What's your rolling method?

[frogman316]

Hi, I just wanted to know what rolling methods people usually use for character creation.

My game of choice is AD&D.

Mine is to give all 15's as starting stats, then have the player roll 3d6 for points, then add the points to the stats, never bringing one above 18, till after racial adjustments.

This ensures they won't die as fast on thos e low levels and let's them pick harder to get classes such as paladin's without a lot of rerolling.

I do this because I believe that heros are a cut above the rest.

So I was wondering, what method do you use?

[Sorontar]

None when playing D&D(3.5), 28pt buy for me so everyone gets the same to start.

You playing AD&D?

[frogman316]

Yes, I am playing 1st Edition on FG1. We got a spot open for a cleric. We barely got past the first town and into the adventure. I am DMing.

[Sorontar]

IIRC when we used to play 1st ed we used to roll 5 or 6d6 and choose the best 3 for each stat (if the DM wanted higher powered characters that is).

[frogman316]

I've used varients of that, 4d6 drop the lowest, 5d6 and 6d6 drop the lowest and reroll 1's. I kind of like my new method, as I was the one who thought it up.

[Valarian]

I'm running Traveller T20 or Babylon 5 and obviously a harsh GM
Standard package of 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8 or straight 3d6 rolling.

[DNH]

We have played AD&D since 1e and currently play 2e (yes, in FG2). Most of our group has a long history of pen-and-paper gaming of these games and for years our standard roll-up method has been roll 4d6, drop the lowest, do that six times over, assign as desired. The DM usually requires a character with two 16s or better, so if that set didn't make the grade, start again. Yes, that meant that you could spend an hour or more sometimes just rolling the stats.

Since moving apart and (eventually) returning to gaming through VTT software such as this, we have found that, unfortunately, the DM cannot always trust his players to be completely honest. We have seen some (not all, just some) characters and rolls come through that required a little "suspension of disbelief". When I kick-started my Mystara campaign again recently, I had the characters use a point-buy system, like this:

• 75 points to be spent among the six stats
• no stat score below 3
• no stat score above 18
• racial bonuses apply (even affecting min/max scores) and take effect AFTER the point buy. Note that this means the player should be aware not to spend points unnecessarily (eg taking a Dwarf's Con to 18 when a Dwarf gets +1 Con and has a max Con of 18)
• no more than one ability of score 18 or higher
• no more than two abilities of score 16 or higher
• fighters may spend points to gain exceptional strength, at the rate of one point per 10% Str (note that fighters with Str 18 MUST spend at least one point on exceptional strength)
• all points must be spent at character creation. there is no mechanism for holding points over until later levels.

This has worked well so far, and another DM in our group (he uses kLoOge, the splitter!) has adopted it for his Hârn campaign (he's running Temple of Elemental Evil, so we have to roll new characters quite regularly!).

[Griogre]

Hi, I just wanted to know what rolling methods people usually use for character creation.

My game of choice is AD&D.

Mine is to give all 15's as starting stats, then have the player roll 3d6 for points, then add the points to the stats, never bringing one above 18, till after racial adjustments.

This ensures they won't die as fast on thos e low levels and let's them pick harder to get classes such as paladin's without a lot of rerolling.

I do this because I believe that heros are a cut above the rest.

So I was wondering, what method do you use?

For beginning characters I use to have the players use roll 3d6 down the line and then swap any two stats. You could reroll any one stat but had to take the roll even it it was worse.

For higher level starting character I had them roll 4d6 drop the lowest down the line and then swap any two stats.

Stats in AD&D are not that important, other than for clerics, unless you are using skills and they are still not that important compaired to 3.x.

I felt characters were a cut above the rest for *doing* something not because of stats.

I don't see why you don't just give them all 18's though. 15 + 3d6 is always greater than or equal to 18.

[Sorontar]

I don't see why you don't just give them all 18's though. 15 + 3d6 is always greater than or equal to 18.

I believe the 3d6 pts are then distributed amongst the 6 stats so on average you'd have 10 pts to add to your 15's over 6 stats.

[Oberoten]

For the basic character-generation we normally go with 2d4+1d6+4 giving a nice range between 7 and 18 with most stats landing around 11. (Except for that darnable red dice that keeps rolling fives... And no, not weighted, I have checked. )

- Obe