Looking for opinions on where to put my dump stat

[Darth_Versity]

So I did ridiculously well rolling my stats for our curse of Strahd game (18, 18, 17, 15, 15, 7) and decided to play a Goblin Kensai who was raised by halflings.

I've put my abilities as
Str 15
Dex 20
Con 18
Int ?
Wis 18
Cha ?

I can't decide between Int and Cha for the remaining 15 and 7. It's mostly a role play thing as it will effect whether I play him as a lovable idiot or anti social smart ass. So what would you prefer to play if t were you, or play alongside if it was a team mate?

[nickl_2000]

I don't know the campaign well, but I would do int as the dump stat. Play him as being lovable, cute and stupid. So, stupid that he doesn't realize he isn't a halfling. So, he doesn't understand why others treat him as a danger.

[CTurbo]

Int all the way. It's by far the most useless stat IMO followed by Str.

[Darth_Versity]

Int all the way. It's by far the most useless stat IMO followed by Str.

Why would you place Int as the worst stat?

[QuickLyRaiNbow]

Why would you place Int as the worst stat?

When Int checks come up, they're usually either group checks or checks where one success gets you the information anyway. When Str checks come up, they're often individual. Climb the thing, or don't; jump the thing, or don't. Int doesn't get you extra skills, proficiencies or languages, and it doesn't help you in combat at all. While it can help you during downtime, many campaigns don't have enough time to make use of the downtime training options. Str at least helps you carry more stuff, and it helps you resist being grappled or shoved.

I'm DMing Tomb of Annihilation at the moment, and I've got a lot of players wishing they hadn't dumped Str.

[KorvinStarmast]

So I did ridiculously well rolling my stats for our curse of Strahd game (18, 18, 17, 15, 15, 7) and decided to play a Goblin Kensai who was raised by halflings.

I've put my abilities as
Str 15
Dex 20
Con 18
Int ?
Wis 18
Cha ?

I can't decide between Int and Cha for the remaining 15 and 7. It's mostly a role play thing as it will effect whether I play him as a lovable idiot or anti social smart ass. So what would you prefer to play if t were you, or play alongside if it was a team mate?
I would dump Cha. A monk doesn't need Cha if the monk's purpose is to be awesome in combat. The occasional Int save/Int skill check with a boost is nice, and you can MC into wizard if you feel like it. :smallbiggrin: On the other hand, if you want to be awesome at intimidating, then dump int.

[Beelzebubba]

Put it in the spot that will be most fun to roleplay.

A fine thinker that nobody listens to

or

An influential, forceful idiot

[CTurbo]

You need Str if you want to attack with a big weapon, grapple, wear heavy armor, need a 13 to multiclass

It's otherwise useless. Yeah I know Encumbrance is a thing but unless you put a 4 there, you're probably going to be fine.



You need Int if you want to play a Wizard and that's pretty much it. Yeah I know EK's and AT's can benefit from some Int but for the most part, it's mostly useless. Most Int checks can easily be covered by somebody else in the group, and failing them usually isn't that big of a deal.

[Speely]

I would dump Int simply because making Int checks is far less fun to me than making Cha checks that can influence social encounters in many ways. With those AMAZING stats, adding a bit of charm on top of it makes more sense to me than being smart, and dumb is more fun to RP than unlikable (imo.)

Edit: How the hell did you roll two 18s? In my decades of playing D&D I have never managed that lol. Grats :)

[Darth_Versity]

Edit: How the hell did you roll two 18s? In my decades of playing D&D I have never managed that lol. Grats :)

I don't actually know. Some strange god of the dice was blessing the table that night. We have 6 players and during session 0 we all rolled. I got two 18's, two others got an 18 each, and there were five 17's.

I actually switched to my friends dice for the last roll because my stats were ridiculous and his dice are notoriously bad. That's where the 7 came from. I said that if that last one was higher than an 11 I'd throw the stats back because they were to good.

[Ganymede]

With stats that good, you could afford to put your 7 in one of the more powerful attributes, like Constitution, Strength, or Dexterity.

There is nothing fun or memorable about throwing a low score in a traditional dump stat. Why waste such a good roll on something cookie cutter?

[Darth_Versity]

With stats that good, you could afford to put your 7 in one of the more powerful attributes, like Constitution, Strength, or Dexterity.

There is nothing fun or memorable about throwing a low score in a traditional dump stat. Why waste such a good roll on something cookie cutter?

Why would anyone intentionally gimp their character in such a way? I'll agree that's its fun to play with obviously flaws. There's a difference between being interesting due to flaws and being useless due to flaws and becoming the fop.

One of the most enjoyable characters I ever played was a deaf mechanic aboard a Starship that only had voice comms. He added an awkwardness to the communication, but remained one of the best mechanics in the solar system.

[1Pirate]

I think it may depend on the group dynamic. It's usually more fun if you have a foil in another player. So if there's someone else with high intelligence and low Charisma, I'd say dump Intelligence. If there's someone with low Intelligence but high Charisma, then dump Charisma(although since I don't know your table I should mention to make sure the player's ok with being your foil, so to speak).

Otherwise, I think low Int would be most fun"Hey guys! That nice old lady in the windmill gave me a free pie! We should tell all the children where to find her!"

[CTurbo]

I've rolled two 18s a couple of times before so I know it's possible. I watched my sister in law roll 18, 17, 17, 16, 16, 15 for the last character she made a couple months ago but we through that out and made her redo it which was a first for us. I've also seen some comically low rolled stats too. I remember one where I had a 12 but then no other stat over 8. Of course I rerolled.

[Ganymede]

Why would anyone intentionally gimp their character in such a way?

Because you aren't gimping a character, you are creating a character.

Anyways, it is hyperbole in the extreme to describe a character with a total modifier bonus of +13 as "useless" and "the fop."

[Darth_Versity]

Because you aren't gimping a character, you are creating a character.

Anyways, it is hyperbole in the extreme to describe a character with a total modifier bonus of +13 as "useless" and "the fop."

If that characters main stat is Dex and you put a 7 there, then yes he is the fop. A wizard with 7 Int? Definitely the fop, even if he had straight 18's in his other stats.

Besides that, it makes no sense even from a character perspective. If a monk is that slow and clumsy, why did his sensei continue to train him. If a wizard was to thick to read, why would his master bother with lessons?

[kamap]

I'd dump int aswell.
Though keep in mind int 7 isn't really an idiot, anything between 8 and 12 is mediocre all around normal people, 7 is just slightly lower, he isn't the smartest kid in the class but he isn't forrest gump and certainly not gilbert grape.

[CTurbo]

I could see some rp potential in sticking a 7 in Con and having awesome other stats. Maybe you're strong, smart, handsome, but sickly.

I could see sticking a 7 in Cha. Same as above but maybe you weren't raised very well and are crass, rude, smelly, austistic, or just completely lack social skills.

I've dumped Str hard a few times and 2 of those times I just made my character really young. Had a 15 yr old female Bard, and a 13 yr old Theif Rogue both with a 6 Str.

I've never dumped Dex or Wis although I do see the rp potential. My brother in law made a Paladin with 6 Dex and just played his as really clumsy, but he had a 20 Str and 18 Con.

I do agree that you couldnt really make a usable Wizard with 7 Int, Bard with 7 Cha, Druid with 7 Wis etc...

[ciarannihill]

I would've put it into Strength -- mechanically and narratively (being raised as a monk by halflings I feel like him working on his bench-press wouldn't be his first inclination -- his ability to defuse situations and learning about things probably would be pursuits he would've encountered in his prior life) I think it's the best dump unless you're planning on making him a grappler or something.

Having said that, Cha and Int both can work -- Cha owing to being a Goblin who was raised without prejudice being suddenly thrown into a world where people think him subhuman or a monster could be interesting, or having the Charisma needed to defuse those situations, but not being well learned. An unworldly philosopher and monk, having been cloistered in training the halflings who raised him neglected to teach him more than rudimentary language and arithmetic skills -- within the monastery these things were unessential and therefore ignored.


Sounds like a fun character, and you have basically god-stats so dayum (a Monk with 19 AC from level 1 is unbelievably good, and with the Kensei feature bumping you to 21 if you unarmed strike with one of your attacks). Good luck!!

[Ganymede]

If that characters main stat is Dex and you put a 7 there, then yes he is the fop. A wizard with 7 Int? Definitely the fop, even if he had straight 18's in his other stats.

Besides that, it makes no sense even from a character perspective. If a monk is that slow and clumsy, why did his sensei continue to train him. If a wizard was to thick to read, why would his master bother with lessons?

Oh fun, that makes me think of an unusually wise but clumsy kensai that recognizes that he has to make up for his shortcomings in other ways, specifically by supplanting the grace and fluidity traditionally associated with the monk with strength and might instead.

Mechanically, strength works just as well for your offensive kensai features as dexterity. You're going to suffer a bit in the AC department, but that's at least partially offset by your higher wisdom and constitution.


To be honest, this is starting to sound like a really fun character.

[xroads]

I'd make intelligence the dump.

From a RP perspective, most of the common races don't think highly of goblins and would be prone to pulling out the pitchforks when one shows up in town. A high charisma would probably have better odds of smoothing things over than raw intelligence.

[mephnick]

I'd make intelligence the dump.

From a RP perspective, most of the common races don't think highly of goblins and would be prone to pulling out the pitchforks when one shows up in town. A high charisma would probably have better odds of smoothing things over than raw intelligence.

On the other hand, dump CHA and really run with the hatred.

[GlenSmash!]

I'd make intelligence the dump.

From a RP perspective, most of the common races don't think highly of goblins and would be prone to pulling out the pitchforks when one shows up in town. A high charisma would probably have better odds of smoothing things over than raw intelligence.

In Barovia all outsiders are looked at with distrust, common or uncommon.

[xroads]

In Barovia all outsiders are looked at with distrust, common or uncommon.

True. But presumably the goblin didn't start in Barovia. At least not if the DM uses the standard method of getting players into Ravenloft. So from an RP perspective, he would of had good cause to develop his charisma prior to the game's start.

[MagneticKitty]

Why would anyone intentionally gimp their character in such a way? I'll agree that's its fun to play with obviously flaws. There's a difference between being interesting due to flaws and being useless due to flaws and becoming the fop.

What's a fop? At my job we call front office staff fops (front office person) indicating they don't have training on the equipment we support and we have to kinda dumb things down for them... as much as I want to believe you're calling the PC a front office person I doubt this is the case.

Anyway, id dump int if they identify as a halfling... but I think them being a goblin kinda lends more towards dumping cha. You don't have to play them as terribly uncharismatic, their looks will do that for them. They may be decently well mannered and just not know how to deal with non halfling folk.

[ATHATH]

On the other hand, dump CHA and really run with the hatred.
I support this.

[Darth_Versity]

What's a fop? At my job we call front office staff fops (front office person) indicating they don't have training on the equipment we support and we have to kinda dumb things down for them... as much as I want to believe you're calling the PC a front office person I doubt this is the case.

Actually the Fop is supposed to be the face of the party, but in my group, social encounters go wrong so frequently that the fop has become the nickname for the waste of space

[Exocist]

Put the 7 in INT for reasons other people have mentioned - INT saves are super rare (bad if you fail them, but so are CHA saves) and INT checks are mostly going to be single-person checks anyway. Charisma is likely going to be covered by another person, but if you get split off from them (say you're going on your own to buy supplies in town) it can't be too bad to have a non-negative CHA mod.

15 STR is actually good for a Monk, because you can Grapple->Step of the Wind (Double Jump distance)->Jump 10 ft (High Jump is 3+2 feet, which is doubled by step of the wind)->Slow Fall. So as part of your movement, you deal 1d6 damage to the enemy and knock them prone (taking fall damage automatically knocks you prone) while you're perfectly fine.

[NaughtyTiger]

Kensei don't need str. Goblins are small and shouldn't have str.

CoS has vampires and those like Cha saves, don't they?

if you dump int.. you should own it.
you cannot outsmart minor illusion or phantasmal force.
DMs are allowed to swap spells and XGE spells mean Int isn't a dump stat anymore.