+1 stat bonuses

[Naez]

Hey I just rolled up a character for a new game and literally ALL my rolls were odd numbers. is there anyway to get something like a +1 to all stats or is the level up bonus the only way to get a +1 to a stat?

[Nifft]

You can use a Tome or Manual of an odd number.

You can wish for a +1 bonus.

You can cry to the DM.

[rel]

Wish / miracle and the tomes derived from them are the only reliable option.

In general, the tomes are expensive enough to not be worth it until very high levels and the spells are flat out unavailable until lvl 17+.

The common ways around this conundrum are monsters with spell like or supernatural wish or miracle abilities.

The archetypal example is the efreet with 3 wishes per day it can't even use without a PC's help but there are other possibilities.

Compile a list of promising monster types (these will vary based on your campaigns' theme and GM's proclivities).
Whenever you encounter one of said monsters try and befriend it, mind control it with magic or just snag a piece of it to later use in the construction of a magical copy like a simulacrum.
You can also use calling magic to bring in the monsters if they stubbornly refuse to show up during normal adventures.

These kinds of tricks pull the level range at which you can access stat boosting down to about 10

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Make your character middle-age, that gets -1 to Str, Dex, and Con, and +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.

[TotallyNotEvil]

SRD says the price for an enhancement to a stat is bonus*bonus*2000 GP.

So commission a few +1 items for 2k a piece.

[Psyren]

The max bonus from wishes/manuals is an odd number. That's expensive though so you're going to be waiting quite a while.

(Really though, this kind of thing is why so many of us use point buy instead.)

[Elkad]

No reason not to allow +1/3/5 stat items. We've hashed it out here before.

And it's bonus*bonus*1000gp. So 1k/9k/25k

[Eldariel]

Make your character middle-age, that gets -1 to Str, Dex, and Con, and +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.

I definitely recommend this if it at all fits your character.

[Bronk]

There's also the 5th level 'extract gift' spell that can give odd numbered stat bonuses.

I don't always mind starting out with odd valued stats though, because it means that when I raise an ability score through leveling, it always counts.

[ericgrau]

SRD says the price for an enhancement to a stat is bonus*bonus*2000 GP.

So commission a few +1 items for 2k a piece.

Guideline not a rule. The bigger rule is that it must match the power of existing items. Since people usually want +1 items specifically to save money on +2 items, the proper fair price is actually closer to the +2 item, maybe about the same as a +1.5 item. Magic items with odd bonuses don't exist in the standard set, and the standard ways to get odd bonuses are very difficult. It's especially unfair if you're the only PC with all odd stats. It won't break the game, but it's still a boost over your allies.


(Really though, this kind of thing is why so many of us use point buy instead.)
Also why the standard point buy gives less points than what you might expect, to make up for the weakness of odd rolls. Though I agree that in general odd stats are pretty dumb, and mostly just a hold over from 1e. It would be better if stats were 1 to 9 instead of 3 to 18, for +1 modifier per +1 stat.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Make your character middle-age, that gets -1 to Str, Dex, and Con, and +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.
Thirding this. It'll even out your scores right nice, without having to do mess around with expensive magic items or wishes.

[Heliomance]

Yeah, ask your GM nicely if you can get odd stat bonus equipment following the formula of the others, like was mentioned above. Sure, it's not standard, but every GM I've ever played under has allowed it.

[Thurbane]

See if the DM will allow a Belt of Magnificence (MH p.42) +1?

The +2 version costs 25,000gp.

[lbuttitta]

No reason not to allow +1/3/5 stat items. We've hashed it out here before.

And it's bonus*bonus*1000gp. So 1k/9k/25k
The reason the developers on the D&D 3.5 team decided not to make +1/+3/+5/etc. stat-boosting items was for exactly this reason: to stop a character with odd-numbered stats getting an effective bonus to ability scores cheaply. There was a discussion about it here (http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?352545-Thoughts-on-Odd-Number-Bonus-Stat-Items), I believe.

[Elkad]

The reason the developers on the D&D 3.5 team decided not to make +1/+3/+5/etc. stat-boosting items was for exactly this reason: to stop a character with odd-numbered stats getting an effective bonus to ability scores cheaply. There was a discussion about it here (http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?352545-Thoughts-on-Odd-Number-Bonus-Stat-Items), I believe.

