a stat block conundrum

[big teej]

greetings playgrounders

I have a tendency to ramble, so I spoilered what my original rambling question was, followed by the condensed version

Spoiler

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depending on how much homework I get done, I may have the opportunity to play in a solo campaign saturday

so I'm rolling up a*, it struck me as a fairly self sufficient class for a solo campaign.

I'm rolling the standard 4d6 drop the lowest, I'm doing it all by the book (except starting gold)

now, given that its a solo campaign, and the DM is fond of 'solid' stat blocks, I took the liberty of rolling to sets, because the first struck me as sub par.

however, the 2nd, not being clearly 'better' leaves me wonderin which I should go with.

so I come to you for some numbers advice, which is the 'better' stat block?
for the record I am NOT looking for placement or build advice ONLY NUMBERS

stat block 1:
17, 10, 13, 10, 13, 10

stat block 2:
15, 14, 14, 11, 13, 11

so my question for you playgrounders is simple
which of these is better (numbers wise)


*it struck me as better to eliminate the class, as that makes it soley a numbers question, hence, regardless of class, which of these statblocks would you take?

I've seen two schools of thought on things like this
school A: it is better to have an 18 and everything else is 10*
*but it helps to have a 2nd high stat

and

school B: it is better to have 'balanced' stats in everything (bonuses in as many stats as possible, with few to no penalties)

but I digress

anyways: which stat block is better

tl;dr

if you had to pick between these two stat blocks, regardless of class, which would you pick?

stat block 1:
17, 10, 13, 10, 13, 10

stat block 2:
15, 14, 14, 11, 13, 11

thanks in advance

[mootoall]

Honestly this really does depend on class. For a spellcaster, who are notoriously SAD, I'd go for set 1. For, a meleer, you'd be able to get by with good STR, DEX and CON, meaning I'd use set 2.

The abundance of odd numbers only helps make this a harder choice, but I'd go for set 1 most of the time.

[big teej]

Honestly this really does depend on class. For a spellcaster, who are notoriously SAD, I'd go for set 1. For, a meleer, you'd be able to get by with good STR, DEX and CON, meaning I'd use set 2.

The abundance of odd numbers only helps make this a harder choice, but I'd go for set 1 most of the time.

whats SAD?
is that like MAD? multiple attribute disfunction?

and I know it'd probably help if class was given, but I didn't want to pollute the results since I'm asking a pure numbers question.

[Eldrys]

whats SAD?
is that like MAD? multiple attribute disfunction?

It is a play of of MAD; it means it needs one(or just few) abilities to function.

And yeah, it really boils down to full-caster(Option #1) and everyone else(Option #2)

[big teej]

It is a play of of MAD; it means it needs one(or just few) abilities to function.

And yeah, it really boils down to full-caster(Option #1) and everyone else(Option #2)

so full casters are.... just d4 casters? or does this include clerics and druids?

[grarrrg]

Dang ninjas, I'll have to steal this:

so full casters are.... just d4 casters? or does this include clerics and druids?

and elaborate more...

SAD = Single Attribute Dependency. For Core examples, see "Druid, Sorcerer, or Wizard", basically a character that can roll an 18 and all the rest as 8's (or worse) and still be fully functional with minimal problems. Con usually winds up as the 2nd most important stat.
Most (but not all) full casters are fully or partially SAD. A wildshape Druid needs high Wis and good Con, but doesn't need Int or Cha, and can Wildshape away his Str, Dex.
A NON-wildshape Druid pretty much just needs Wis.

As for the original question, I'd go with stat block 2, less extreme, but overall better (overall being a net of +7 ability modifiers, vs. block 1's net +5).

Then again, like the man said, if your going caster, block 1 would probably get the nod.

[mootoall]

Ah, I always learned MAD as Multiple Ability Dependency, and SAD as Single Ability Dependency. But yes, for a SAD character, I'd pick set 1, and a more MAD set 2. For example, a Wizard would put that 17 in INT, 13 DEX and 13 CON, 10 everything else. But a Paladin wouldn't be able to work with that. I'd go STR 15, CON 14, CHA 14, DEX 13.

EDIT: Damn, ninja'd.

No, a full caster is a caster that gets 9th level spells.

[big teej]

Ah, I always learned MAD as Multiple Ability Dependency, and SAD as Single Ability Dependency. But yes, for a SAD character, I'd pick set 1, and a more MAD set 2. For example, a Wizard would put that 17 in INT, 13 DEX and 13 CON, 10 everything else. But a Paladin wouldn't be able to work with that. I'd go STR 15, CON 14, CHA 14, DEX 13.

EDIT: Damn, ninja'd.

No, a full caster is a caster that gets 9th level spells.

okay so I misremembered what MAD stood for

anyways
so d4 casters, druids, and.....??? could get away with stat block 1

but say... clerics, fighters, rangers, paladins, etc. need stat block 2?

[grarrrg]

but say... clerics, fighters, rangers, paladins, etc. need stat block 2?

It depends on the exact build, but Clerics can sometimes get away with SAD, and other builds cannot. Clerics 'want' high Wis for spells (duh), high Cha for Turn Undead (moreso # of uses and not power), and good Con for hp/Concentration checks. If you're playing a more Melee Cleric, then you can drop Cha a little, but then need Str.
In a one-shot 'campaign' with few undead, you could easily play a SAD Cleric with Wis and Con.

But for the most part non-casters need Str/Dex/Con for fighting and Int for skills, Wis for the Will saves, Cha usually gets dumped. Hard.

[ericgrau]

I'd peg them at about equal, or maybe the 17/13/etc. is a little better. Even for melee your 3rd stat isn't a big deal so they come out the same. Heck by level 8 you get a couple of stat bumps and get rid of the odd numbers helping the 17/13/etc pull even further above the 15/14/etc. The only place the 2nd array really has an advantage is the 4th stat, which doesn't really say much. Maybe if I was playing a paladin I'd go with the 2nd array, but generally 17/13 is better or else they're about equal.

[big teej]

thanks everybody
I think I'm gonna go with the first stat block, the predicted build is cleric 20 if anybody's curious.

thanks for the help.