buy. It was 4d6, drop the lowest roll, and I ended up with: 16, 17, 11, 10, 10, 11, 6.

Two high stats, three meh, and one very low stat. I'm honestly uncertain what to play, considering I have to find a way to fit in that awful 6. I'm not a fan of playing with extremely low stats, and having it there is killing most of my character concepts.

And advice or ideas on what (and how) to play with that?

Half-Orc Muscle Wizard
17 for Int, 16 for Con, one of the 11s for Str, 6 for Wis. The answer to problem? Muscle Wizard casts Fist

[Contrast]

Str, Int, and Cha are the only three stats capable of taking a dump that hard. Wis saves are too important when they come up, Dex does everything, and con is life in the most literal sense.

Low wisdom characters are some of my favourite to roleplay. No metagaming, just innocent desire to repeatedly stick your face right into whatever the worst or most dangerous thing is. I'm playing a wisdom 8 sorc at the moment. He volunteers for everything (proficiency or impossibility aside), challenged our barbarian to a fist fight and (briefly) claimed ownership of a magic sword because he thinks of himself as a hero and heroes have magic swords, right?

And 6 gives you a -2 (given your other stats its likely getting a +0 otherwise). So like...1 in 10 times someone casts a wisdom save on you it makes a difference? The real question here is are you trying to powergame towards combat efficiency or entertainment :smallbiggrin: Blah blah Stormwind fallacy blah blah

[Mikal]

Heavy Armor wearing Battlemaster Fighter. 17 Str, 16 Con, 10 Dex, 6 Int, 11 Wis, 10 Cha

Variant Human- Str to 18, Wis to 12.
Great Weapon Mastery Feat
Defensive fighting style.
Javelins for ranged.
Level 4- 20 Str
Rest- Whatever.

-or-

Medium/Light Armor wearing Battlemaster Fighter. 10 Str, 16 Con, 17 Dex, 6 Int, 11 Wis, 10 Cha.

Variant Human- Dex to 18, Wis to 12.
Sharpshooter Feat.
Archery Fighting Style.
Rapier for melee.
Level 4- Dex to 20
Rest- Whatever.

Don't pick Battlemaster abilities that require a save. Could put the 6 in Cha if you want. Don't put it in Wis or Dex/Str. Neither of those are your dump stats like Int and Cha are.
Could also go EK or Champion, though EK gets more mileage with a higher Int and Champion can get boring.

[robbie374]

You could be a Dwarf and put it in Strength.

You could wear heavy armor and be a Cleric with 16 Con, 18 Wis starting out. Or you could be a Dex-based Fighter or a Paladin.

[Naanomi]

You could be a Dwarf and put it in Strength.

You could wear heavy armor and be a Cleric with 16 Con, 18 Wis starting out. Or you could be a Dex-based Fighter or a Paladin.
A weight capacity of 90lbs is pretty tight... 65lb Armor, 6lb shield, 2-4lb weapon, 1lb holy symbol... maybe 15lbs for misc equipment and loot isn't much. If variant encumbrance is used it would be even less tenable

[KarlMarx]

RP ideas, from mundane to far-fetched, for the dumped stat:

Str: You're scrawny and bookish. You're a mage (or took magic initiate if VHuman is allowed) who never sees the point of doing anything strenuous--isn't that what mage hand is for? You're still recovering from a traumatic injury, and can't afford to exert any force on yourself. You have an ancestor whose actually an ooze (anything is possible with magic), and half your muscles are actually made of protoplasm.

Dex: You're a veteran whose taken too many hits to still have mobility--but boy, the stories you tell! You suffered a freak magical accident that turned your skin into rock. You're loose and lucid when you try--but you're so uncoordinated you slap yourself in the face sometimes. You're actually really good at dodging fireballs--the only issue is, you dodge too late. You've spent too long meditating and focusing on self-control to still have subconscious reflexes.

Con: You eat too many twinkies. You're lazy and can't apply yourself to actually improving your endurance. You're asthmatic. You're a neat freak who never developed a proper immune system.

Int: You suffer from short-term memory loss (It's a family condition--or at least you think it is--where are they, anyway?:smalltongue:). You think you're really good at deductive reasoning, but always pick up on the wrong things and draw absurd conclusions. A divination spell once went wrong, and you can never tell if you're actually processing based on the past, present, or future.

Wis: You grew up on a mountain, far from people, and don't understand why everyone here crowds together. You have too short of an attention span (Go scout ahead! <five minutes pass> Hey guys, I found this awesome beetle on the path!). You always attempt something new, only for novelty's sake, regardless of whether it's practical. You've been geased into/sworn to/must rescue a loved one by completing a major quest, and have been doing long enough that your single-minded focus has overwhelmed everything else. You must be the best at everything you do, even if you have exactly zero skill at the task.

Cha: You grew up speaking a really obscure language, and haven't yet learned the social nuances of Common. You still have an imaginary friend, and prefer to hang out with them. You don't understand why everyone else can't get that you're actually a lammasu, polymorphed into humanoid form. You're a clinical egomaniac.

[kingheff1]

I'd go for a fiend tome warlock with the urchin background. Dump strength, prioritise con and charisma.
Growing up as a particularly small but tough urchin with a smart mouth that got him in trouble one too many times. During an especially savage beating he called out in desperation to a dark power of your choice and the rest is history.
Of course you could then move to sorcerer if you want.

[grumbaki]

16, 17, 11, 10, 10, 11, 6.

Half Orc Champion Fighter

Str (18) Dex (10) Con (18) Int (6) Wis (11) Cha (10)

Wear fullplate for your AC. Start with 18 in needed physical stats. Have a great axe. Swing. Crit. Repeat.

Lvl 1: Great Weapon Fighting (re-roll 1 and 2 for dmg rolls with your greataxe)
Lvl 4: +2 Str (Str 20)
Lvl 6: Great Weapon Mastery
Lvl 8: +2 Con (Con20)
Lvl 12: Resilient (Wis 12, proficient in wisdom saves)
Lvl 14: Lucky (3 re-rolls)
Lvl 16: Magical Initiate (3 cantrips at a high level)
Lvl 19: Tough (alot of HP at this level)


Sure, intelligence is a dump stat. But you are a half-orc fighter. So what if your intelligence is low?

[LuminousWarrior]

Dex: You're a veteran whose taken too many hits to still have mobility--but boy, the stories you tell!

By that same idea, you could be simply be an senior citizen. Maybe a "retired" adventurer who just can't resist the call of action, and you're not gonna let something like arthritis change that.