And yet like everything else the devs either didn't test or used poor reasoning on, it just doesn't matter. Sure, there's an advantage at some levels. At others there isn't.
A character with 17str and 14 con vs a character with 18str and 12 con spend pretty darn similar amounts buffing those 2 stats, they just allocate their funds slightly differently. And as they progress through the levels, the advantage shifts from one to the other.

We had a discussion here in the last year or so that went on for pages. The difference is insignificant.

If they wanted odd stats to matter, they should have split the bonuses. +1 to damage on odd levels, +1 to hit on evens. +1 AC on odd, +1 Init on even. Etc.

[BowStreetRunner]

Some of the Prestige Classes give odd bonuses, like Fiend Blooded. See more here: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?255377-3-5-PrCs-that-grant-Ability-Score-Bonuses

[Bronk]

Some of the Prestige Classes give odd bonuses, like Fiend Blooded. See more here: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?255377-3-5-PrCs-that-grant-Ability-Score-Bonuses

Now that you mention it, so do bloodline levels...

[Zancloufer]

The reason the developers on the D&D 3.5 team decided not to make +1/+3/+5/etc. stat-boosting items was for exactly this reason: to stop a character with odd-numbered stats getting an effective bonus to ability scores cheaply. There was a discussion about it here (http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?352545-Thoughts-on-Odd-Number-Bonus-Stat-Items), I believe.

The problem with that thinking it that it means 95% of the time a 14 is just as good as having a 15. Most people would argue that 15>14 and in point buy a 15 costs more than a 14. With no odd numbered buffs though investing in a 15 gives you no benefit over keeping it as a 14. Yes there are wishes and tomes but they way they are worded to work makes them EXTREMELY expensive .

[TotallyNotEvil]

The spell Draconic Might gives +5 to STR, CON and CHA.

Honestly, yeah odd scores gets you a better bonus cheaper, but even scores gets you an ultimately higher bonus.

[Nifft]

The spell Draconic Might gives +5 to STR, CON and CHA. That's the Draconomicon version.

The re-print in the Spell Compendium dialed them back to +4 each.

:roy:

[ksbsnowowl]

With no odd numbered buffs though investing in a 15 gives you no benefit over keeping it as a 14.

Except when you hit level 4. Which is kind of the whole point.

[Zancloufer]

Except when you hit level 4. Which is kind of the whole point.

On the flip side when you hit level 8 it could become an odd number again. Or maybe you have an even number in int as a wizard and put a +1 in it at level 4 because eventually it will become an even number again at level 8.

[Thurbane]

On the flip side when you hit level 8 it could become an odd number again. Or maybe you have an even number in int as a wizard and put a +1 in it at level 4 because eventually it will become an even number again at level 8.

If you start with an odd numbered score, and are playing an LA +0 race, you'll end up with a total of +5 ability stats for gaining levels. If you're using the lite array (15,14,13,12,10,8), it's not uncommon to put the 15 in your main (casting) stat, dump all the increases there, and end up with a 20 (plus any other bonuses accrued) at level 20.

[ksbsnowowl]

On the flip side when you hit level 8 it could become an odd number again. Or maybe you have an even number in int as a wizard and put a +1 in it at level 4 because eventually it will become an even number again at level 8.

And buying the more expensive 15 gives you four more levels of a greater bonus. Opportunity cost or cost/reward, however you want to term it, that is the entire point.

Only having +2/even stat items makes it so all characters benefit from them equally. It doesn't matter if you have an even or an odd score, everyone gets raised by 2, and everyone gets an increased bonus of +1. This means there is verisimilitude within the world. Odd-bonus stat magic items break it for no reason aside from gaming the system.

[Psyren]

If you start with an odd numbered score, and are playing an LA +0 race, you'll end up with a total of +5 ability stats for gaining levels. If you're using the lite array (15,14,13,12,10,8), it's not uncommon to put the 15 in your main (casting) stat, dump all the increases there, and end up with a 20 (plus any other bonuses accrued) at level 20.

You get +5 from levels but you get another +5 from manuals/wishes if we're going all the way up, so it becomes an even number again. And of course, the enhancement bonus item is also even (+6). So starting with an even score does make sense.

[ksbsnowowl]

You get +5 from levels but you get another +5 from manuals/wishes if we're going all the way up, so it becomes an even number again. And of course, the enhancement bonus item is also even (+6). So starting with an even score does make sense.

But by the end of your adventuring career, you might be middle-aged, so it all works out in the end :smallwink: