Advice for having one ability score at a 3

[caoshunter22]

I'm still somewhat new to D&D and I'm planning to make my next character a Paladin following the oath of vengeance. However while rolling majority of the ability scores are good except one is a 3. I rolled 13,16,17,16,14,3. I don't want to cheat and say well I should re-roll because the 3 will make things difficult but I'm not sure what ability should get a 3. I'm planing to play as an Half-Orc but with one ability score that has to be a 3 would it be better to switch to a different race?

[Man_Over_Game]

I'm still somewhat new to D&D and I'm planning to make my next character a Paladin following the oath of vengeance. However while rolling majority of the ability scores are good except one is a 3. I rolled 13,16,17,16,14,3. I don't want to cheat and say well I should re-roll because the 3 will make things difficult but I'm not sure what ability should get a 3. I'm planing to play as an Half-Orc but with one ability score that has to be a 3 would it be better to switch to a different race?

Rerolling from bad stats isn't cheating, unless your table tells you it is.

The best advice I can offer is find a concept you like and stick with it. Maybe be a caster with 3 Charisma and use Message because you're mute. Maybe you're a Sorcerer who's nearly blind and deaf with 3 Wisdom. Maybe you're a Druid who has an Intelligence of 3 and gets his advice from flowers and animals. Or a Monk who learned to harness Chi to get past his muscle disease (low strength).

[nickl_2000]

So a Half Orc Paladin, that would give you

13,16,17,16,14,3

Str: 18
Dex:
Con: 18
Int:
Wis:
Chat: 16

Or something similar to that. Your dump stat could then be

Dexterity - Since you are a Paladin, you will wear heavy armor. So you don't need to worry about the AC harm. However, you will rarely get to go first in initiative and you will fail pretty much all of your Dex saving throws. That alone will solidly suck. This will be somewhat mitigated by your Aura at level 6 and you can help more with Shield Mastery or resilient Dex.
Int - There aren't a lot of saving throws out there, but the one you fail will really, really suck. Also, you won't really be able to even speak with a 3 intelligence
Wis - You charge head long into battle, you don't think anything through. Also, you will really, really suck at saves.


If you want to keep the scores, I would say make your Dex 3. You have a con that will help you with the damage from area effect spells. At level 4 you take resilient Dex to get +1 dex and proficiency in the saves. That gives you a 4 in the ability score (a -3 overall now) and you get +2 for saves. Netting in a total of -1. In two more levels you get the aura putting you in positive territory.



Your other option, and probably the better one is to talk to the DM. See you you can drop some scores down to increase the 3 to something more reasonable (an 8 or 10). They may prefer that you just re-roll completely. And if the DM says to do it, then you aren't cheating.

[Renvir]

It's hard to pass up on those 5 good rolls, especially with Paladins who want several high attributes. Dex and Int are the two I'd lean towards for the dump stat if you want to be a Half-Orc. Fortunately, you'll have good Cha so your aura at level 6 can do a lot to cover your one bad save.

[Willie the Duck]

From a mechanical standpoint, having a 3 is not really all that different from having a 8-- you can't rely an succeeding any time you have to roll based on that stat. Other than that, it's mostly roleplaying.

5e is set up with the expectation that you will fail saves (and thus there are few, if any, save-or-die effects, as there were in previous editions). Skills often you don't have be the one to make the roll so long as someone does (occasional exceptions). Otherwise, you just have to figure out what else the stat does (encumbrance for Str, Initiative for Dex, hp for Con, etc.). You can do a pretty good job of shoring up this weakness simply by planning for it. Have a 3 Int? Good thing your wizard and Arcane Trickster allies are there the fend of the Intellect Devourer that wants to eat your brain! Have a 3 Dex? Well you aren't going first much, but thankfully fighter Joe is the tank with sentinel setting up the battlefield control (the melee build that really wants to go first, for positioning's sake), and you're just the hammer that crushes the enemies lined up on his anvil. Have a low Wisdom? No problem, the cleric took perception (and the rogue has a good Wis), and the monsters won't get the drop on you too often.

The next question becomes, which deficit is the most fun to play?

[caoshunter22]

So a Half Orc Paladin, that would give you

13,16,17,16,14,3

Str: 18
Dex:
Con: 18
Int:
Wis:
Chat: 16

Or something similar to that. Your dump stat could then be

Dexterity - Since you are a Paladin, you will wear heavy armor. So you don't need to worry about the AC harm. However, you will rarely get to go first in initiative and you will fail pretty much all of your Dex saving throws. That alone will solidly suck. This will be somewhat mitigated by your Aura at level 6 and you can help more with Shield Mastery or resilient Dex.
Int - There aren't a lot of saving throws out there, but the one you fail will really, really suck. Also, you won't really be able to even speak with a 3 intelligence
Wis - You charge head long into battle, you don't think anything through. Also, you will really, really suck at saves.


If you want to keep the scores, I would say make your Dex 3. You have a con that will help you with the damage from area effect spells. At level 4 you take resilient Dex to get +1 dex and proficiency in the saves. That gives you a 4 in the ability score (a -3 overall now) and you get +2 for saves. Netting in a total of -1. In two more levels you get the aura putting you in positive territory.



Your other option, and probably the better one is to talk to the DM. See you you can drop some scores down to increase the 3 to something more reasonable (an 8 or 10). They may prefer that you just re-roll completely. And if the DM says to do it, then you aren't cheating.

Well my DM said I can't re-roll so I might just have to switch to a gnome so I can get +2 to intelligence.

[RSP]

Well my DM said I can't re-roll so I might just have to switch to a gnome so I can get +2 to intelligence.

Mitigating the dump stat by picking a race that boosts it, is probably how I’d go, and Gnome does have the added benefit of advantage on saves if dumping a mental stat. With your other scores, you’re able to rely on your scores without needing a racial boost to “stay competitive;” you’ll be fine starting at level 1 with any of those other scores as is.

[nickl_2000]

Well my DM said I can't re-roll so I might just have to switch to a gnome so I can get +2 to intelligence.

So think of it this way, what would be more fun to play over a campaign. Someone who can barely talk (int:5) or someone who is incredibly clumsy and non-agile (dex: 5). Personally I would rather be able to talk and communicate, but that is me. However, if you are not set on playing a Half-Orc that does give you some other interesting options.

1) Variant Human with resilient dex. Nets you a total of -1 on dex saves, which isn't that horrible.
Str: 18 (+1)
Dex: 4 (resilient Dex)
Con: 16
Int: 14 (+1)
Wis: 14
Chat: 16

2) Variant Human with shield master. Still nets you a total of -1 on dex saves, which isn't that horrible.
Str: 18 (+1)
Dex: 4 (+1)
Con: 16
Int: 13
Wis: 14
Chat: 16

3) A Half-Elf would be also be a really good choice
Str: 18 (+1)
Dex: 4 (+1)
Con: 16
Int: 13
Wis: 14
Chat: 18 (+2)

3) A Yuan-Ti Pureblood would be awesome too given their advantage against spells and magical effects
Str: 17 (+1)
Dex: 13
Con: 16
Int: 4 (+1)
Wis: 14
Chat: 18 (+2)

[Particle_Man]

I wouldn't mitigate the bad stat with a racial bonus because that prevents you from pumping up a good stat with a racial bonus.

Besides, the dumb or ugly half-orc is traditional and fun to roleplay if you are into it. I would go for the Really Dumb Half-Orc Paladin of Vengeance, and just rock that 3 Intelligence. "Hulk Smash!" :smallbiggrin:

[Lyracian]

I just started running a 5e game and my players wanted to roll not use point buy. I said they have to go with what they get.

My wife has a Wizard who is horrible burnt with Int 18 and Chr 4.

The Dwarven Cleric has an Int of 5 and the Thief has Str 7!

[Yora]

If you absolutely hate having to play with those stats, put the 3 in Consitution and make a melee wizard.

But if you think it would be fun to actually do something with such stats, I think the easiest option is to put the 3 into either Strength or Dexterity, and the 13 in Constitution, and make a character with a disability. A wizard or bard should be quite capable of handling himself, even when limited to non-physical activities.
Playing with two high mental scores and one very low one always seems odd, and high strength with very low Constitution is also hard to imagine. But difficulty lifting things or fine muscle control wouldn't be that implausible.

Increasing the 3 to a 5 through choice of race and perhaps later being on the lookout for magic items that help compensate also is an interesting approach. And a 5 is not actually that low. When you assume that regular people have ability scores randomly generated by 3d6 with no modifiers, then a 5 still puts you above the bottom 17%. If you put randomly selected people into 6 groups according to an ability score, a character with a 5 wouldn't be in the lowest group but one above it.

[Willie the Duck]

So think of it this way, what would be more fun to play over a campaign. Someone who can barely talk (int:5) or someone who is incredibly clumsy and non-agile (dex: 5). Personally I would rather be able to talk and communicate, but that is me. However, if you are not set on playing a Half-Orc that does give you some other interesting options.

There is no reason why a character with a low Int should have to not be able to talk. That's throwing upon it a greater breadth of disability than Cha or Dex. Just have them have the vocabulary of a toddler or something (maybe Lenny from Of Mice and Men). Roleplaying any one disadvantage should be a challenge, but one should not make it so burdensome that no one would ever try it.

[MaxWilson]

I'm still somewhat new to D&D and I'm planning to make my next character a Paladin following the oath of vengeance. However while rolling majority of the ability scores are good except one is a 3. I rolled 13,16,17,16,14,3. I don't want to cheat and say well I should re-roll because the 3 will make things difficult but I'm not sure what ability should get a 3. I'm planing to play as an Half-Orc but with one ability score that has to be a 3 would it be better to switch to a different race?

I find the idea of a klutzy paladin fairly amusing, so in your shoes I'd be tempted to go Dex 3. But you're also going for half-orc, so Int 3 would also fit certain stereotypes and could be fun if you like playing the bestial-cunning strong-but-silent type.

I find Int 3 easier to roleplay than Int 8. Instead of dumb-person-who-thinks-he's-above-average, you're just barely-sapient. Whatever I think a smart dog would understand is fair game for that character to understand.

[GooeyChewie]

I vote go for the absurd! Put it in Strength. Go for a Finesse weapon and light armor.

[CantigThimble]

Rock Gnome wizard with 4 constitution is the way I went with an array like that once. Realllly makes you think about positioning and where enemy's attention is. :smallbiggrin:

[Orc_Lord]

Oh...I got this.

INT 3
Play a monster race with traditionally low intelligence, Orc, Bugbear, Troll, Ogre, whatever your DM is willing to allow.

Talk to the DM, but if he is cool with it. this is what I would do as a backstory:

You used to be a monster, your name is Thrusher, attacking, killing, pillaging is what you do. Thrusher STRONG. Thrusher takes the shineys and the womenz.

One day you killed a group and looted <insert weapon type here>

It was just like any other day, until the sword starting talking to you. The sword contains the soul of a LG Paladin.

Initially you ignored the sword. But one day you came upon a wagon with a family in it, being attacked by bandits and as you started your killing / looting business the sword convinced you to kill the bandits first. You where getting ready to head towards the family until the man, thankful of your killing of the bandits, gave you all his wares since the bandits where going to take it all and thanked you.

This confused you, you get the shineys but didn't have to kill the squishies? With some urging from the sword you started killing bandits and saving villagers. The village started to pile food, drinks and shiney beads outside it's entrance for you to find.

The sword kept talking to you, telling you how being good is harder than being bad. How the truly strong, what you crave, put others before themselves. All the talk was confusing but continuous, gentle, pleading, caring.

A big fire got started, the village was ablaze. You, Thrusher, didn't want all the food stuffs the people were giving you to be burned, so you started going into houses grabbing villagers and taking them to safety. Even if the house was on fire if you heard screams you would go in.

You got tired, burned, dehydrated and exhausted. At some point you collapsed.

When you woke up you where in a cave with the villagers, your burns where tended to already, and plenty of food and drink was piled right next to you. The villagers would come daily making sure you are OK and tending to your needs.

...and that's how Thrusher the Paladin was born.

[Malifice]

As a Paladin?

Dump Dex all the way. Wear plate. Use a big sword.

Dump Int if you want, but watch out for intellect devourers. And the Feeblemind spell.

[ChildofLuthic]

I'd probably dump intelligence, and roleplay as someone who only knows that they love Luthic/Gruumsh/whoever and that they love doing the right thing. Maybe they can't make good decisions for their life, so they're constantly asking their deity for advice. That would honestly be really fun to roleplay. You need STR, CON and CHA, and I wouldn't want to dump DEX or WIS.

[Willie the Duck]

I find Int 3 easier to roleplay than Int 8. Instead of dumb-person-who-thinks-he's-above-average, you're just barely-sapient. Whatever I think a smart dog would understand is fair game for that character to understand.

Not to disagree, but merely offer a counterexample: I had an Int 8, Wis 12, high charisma+social skills bard who I played as 'a little bit daft, but knew it, and was trying to make sure no one realized it.' It was a huge amount of fun.

[Need_A_Life]

I'm playing a Warlock with a Wisdom of 6. So he's quite ADH--who even came up with acronyms? And why isn't there an acronym for acronym?

It's a blast.

I hate playing low-charisma characters; I can't keep my mouth shut in real life, so I might as well lean into that.
Low intelligence gets old.
Low constitution makes you incredibly squishy (oh, so your barbarian has d12-4HP/level?)
Low strength... isn't super interesting, but it's a decent dump stat.

Also, I don't know why I'd dump Dexterity as a Paladin? You can be a dexterity-based paladin in 5e and it works just great; light armour, shield and a good dexterity gets you a long way.

[MaxWilson]

I'm playing a Warlock with a Wisdom of 6. So he's quite ADH--who even came up with acronyms? And why isn't there an acronym for acronym?

It's a blast.

I hate playing low-charisma characters; I can't keep my mouth shut in real life, so I might as well lean into that.
Low intelligence gets old.
Low constitution makes you incredibly squishy (oh, so your barbarian has d12-4HP/level?)
Low strength... isn't super interesting, but it's a decent dump stat.

Also, I don't know why I'd dump Dexterity as a Paladin? You can be a dexterity-based paladin in 5e and it works just great; light armour, shield and a good dexterity gets you a long way.

Mostly the idea of a klutzy paladin works because low Dexterity doesn't make Paladins suffer very much. You have heavy armor proficiency, so low Dex doesn't hurt your AC, and you're not good with missile weapons in the first place (no Extra Attack III-IV like a Fighter, and your smite spells/abilities don't work with missile weapons) so low Dex doesn't hurt that either.

The reason why a klutzy paladin is amusing is subjective. I just happen to find that picture more interesting on an RP level than a stupid paladin or a weak paladin.

[djreynolds]

Are you going to leave that at 3 or 4? Are you going to throw some ASI into this stat?

[caoshunter22]

Are you going to leave that at 3 or 4? Are you going to throw some ASI into this stat?

Probably at 4 from a racial bonus. Depending on how my character does I might throw some ASI into that stat.

[GlenSmash!]

I'd play something wildernessy like a Druid, Ranger, or Barbarian and put that that 3 in Charisma, Outlander Background with the "more comfortable around people than animals" would fit really well. I'd go Variant Human with lucky, as lucky will help you with the odd Charisma Save.

Then again I never play D&D to be the guy you can win friends and influence people.

[Vorpalchicken]

There is no reason why a character with a low Int should have to not be able to talk. That's throwing upon it a greater breadth of disability than Cha or Dex. Just have them have the vocabulary of a toddler or something (maybe Lenny from Of Mice and Men). Roleplaying any one disadvantage should be a challenge, but one should not make it so burdensome that no one would ever try it.

I agree with this. There is always a possibility of rolling a 3 Int and nothing in D&D says you can't talk. It mentions under the Feeblemind spell that Cha 1 + Int 1 = no talking or understanding language, but thats quite a bit worse. I could get behind a character with a 1 Intelligence not being able to talk. Or if your Orc gets a 2 Intelligence I could see not speaking but still understanding basic speech, or basic intent- like a dog.

[nickl_2000]

I agree with this. There is always a possibility of rolling a 3 Int and nothing in D&D says you can't talk. It mentions under the Feeblemind spell that Cha 1 + Int 1 = no talking or understanding language, but thats quite a bit worse. I could get behind a character with a 1 Intelligence not being able to talk. Or if your Orc gets a 2 Intelligence I could see not speaking but still understanding basic speech, or basic intent- like a dog.

I usually choose 6 as the limit to being able to speak a language more than a few grunts and/or phrases. The reasoning behind is is that I believe the lowest INT creature in the Monster Manual with a speaking language is 6. Additionally there are several spells that don't work against someone of 3 INT. For example the detect thoughts spell doesn't work on someone who has an int of 3. Tasha's requires and INT of higher than 4. But that is my impression, it is based simply on my reading of it and there is no official reading like in older versions.

[Particle_Man]

I believe that the last edition to penalize speech for an int 3 was BECMI D&D and even it said: "you can use simple common words" (i.e. simple words of the common tongue). So if you want to run with that for roleplay reasons, talk like the characters in "The Cat in the Hat"/"Green Eggs and Ham" and you should be fine with an INT:3.

[Wildarm]

You could play a warforged character with 3 charisma pretty easily.

[MaxWilson]

You could play a warforged character with 3 charisma pretty easily.

But a Paladin with Cha 3 is probably no fun. If you were going to do this you'd want to be a Fighter or something instead.

[Pex]

Ask your DM to fiat the 3 to an 8. You don't have to be slaved by the dice. You still have the penalty the game allows, and you don't have to worry about roleplaying a 3 properly or having the game math of it ruin the moment of whenever it applies.

If he hesitates bargain lowering the 13 to 10 as well. You still have your good rolls, lucky you, and you're paying for the generosity.

[CTurbo]

Putting 3 in Str. This could work on a class that doesn't need to carry things like Monk. A Monk with super low Str would not really suffer mechanically. How would you explain being SO weak though?

Putting 3 in Dex. I think it would be awesome to play an extremely clumsy character. Obviously needs heavy armor so Fighter, Paladin, or Cleric. You would want Alert because nobody wants to go last every single time.

Putting 3 in Con. No just don't unless you just want to die in order to roll up a new character. Easily the worst choice.

Putting 3 in Int. I've done this. You could be a totally primal character. I was a Barb(obviously) but I could see a Monk or Fighter working here too. Barb or Monk make the most since because of unarmored defense. I think a 3 Int character is not going to be smart enough to make good use of "tools" such as weapons and armor. My 3 Int Halfling frenzy barb was feral and I played him sort of like a wild animal. He eventually learned to use a Light Hammer.

Putting 3 in Wis. This would be tough. I guess you'd be blind and or deaf? Could be fun, but also sounds really hard mechanically. Wis saves are possibly the worst to fail. I'd pass.

Putting 3 in Cha. This would be fun. So many ways to do this. Maybe you're just really rude? Maybe you stink really bad? Maybe you just have the worst people skills. You talk down to people, chew with your mouth open, talk with your mouth full, pee and poop on yourself or just anywhere at anytime? Maybe you're super childlike and are really gullible and scare easily?



My top choices would be-
The clumsy Paladin
The savage Barbarian
A really stupid Chain Pact Warlock that gets led around by his much smarter Familiar or maybe he's totally blind and sees through his familiar's eyes.


Either way I'd at least bump the 3 to a 4 whether by racial boost or Resilient. You could easily get it to 6 by combining racial bonuses and Resilient if you're worried about it.


This would be fun though

[Sigreid]

I would just drop the 3 into Dex, wear heavy armor and accept that most of the time I'll go last in combat. I don't even think you'll find it that bad and you can compensate with the alert feat on the initiative.

[Mercurias]

I'm still somewhat new to D&D and I'm planning to make my next character a Paladin following the oath of vengeance. However while rolling majority of the ability scores are good except one is a 3. I rolled 13,16,17,16,14,3. I don't want to cheat and say well I should re-roll because the 3 will make things difficult but I'm not sure what ability should get a 3. I'm planing to play as an Half-Orc but with one ability score that has to be a 3 would it be better to switch to a different race?

I would slap that 3 into Intelligence and roleplay that your character fell off of his Divine Steed and hit his head.

[CTurbo]

I'm still somewhat new to D&D and I'm planning to make my next character a Paladin following the oath of vengeance. However while rolling majority of the ability scores are good except one is a 3. I rolled 13,16,17,16,14,3. I don't want to cheat and say well I should re-roll because the 3 will make things difficult but I'm not sure what ability should get a 3. I'm planing to play as an Half-Orc but with one ability score that has to be a 3 would it be better to switch to a different race?

Half-Elf Vengeance Pally put the two +1s in Str and Dex for 18 Str, 4 Dex, 16 Con, 13 Int, 14 Wis, 18 Cha

Play him as strong, courageous, and clumsy. It would be fun. Talk to the DM about how to play it but I would want to roll a d20 everytime he did anything that involves Athletics and on a 1 he would trip and fall or something.

[Malifice]

I would just drop the 3 into Dex, wear heavy armor and accept that most of the time I'll go last in combat. I don't even think you'll find it that bad and you can compensate with the alert feat on the initiative.

Dex saves arent really important, and you're adding +Cha to them as a Paladin anyway.

Dex for sure for mine.

[opaopajr]

13, 16, 17, 16, 14, 3?

That's easy, those are mostly great rolls and three of them are odd numbers: Go Regular Human, +1 across the board.

14, 17, 18, 17, 15, 04. :smallcool:

ASI by 4th lvl, round out two more 18s. You're then sitting pretty. If you wanna take it easy, I guess you could place those 18s to cover your DEX,CON,WIS core saves. I myself could see the value of rolling a d6 and randomizing where the 04 goes. :smallamused:

But what sort of fun are you looking for? :smallsmile: What sort of frailty would amuse you most?

(Remember, the Dodge action also gives you Adv on Dex saves, too. :smallwink:)

[Keravath]

There is a difference between the mechanics of a 3 and the role play aspects of a 3. As a result, a lot of what you choose to play depends on what YOUR limits and your DMs limits are on what is possible with a given stat. Before choosing you should talk to your DM about what it means in HIS game to have a 3 in each particular stat.

Intelligence is the best example of this. In the rules, a low intelligence affects your saving throw and that is about it. There are a couple of effects which are very nasty for a bad intelligence saving throw but that is about it (assuming you aren't trying to play a wizard). However, from a role play perspective ... will your DM allow you to talk? Can you reason? Can you contribute to conversations? Will you be allowed to make a persuasion check? Even if you have proficiency in persuasion and a high charisma, how can you persuade a creature of something if you have no ability to speak convincingly?

Rules wise it is pretty clear ... somehow you can manage to persuade a creature, and you are good at it, even if you have a lower int than your average dog. Some DMs though will take issue with that not making any sense and so your low int might have additional and unexpected consequences so you really need to check with your DM.

The same goes with dex. Climbing a rope might normally be an athletics check ... but if you are so clumsy can you even coordinate to lift one arm after the other and scale a rope or wall? In the game rules, you are fine but again, some DMs might impose additional constraints. Low DEX affects initiative and saving throws even if it has no effect on heavy armor so low dex can be less desirable.

Low wisdom is another role playing stat mostly though it does affect a number of skills like perception. With a 3 wisdom the character is unlikely to notice anything since their perception skill will be so low. On the other hand, playing a low wisdom character is probably easier that low int since you can play it as a character that doesn't think before acting, is very impulsive, doesn't really notice things, doesn't stick to a plan. Mechanically though, wisdom is getting into the realm of an important stat for saving throws. Luckily a paladin is already proficient at wis saves and will benefit from their aura at level 6. However, I would again check with the DM about what additional constraints (if any) he might impose on a low wisdom character.

If you want to go half-orc paladin then I'd say your best bet would be to put the 3 in wisdom from mechanics/role play perspective and just accept that your wisdom saving throws are not going to be good

[Mad_Saulot]

Wait I has a question regarding Dex, if you dump Dex wont you get an AC penalty?

AC is adversely affected by low Dex as well as positively affected by high Dex, although heavy armour eliminates a positive dexterity it doesnt eliminate the adverse penalty from a low Dex?

[Sigreid]

Wait I has a question regarding Dex, if you dump Dex wont you get an AC penalty?

AC is adversely affected by low Dex as well as positively affected by high Dex, although heavy armour eliminates a positive dexterity it doesnt eliminate the adverse penalty from a low Dex?

Dex has no influence on AC if you're getting your AC from heavy armor.

[Mad_Saulot]

If I create a character with Dex:3 (-4) and I wear no armour, is my AC 10-4= AC6?

[KorvinStarmast]

I'm still somewhat new to D&D and I'm planning to make my next character a Paladin following the oath of vengeance. However while rolling majority of the ability scores are good except one is a 3. I rolled 13,16,17,16,14,3. I don't want to cheat and say well I should re-roll because the 3 will make things difficult but I'm not sure what ability should get a 3. I'm planing to play as an Half-Orc but with one ability score that has to be a 3 would it be better to switch to a different race? I suggest that you make this fun/funny.
Start as a Variant Human.
Take the Keen Mind Feat.
that will boost your intelligence to 4 (only a -3 on saving throws, and all of a sudden you area a walking paradox)


Increase your Intelligence score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
You always know which way is north.
You always know the number of hours left before the next sunrise or sunset.
You can accurately recall anything you have seen or heard within the past month.

Your short term memory is great, your long term memory (school, legends, lore, etc) is horrible.

As for your ability scores, here are my suggestions:
13,16,17,16,14,3
1. A Monk with amnesia.
While training, your character got a blow to the head that gave him/her amnesia, but short term recall was improved.
S 16 D 18(17+1) C 14 I 4 W 16 Ch 14 (13+1)
Why the boost in strength? better Jumping.
Or, same line up but swap strength and Con for more HP and not as much jumping.

2. Drunken Master Monk. S 14 D 18(17+1) C 16 I 4 W 16 Ch 14 Keen mind feat.
Drinking rots the mind, but you notice everything: it just fades over time.

3. Fighter Champion (Amnesiac with Keen Mind)
S 18 D 14 C 16 I 4 W 16 Ch 14

Or take a different feat ...
4. Barbarian Bully ... (v Human) Prodigy Feat, Charisma, start with 3 Charisma
S 16 D 16 C 18 I 14 W 16 Ch 3
Prerequisite: Half-Elf, Half-Orc, or human

You have a knack for learning new things. You gain the following benefits:

You gain one skill proficiency of your choice, one tool proficiency of your choice, and fluency in one language of your choice.
Choose one skill in which you have proficiency. You gain expertise with that skill, which means your Proficiency Bonus is doubled for any ability check you make with it.
Take Proficiency and Expertise in either Deception, Persuasnion, or Intimidation. As you go up in level, your proficiency bonus overtakes your low Charisma stat rather quickly.

Anyway, messing around like this with half feats (a feat that offers a proficiency) is a way to mitigate this bad score and make a surprisingly effective character.

I like the first two, but as you can see, with feats, the sky is the limit on creative solutions.

Even better, play a realistic Halfling or Gnome: put the 3 in strength and be a druid or other caster.

Or be all cliche and play Raistlin. Put the 3 in str or Con (take Tough feat) and add 1 point to con.

You get the idea

[Mad_Saulot]

in the monster manual Zombies have an AC of 8 they also have a Dex of 6(-2) and they wear no armour, I assume the system works this out as 10+Dex mod in the zeds case 10-2=8

A Drow mage has an AC of 12 I assume this is worked out as AC 10+dex mod, in this case 10+2 (from Dex 14) = 12

A Gnoll has an AC of 15 (hide armour shield) so I assume this is worked out as AC 10+2 hide +2 shield +1 dex mod (dex 12) = 15

Therefor a player characters AC is AC 10 + Dex Mod +Armour mods

So a unarmoureed Elf with a dex of 14 will have a standard AC of 12

And so, if a player character has a dex of 3 (-4 dex mod) and wears no armour their standard AC is 6

With fullplate armour their AC would be AC 10+ dex mod (-4) + armour mod +8 = AC 14 yes/no?

The thing is in the armour section of the PHB armour does not display as a mod, it displays as a specific standard Plate is simply marked as AC=18

This seems to be counter logical

Since the monster manual calculates negative dex mods towards monster AC

Are players the exception to this apparent rule?

[Mad_Saulot]

In the players handbook in the armour section this paragraph states:

Armor Class (AC). Arm or protects its wearer from attacks. The armor (and shield) you wear determines your base Armor Class.

The armour table itself seems to only consider dex mods for light and medium armour, but heavy armour is not affected by dex?

https://gyazo.com/02c585d2cb7a7ea6f7b84f7173da9bdb

Does this mean that a negative dex modifier only affects light and medium but not heavy?

[nickl_2000]

In the players handbook in the armour section this paragraph states:

Armor Class (AC). Arm or protects its wearer from attacks. The armor (and shield) you wear determines your base Armor Class.

The armour table itself seems to only consider dex mods for light and medium armour, but heavy armour is not affected by dex?

https://gyazo.com/02c585d2cb7a7ea6f7b84f7173da9bdb

Does this mean that a negative dex modifier only affects light and medium but not heavy?

That is correct. Both positive and negative Dex mods are ignored when you are wearing heavy armor. However that is only for armor class.

You still get the negatives to skill checks and saves no matter what.

[Mercurias]

In the players handbook, words words words!

If this is important enough to you for a double post, you may want to make your own thread so the discussion for the topic at hand can be answered for the OP.

[Mad_Saulot]

If this is important enough to you for a double post, you may want to make your own thread so the discussion for the topic at hand can be answered for the OP.

Sorry, aye.

[DeTess]

Oh...I got this.

INT 3
Play a monster race with traditionally low intelligence, Orc, Bugbear, Troll, Ogre, whatever your DM is willing to allow.

Talk to the DM, but if he is cool with it. this is what I would do as a backstory:

You used to be a monster, your name is Thrusher, attacking, killing, pillaging is what you do. Thrusher STRONG. Thrusher takes the shineys and the womenz.

One day you killed a group and looted <insert weapon type here>

It was just like any other day, until the sword starting talking to you. The sword contains the soul of a LG Paladin.

Initially you ignored the sword. But one day you came upon a wagon with a family in it, being attacked by bandits and as you started your killing / looting business the sword convinced you to kill the bandits first. You where getting ready to head towards the family until the man, thankful of your killing of the bandits, gave you all his wares since the bandits where going to take it all and thanked you.

This confused you, you get the shineys but didn't have to kill the squishies? With some urging from the sword you started killing bandits and saving villagers. The village started to pile food, drinks and shiney beads outside it's entrance for you to find.

The sword kept talking to you, telling you how being good is harder than being bad. How the truly strong, what you crave, put others before themselves. All the talk was confusing but continuous, gentle, pleading, caring.

A big fire got started, the village was ablaze. You, Thrusher, didn't want all the food stuffs the people were giving you to be burned, so you started going into houses grabbing villagers and taking them to safety. Even if the house was on fire if you heard screams you would go in.

You got tired, burned, dehydrated and exhausted. At some point you collapsed.

When you woke up you where in a cave with the villagers, your burns where tended to already, and plenty of food and drink was piled right next to you. The villagers would come daily making sure you are OK and tending to your needs.

...and that's how Thrusher the Paladin was born.

Can I just say that this sounds awesome, and I want to play it one day?

To the OP: if you're going to 'dump' one of your mental stats, I do suggest talking with your DM beforehand to decide exactly what that means. The psychical stats are quire clearly covered by the rules, but what exactly a 3 in int/wis/cha means can differ per table (varying from just having a -4 on those rolls and nothing else, to actively being locked out of planning/decision-making/whatever because your int or wis is lower than that of many animals).

[Lord Ruby34]

Easy peasy, play with 3 Dex as a Vengeance Paladin. You were in a fire, and badly scarred over your entire body. The burned skin never quite healed properly, and every movement takes more effort for you. You're sluggish and constantly in pain, and determined to get vengeance upon the one who did this to you.

[RSP]

Also worth mentioning: Headband of Intellect is an Uncommon magic item. Shouldn’t be horribly hard to turn that 3 into a 19 and completely negate the bad roll, if that’s what you’re looking for.

[djreynolds]

A 3 is really terrible.

It's like being cursed.

It's too low. A lions intelligence is 3, a dolphin is 6.

If you took dex as a 3, I would allow all attacks vs you at advantage.

A 3 in dex or any ASI should be more than a -4, I know it sounds cool or nifty, but it's not.

I would have a 3 in constitution, affect multiple stats. To me 3 in constitution is you have a disease, perhaps incurable

A 3 in dexterity is more than missing a limb, it's catastrophic, a gelatinous cube is a 3.

It's almost, insurmountable, IRL. But it could work with multiple buffs by teammates.

IMO, as a DM I would make thus curse like in its affect... in addition, to the -4 modifier

Find steed, and you must ride it everywhere, you cannot walk.

[DeTess]

A 3 is really terrible.

It's like being cursed.

It's too low. A lions intelligence is 3, a dolphin is 6.

If you took dex as a 3, I would allow all attacks vs you at advantage.

A 3 in dex or any ASI should be more than a -4, I know it sounds cool or nifty, but it's not.

I would have a 3 in constitution, affect multiple stats. To me 3 in constitution is you have a disease, perhaps incurable

A 3 in dexterity is more than missing a limb, it's catastrophic, a gelatinous cube is a 3.

It's almost, insurmountable, IRL. But it could work with multiple buffs by teammates.

IMO, as a DM I would make thus curse like in its affect... in addition, to the -4 modifier

Find steed, and you must ride it everywhere, you cannot walk.


Just for the record, do you 10 disallow re-rolling an array of rolled stats if some of its too low (and force rolling to begin with)? Because adding all kinds of extra stuff to a 3 that's being forced by the method of stat regeneration sounds unnecessarily harsh to me. The rules themselves will penalize you plenty already, no need to add more homeruled nastyness to something that's outside of a player's control.

[djreynolds]

Just for the record, do you 10 disallow re-rolling an array of rolled stats if some of its too low (and force rolling to begin with)? Because adding all kinds of extra stuff to a 3 that's being forced by the method of stat regeneration sounds unnecessarily harsh to me. The rules themselves will penalize you plenty already, no need to add more homeruled nastyness to something that's outside of a player's control.

If it was to be temporary, or if the OP said yes I will get this to an 8. Fine.

IMO, this why standard array and point buy exist. So players at a table are not debating how a monk with a 3 strength can walk up flight of stairs.

In out of the Abyss, one of the main drow villains was maimed, he attacks, AFB, with disadvantage. I'm pretty sure that the stat is not a 3.

A rat has 2 strength.

I honestly cannot see where to put this stat.

I think the OP should take the standard array. I mean I can't explain a 3 in physical stat to anything than catastrophic injury.

And 3 in mental stats is the same.

[MrStabby]

Put the 3 in strength. Play a Kobald. That gets you to 1.

Now functionally a dexterity based paladin is fine, and mechanically a S1 character needn't be an issue... unless you are using encumbrance rules and can't carry your weapon.

Now on a wizard this could be fun - floating disks, mage hands, unseen servants, a familiar... lots of tools that would have helped you get by with a crippling weakness.

[caoshunter22]

Not sure if this is a good idea for a newish players but would it be better to for the paladin if I put 3 into strength then multiclass into a Hexblade Warlock at level 2? From what I've read I'd get Hex Warrior so I can use my character's charisma modifier instead of my strength and dexterity modifier for attacks for a particular weapon.

[nickl_2000]

Not sure if this is a good idea for a newish players but would it be better to for the paladin if I put 3 into strength then multiclass into a Hexblade Warlock at level 2? From what I've read I'd get Hex Warrior so I can use my character's charisma modifier instead of my strength and dexterity modifier for attacks for a particular weapon.

By the rules of the book you can't. To Multiclass you need the minimum stats for both the class you are going from and the class you are going to. So in this case you would need
13 strength and 13 charisma to move out of paladin
AND
13 charisma to move into warlock.

Since you don't have the 13 strength you can't multiclass out of Paladin legally.


As a note: some DMs ignore this though.

[caoshunter22]

By the rules of the book you can't. To Multiclass you need the minimum stats for both the class you are going from and the class you are going to. So in this case you would need
13 strength and 13 charisma to move out of paladin
AND
13 charisma to move into warlock.

Since you don't have the 13 strength you can't multiclass out of Paladin legally.


As a note: some DMs ignore this though.

Well I'll bring it up with the DM to see what they have to say about it. If it's a no I guess I can give the 3 to dexterity.

[Sigreid]

A 3 is really terrible.

It's like being cursed.

It's too low. A lions intelligence is 3, a dolphin is 6.

If you took dex as a 3, I would allow all attacks vs you at advantage.

A 3 in dex or any ASI should be more than a -4, I know it sounds cool or nifty, but it's not.

I would have a 3 in constitution, affect multiple stats. To me 3 in constitution is you have a disease, perhaps incurable

A 3 in dexterity is more than missing a limb, it's catastrophic, a gelatinous cube is a 3.

It's almost, insurmountable, IRL. But it could work with multiple buffs by teammates.

IMO, as a DM I would make thus curse like in its affect... in addition, to the -4 modifier

Find steed, and you must ride it everywhere, you cannot walk.

Wow, extra punishments for a bad roll. Glad I'm not at your table.

[caoshunter22]

Wow, extra punishments for a bad roll. Glad I'm not at your table.

Yeah. Well the only positive way I could spin this is possibly be the groups guide or an old mentor character who ends up getting killed first. The death of my character then could help motivate the group push forward in the story.

[Jophiel]

If you took dex as a 3, I would allow all attacks vs you at advantage.
[...]
A 3 in dexterity is more than missing a limb, it's catastrophic, a gelatinous cube is a 3.
Do you consider all attacks made against a gelatinous cube (or other 3 DEX critters) to be made at advantage?

[djreynolds]

Do you consider all attacks made against a gelatinous cube (or other 3 DEX critters) to be made at advantage?

Honestly, I don't know how to judge it.

If he was an 11th level cleric who got cursed or injured, I could see at that level they would survive it or find gauntlets of ogre power, or something, if it was strength.

I'm not saying don't play it. But a 3 is really terrible. I would vote dexterity and grab paladin, but a 3 is more than clumsy.

I'm sorry, so place that 3 in dexterity, grab resilient dex to make it a 4.

Good luck, I hope it's a memorable character. Really. Make a great backstory and stick to it.

[Willie the Duck]

A 3 is really terrible.

It's like being cursed.

No, it's like a -4 in certain tests, since that is what it is. Being cursed is like being cursed, and there's already a mechanic in the game for that.


It's too low. A lions intelligence is 3, a dolphin is 6.

Sure, those animals have those listed stats. Thus they have certain penalties to certain tests. What makes a lion lion-like and a dolphin dolphin-like is not contained in that score, however. A PC with a 3 Int and a lion with a 3 Int should have the same chances of doing somethings (some kind of cognitive challenge, perhaps), and very different chances of doing other things (comprehend a doorknob, maybe).


If you took dex as a 3, I would allow all attacks vs you at advantage.

That would be a arbitrary and punitive action with no game-based precedence, but it's your game, do what you will.


A 3 in dex or any ASI should be more than a -4, I know it sounds cool or nifty, but it's not.

No, it should be -4, just like every other potential attribute merely gives a bonus or penalty. Who exactly are you afraid think that a really low score is 'nifty?'


I would have a 3 in constitution, affect multiple stats. To me 3 in constitution is you have a disease, perhaps incurable

Well, you qualified this with 'to me,' so we can't really dispute it. But there's already a mechanism for diseases in the game. Thrusting that upon a 3 Con score seems like trying to recreate something that already exists.


A 3 in dexterity is more than missing a limb, it's catastrophic, a gelatinous cube is a 3.

Yes, a character with a 3 Dex and a gelatinous cube will have one general tendency in common. I would not have either carry my fine china.


It's almost, insurmountable, IRL. But it could work with multiple buffs by teammates.

I know a couple people in the disability community who would probably take issue with this.


