generating pc stats

[Torpin]

has anyone ever just let their players choose their own stats however they want. im thinking about letting my players pick whatever numbers they want between 3 and 18 before racial modifiers. or let them chose how they roll or how many points to buy,

[JNAProductions]

has anyone ever just let their players choose their own stats however they want. im thinking about letting my players pick whatever numbers they want between 3 and 18 before racial modifiers. or let them chose how they roll or how many points to buy,

Not personally. But if you do, I'd recommend the following:

"Pick your stats (though no lower than a 3 or higher than an 18 before racial modifiers). Once we all get together for session zero, feel free to pick anyone's set."

That way, if one player shows up with 18s down the line and the others have a more moderate array, they can all jump on board the power train or talk the one player down into using a more moderate set.

[Sparky McDibben]

Another option is that each player produces a couple sets and all the players take turns choosing from among the sets.

[Aett_Thorn]

I would do this only because I know and trust my players.

What I would be more likely to do is have everyone roll 4d6 drop lowest, but then people could choose from the arrays that everyone creates. This way, people that might need a more even spread of stats are more likely to get it, and people that just need one good stat are also more likely to get it.

[nickl_2000]

I've also heard of DMs rolling 6 arrays of stats and arrange it like this.

17 ; 15 ; 15 ; 11 ; 16 ; 8
7 ; 12 ; 10 ; 11 ; 11 ; 9
15 ; 7 ; 14 ; 8 ; 11 ; 9
15 ; 17 ; 15 ; 11 ; 14 ; 11
16 ; 10 ; 12 ; 11 ; 10 ; 10
9 ; 14 ; 12 ; 15 ; 15 ; 15

Then they can pick any 6 stats in a row vertical, diagonal, or horizontal. Everyone gets from the same choices, and you as a DM are giving them the choices.

EDIT: Bah, well the site messed up the editing to set them up in a nice wany. You get the point though.

[Malbrack]

has anyone ever just let their players choose their own stats however they want. im thinking about letting my players pick whatever numbers they want between 3 and 18 before racial modifiers. or let them chose how they roll or how many points to buy,

I haven't done this, but it should be fine. The only worry I would have is that some players might go high with stats while others go low. E.g., if one player has all 18s and another player picked an array between 7 and 11 for all abilities, that might lead to some wonky intra-party balance. So, as others have mentioned, you definitely want some way for the players to all be on the same page.

[Keravath]

has anyone ever just let their players choose their own stats however they want. im thinking about letting my players pick whatever numbers they want between 3 and 18 before racial modifiers. or let them chose how they roll or how many points to buy,

Just a couple of comments. I would be tempted to impose a minimum of 6-8 for any one stat. Depending on how folks interpret what stats mean you can get into arguments about what is actually playable if you go too low. This is more of a role playing and realism thing. If a particular stat is too low the character may not actually be very suitable for adventuring. (though I am sure there are lots of folks out there who have played some characters with ultra-low stats).

On the high end, the game is balanced around the highest possible level 1 stat being 17 after racial modifiers. The party gets a bit stronger if they can start with a 20 in their primary stat. It isn't a big deal but something to be aware of.

[Kurt Kurageous]

What's wrong with standard array or point buy?!?

I keep seeing post about stats.

Sure, you start with all 18's and I'll max the HP on all monsters. Let's see how it goes. It'll be fun.

[nickl_2000]

What's wrong with standard array or point buy?!?

I keep seeing post about stats.

Sure, you start with all 18's and I'll max the HP on all monsters. Let's see how it goes. It'll be fun.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with standard array and point buy. There is also nothing wrong with 3d6 straight down, or 4d6 drop lowest. It's all what a table is looking for in their characters. I personally like 4d6 drop lowest and you can fall back to point buy if you don't like the results. I think it offers more overall variety in the characters and more uniqueness than standard array or point buy does. You may not like it, that's cool. We can play at different tables very easily.

[Kurt Kurageous]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with standard array and point buy. There is also nothing wrong with 3d6 straight down, or 4d6 drop lowest. It's all what a table is looking for in their characters. I personally like 4d6 drop lowest and you can fall back to point buy if you don't like the results. I think it offers more overall variety in the characters and more uniqueness than standard array or point buy does. You may not like it, that's cool. We can play at different tables very easily.

The only reason that this thread was started is because I was curious and I didn't want to hi-jack the thread asking for methods.
Yep, makes sense. Absolutely spot on for objective, and I like the roll or default option.

[intregus]

I've also heard of DMs rolling 6 arrays of stats and arrange it like this.

17 ; 15 ; 15 ; 11 ; 16 ; 8
7 ; 12 ; 10 ; 11 ; 11 ; 9
15 ; 7 ; 14 ; 8 ; 11 ; 9
15 ; 17 ; 15 ; 11 ; 14 ; 11
16 ; 10 ; 12 ; 11 ; 10 ; 10
9 ; 14 ; 12 ; 15 ; 15 ; 15

Then they can pick any 6 stats in a row vertical, diagonal, or horizontal. Everyone gets from the same choices, and you as a DM are giving them the choices.

EDIT: Bah, well the site messed up the editing to set them up in a nice wany. You get the point though.

My table has been doing it this way for 2 years now and it works great! Just remember to keep that matrix for when a PC dies....

[deljzc]

Step 1: Roll 4d6 drop lowest for all 6 statistics (players can then put the number in any spot for their builds)

Step 2: Player can keep or "pass" and repeat Step #1. If they pass, they can't go back and take the old numbers

Repeat steps 1 and 2 between 2-4 times depending on your generosity and table preferences. I tell all player that being greedy is more risky than you think.

That's how I do it.