IMO, as a DM I would make thus curse like in its affect... in addition, to the -4 modifier
Find steed, and you must ride it everywhere, you cannot walk.

Again, you have couched this in terms of your own game, so we can't exactly contest it. However, again, you have decided to layer additional penalties upon an already existent disability (the inability to consistently succeed certain tests) for arbitrary reasons based on you own conception of what having a 3 in a score means--in direct divergence from what the book considers them. I don't know how, why, or where you got these ideas about what a 3 score means. I am just glad you are not my DM.

[caoshunter22]

Honestly, I don't know how to judge it.

If he was an 11th level cleric who got cursed or injured, I could see at that level they would survive it or find gauntlets of ogre power, or something, if it was strength.

I'm not saying don't play it. But a 3 is really terrible. I would vote dexterity and grab paladin, but a 3 is more than clumsy.

I'm sorry, so place that 3 in dexterity, grab resilient dex to make it a 4.

Good luck, I hope it's a memorable character. Really. Make a great backstory and stick to it.

I'm planning to too. I'm planning to make the Paladin a half-orc and depending on how my DM handles a character with low intelligence then my character might be a idiot but with ability scores of 13, 16, 17, 16, 14, 3 I'm pretty sure the character will make a great tank.

[djreynolds]

I'm planning to too. I'm planning to make the Paladin a half-orc and depending on how my DM handles a character with low intelligence then my character might be a idiot but with ability scores of 13, 16, 17, 16, 14, 3 I'm pretty sure the character will make a great tank.

Awesome, go for it. Now you can't make him mute because spells. He could've been beaten everyday, repeated concussions. Halforc beaten by orc or humans he lived with. Possible.

For dexterity, maybe... god forbid, had a stroke. Maybe leftsided paralysis. Another possibility.

Tyr is missing one hand, Odin an eye.

Good luck. What I want to see are updates on this PC.

[Keravath]

I'm planning to too. I'm planning to make the Paladin a half-orc and depending on how my DM handles a character with low intelligence then my character might be a idiot but with ability scores of 13, 16, 17, 16, 14, 3 I'm pretty sure the character will make a great tank.

The suggestion by another poster to put the 3 in intelligence and take the keen mind feat and then play as a character with mostly only short term memory/amnesia might be one way out. It would be nice to take that at level one as a variant human but if you really want half-orc then you could take it at level 4.

Another interesting possibility might be to take a yuan-ti pureblood multiclass 1 hexblade / X paladin, use a sword and shield and use charisma for your attacks. Mechanically, it nets you a lot of synergy ... if you still take the keen mind feat you will end up with an int of 5 and a decent explanation for the low intelligence while providing a good basis for role playing. (PS that combination assumes you aren't limited to PHB+1 for sources when making a character. In addition, the yuan-ti magic resistance will further help your saving throws.

[caoshunter22]

The suggestion by another poster to put the 3 in intelligence and take the keen mind feat and then play as a character with mostly only short term memory/amnesia might be one way out. It would be nice to take that at level one as a variant human but if you really want half-orc then you could take it at level 4.

Another interesting possibility might be to take a yuan-ti pureblood multiclass 1 hexblade / X paladin, use a sword and shield and use charisma for your attacks. Mechanically, it nets you a lot of synergy ... if you still take the keen mind feat you will end up with an int of 5 and a decent explanation for the low intelligence while providing a good basis for role playing. (PS that combination assumes you aren't limited to PHB+1 for sources when making a character. In addition, the yuan-ti magic resistance will further help your saving throws.

I was considering multiclassing and putting one level into a hexblade warlock but the DM said the only subclasses that can be used are the ones in the PHB so can't do that and that also means yuan-ti pureblood aren't a playable race.

[KorvinStarmast]

The suggestion by another poster to put the 3 in intelligence and take the keen mind feat and then play as a character with mostly only short term memory/amnesia might be one way out. Thanks, I was really enjoying thinking through this problem (and that feat doesn't get enough love IMO).

[Jophiel]

Sure, those animals have those listed stats. Thus they have certain penalties to certain tests. What makes a lion lion-like and a dolphin dolphin-like is not contained in that score, however. A PC with a 3 Int and a lion with a 3 Int should have the same chances of doing somethings (some kind of cognitive challenge, perhaps), and very different chances of doing other things (comprehend a doorknob, maybe).Orcas also have a 3 Intelligence which sounds more promising for a INT: 3 character than "Lion".

As much as anything, I think it illustrates that the 1-20(+) scale with a human average of 8-10 doesn't scale well at the fringes, especially when compared to other non-human beings. A gelatinous cube has a dexterity score of 3 but, on the other end of the range, the air elemental -- a being composed of pure air and wind which moves by power of thought -- has a dexterity of 20, a score regularly reached by every rogue, monk and ranger to hit level 10. I would expect that, in "reality", even the most accomplished gymnast looks lumbering compared to the effortless movements of elemental air.

Monster stat blocks are made more to balance their AC/HP/Saves than they are to compare them across the board with PCs.

[RSP]

A 3 is really terrible.

It's like being cursed.

It's too low. A lions intelligence is 3, a dolphin is 6.

If you took dex as a 3, I would allow all attacks vs you at advantage...


Just curious, do you add in houserules to boost good stats? Does a 20+ get Advantage on every attack the same way a 3- gets you Disadvantage?

[djreynolds]

A 3 is horrible, you can't explain it away.

Now you could say "I feel pray to an intellectual devour"

I have never had a 3 at my table, players use standard array or point buy, or I roll a standard array for the table.

Come on its a 3.

I could see a 3 in dexterity or charisma.... maybe. But you better have a good backstory.

Losing a leg or an arm is not a 3 in dexterity, I've seen many people IRL to incredible things with only an arm, they don't have a 3.

A 3 in dexterity is you had some catastrophic neurological disorder

A 3 in intelligence, you probably cannot function, maybe you are in a coma

A 3 in strength, some muscle wasting disease that has left you wheelchair bound. A 180lb man with a 3 strength, they cannot move IRL.

[Jophiel]

A 3 in intelligence, you probably cannot function, maybe you are in a coma
Lions and killer whales must be easy xp in your world :smallbiggrin:

[CTurbo]

A 3 is horrible, you can't explain it away.

Now you could say "I feel pray to an intellectual devour"

I have never had a 3 at my table, players use standard array or point buy, or I roll a standard array for the table.

Come on its a 3.

I could see a 3 in dexterity or charisma.... maybe. But you better have a good backstory.

Losing a leg or an arm is not a 3 in dexterity, I've seen many people IRL to incredible things with only an arm, they don't have a 3.

A 3 in dexterity is you had some catastrophic neurological disorder

A 3 in intelligence, you probably cannot function, maybe you are in a coma

A 3 in strength, some muscle wasting disease that has left you wheelchair bound. A 180lb man with a 3 strength, they cannot move IRL.


I had a 3 Int Barbarian and I played him like a wild animal. No clothes, no weapons, no speech, slept in the dirt, ate whatever, went to the bathroom where ever etc... It worked.

I do kinda agree that the dump stat should probably at least be a 4 via racial bonus, but could easily become a 6 after racial bonus + Resilient *IF* you're worried about it.

[djreynolds]

I had a 3 Int Barbarian and I played him like a wild animal. No clothes, no weapons, no speech, slept in the dirt, ate whatever, went to the bathroom where ever etc... It worked.

I do kinda agree that the dump stat should probably at least be a 4 via racial bonus, but could easily become a 6 after racial bonus + Resilient *IF* you're worried about it.

Its just tough to judge it

I don't have an issue playing it.

But like you did above it excellent

You really have to make this part of your character, and not just the backstory, but it needs to carry for the entirety.

And you did this CTurbo, you played the concept

[Jophiel]

Why would you assume that an adventurer with a Strength of 3 would be 180 lbs? I would think such a person would be more like a severe ascetic, living off tea and nibbling just enough rice or fruit to stay alive. As noted upthread, Raistlin from Dragonlance would be an example of someone with very low strength, using his staff to walk, etc. In any event, body weight isn't included in carrying capacity. Someone with a Strength of 3 can carry 45lbs. As someone who used to work in a garden center and watched nominally healthy adults struggle with a 50# bag of sand or gravel, I'd think that Mr. Stick-Thin could still get around.

By the way, back on the "These monster stats don't translate" thing, this means that a housecat can carry 45lbs and that a normal spider (https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Spider#content) can carry 30lbs on its back.

[djreynolds]

Its tough to judge, and very humbly, IMO, its why standard array and point but exist. 8 is as low as you go.

Like I said I have never had a 3 at the table. Perhaps, subconsciously, so I don't have to judge on this.

I'm sorry, its tough for me to wrap my little brain around

And I hope I have not offended any IRL, its tough to equate stats from a game to us as people

[Jophiel]

Its tough to judge, and very humbly, IMO, its why standard array and point but exist. 8 is as low as you go.
I suspect this is more to avoid people min-maxing harder than normal by setting a floor on how "min" you can go.

[RSP]

Its tough to judge, and very humbly, IMO, its why standard array and point but exist. 8 is as low as you go.


Standard array and point buy are alternate methods of stat gen. A 3 is the lower limit of a PC’s abilities, sameas20 is the upper end.

In the game world, you could absolutely have a 3 Int Wizard who can memorize the intricacies of spellcasting (up to level+(mod), minimum 1, number of spells; or in this case, 1 up until level 6). They can adequately conduct the V, S, and M components.

Whales and lions cannot do this, so there’s something more involved with Int than just “3=too dumb to function.”

[Sigreid]

I suspect this is more to avoid people min-maxing harder than normal by setting a floor on how "min" you can go.

I think this discussion ignores that the OP rolled for stats and was told by the DM they had to live with the roll. The player didn't choose to have an extreme dump stat. They have one and came here to get some input on how to make the most of it.

[Jophiel]

I think this discussion ignores that the OP rolled for stats and was told by the DM they had to live with the roll. The player didn't choose to have an extreme dump stat. They have one and came here to get some input on how to make the most of it.
I know this. I was saying that the Standard Array/Point Buy floor shouldn't be taken as evidence of intent by the developers that "3 is too low to function". If 3 was indeed too low to function, they would just explicitly not allow it and it wouldn't be a possibility via dice rolling for stats.

[Sigreid]

I know this. I was saying that the Standard Array/Point Buy floor shouldn't be taken as evidence of intent by the developers that "3 is too low to function". If 3 was indeed too low to function, they would just explicitly not allow it and it wouldn't be a possibility via dice rolling for stats.

Cool. I was really just seeing in the discussion at least one person treating it as though having a 3 was a player choice when they just got spectacularly unlucky. There's less chance of having to take a 3 than getting to take an 18.

[Jophiel]

There's less chance of having to take a 3 than getting to take an 18.
Real Men roll 3d6 in order. :smallcool:

[caoshunter22]

Awesome, go for it. Now you can't make him mute because spells. He could've been beaten everyday, repeated concussions. Halforc beaten by orc or humans he lived with. Possible.

For dexterity, maybe... god forbid, had a stroke. Maybe leftsided paralysis. Another possibility.

Tyr is missing one hand, Odin an eye.

Good luck. What I want to see are updates on this PC.

Well the DM said that having a 3 intelligence will work. The DM liked the idea that the character has some brain damage and that the group is coming up to an orc village anyways so it's perfect timing since I suggested I wanted the character to be a half orc. However the DM doesn't know exactly how to deal with a PC with that low of an intelligence score but so long as I roleplay the character as really stupid with very simple language it should be a viable character.

[KorvinStarmast]

Real Men roll 3d6 in order. :smallcool: According to the AD&D 1e DMG, real men rolled ..
4d6 drop 1
or
3d6 in order
or
3d6 12 times pick the best six
or ....

EGG's attempt to improve the basic thing once every ability score had adds and subtracts attached to it was a first step forward that was improved on by Mentzer's/Moldvay basic, expert, tec, and FWIW, WoTC's overhaul.

3d6 in order made a lot more sense when each ability didn't have so many mods attached to it.

[djreynolds]

{Scrubbed}

5 strength or lower could only be wizards
5 wisdom or lower could only be thieves
5 intelligence or lower could only be fighters
5 dexterity or lower could only be a cleric
5 con or lower could only be an illusionist
5 charisma or lower could only be an assassin

Yet you can have 3's. So, go for it. Play the rolls you got.

I'm wrong and I will take away disadvantage and advantage on low stats, though I've never used them because I never had lower than an 8

[Unavenger]

I'm wrong

And by openly acknowledging and admitting this, you've done what few people find easy and what happens all too rarely in discussions like these. Sincerely, well done. :smallsmile:

[Particle_Man]

{Scrubbed}


I do not believe that legal pdfs of 1st edition books are free. I do not believe that free pdfs of 1st edition books are legal.

[Willie the Duck]

I do not believe that legal pdfs of 1st edition books are free. I do not believe that free pdfs of 1st edition books are legal.

Let's assume djreynolds is a decent human being and was actually talking about OSRIC.

[Particle_Man]

OSRIC does not have class restrictions based on stats of 5 or less, while 1st edition AD&D does. Since djreynolds mentions class restrictions based on stats of 5 or less in the same post as talking about free pdfs, I don't see how I can assume djreynolds was talking about OSRIC.

Edit: Upon closer examination, although it is not listed in the stats section, the classes listed in OSRIC do have lots of scores that have to be "at least 6" except, in the case of six classes, one particular stat. Is that what you meant, djreynolds?