Who all plays this game for the story and characters and doesn't give a bag of beans about stats?

darthchair

I have noticed that a lot of people play this game based on number crunching. I suppose that's understandable. I mean it is part of the roleplaying experience to develop a character...but in the end...all of that is metagaming. And yes I realize that we all metagame to some extent since we don't actually live the lives of the characters...

But how many of you guys just play the game because it's a fun game and you love the story and NPCs? I mean who picks a party because they really like this character and that. Not because you can dual-class Imoen or this character might be the best archer or rogue in the game.

Anybody? Cause I really can't deal with stats. My brain flippy flops when I try to pay attention to it. And I'm just hoping there are other people that just focus on the dialogue options and the story and just kind of throw all the statistical things out to the wind.

And please don't think I am bashing people that are always trying to beat the odds statistically and create for themselves extremely well designed characters that kick butt numerically. I am not saying that. I'm just saying that I read all these threads where people analyze everything and sometimes I wonder if they are missing out on the point that this is a fantasy game that tells a story. And that hopefully I'm not the odd-one out. Haha.

Silverstar

While I certainly try to get good rolls for my character, it is not the end of the world if I can't put every stat to 18 (is that even possible?). I play Sorcerer because I find it more fun than mage and I have a non-ideal party build because I like the characters. No dual-classing or dumping Khalid's corpse in a ditch cause he's an inferior fighter for me.

Troika

I really don't care about stats anymore. Powergaming in a single player game is silly and in a way pathetic - like delusions of grandeur. I used to like playing like this, feeling super poweful, but nowadays I just try to feel the story, characters and setting etc.

Philhelm

I'm somewhere in the middle. I'll intentionally create weapon based characters without the 18/18/18 physical stats, while still rolling a statline that I like. I created a crossbow-wielding Undead Hunter with 16/18/15/12/13/17. With all tomes, he will be 17/19/16/13/16/18. Certainly a high statline, but not the physical monster that some of the NPC characters are.

If I make a Thief, I'll always have 18 DEX and 16 CON, but I'll never take 18 STR, since it doesn't seem to fit in my opinion. So, I guess I take the middle ground.

wissenschaft

Sorry, I make my characters have crazy god-like stats. Perfect for a no-reload (or limited reload) challenge. My half-orc fighter/cleric started out with:

STR 19
DEX 17
CON 19
INT 10
WIS 16
CHA 8

With the +1 Protection ring and a shield, I start the game with -1 AC and 14 HP at level 1. It certainly gives you the feeling that you are a God amongst men. lol

darthchair

My CHARNAME has stats of 15/10/13/15/8/17. He's a fighter. And you're probably thinking, "Wow that sucks," But then I started thinking...the guy lived in Candlekeep. He's not really trained to be Superman. And I figure...he's charismatic. Sure. Wise? Eh...I don't think so...I mean how can he have any street smarts if he has lived in some stuffy library town all his life? Meh.

My character might not be a very good fighter, but I think I am focusing more on who my character is than if he will actually do well combat wise.

Mechalibur

My primary motivation for playing any game is fun. And personally, I don't have any fun if I play a character who has worse stats than all the NPCs who join, so I make my character mechanically competetive. I do like roleplaying as well, and thankfully that isn't mutually exclusive with optimizing. Then again, I don't exactly optimize every detail, I just get a character that works for me, which never takes any more than a few minutes of dice rolling.

I also think the point of the game is to have fun as well. If you do that by just taking the stats on your initial roll without moving them, then good on you. If it takes you an hour to get the perfect stats so a single character can cut a bloody swath through the Sword Coast on their own, then fine. Neither player is missing the point, or playing wrong.

Greyhawk

Yeah. I don't do the power gaming archetype thing at all. It's a bit reductio ad absurbum.

mercurymeltdown

darthchair said:

My CHARNAME has stats of 15/10/13/15/8/17. He's a fighter. And you're probably thinking, "Wow that sucks," But then I started thinking...the guy lived in Candlekeep. He's not really trained to be Superman. And I figure...he's charismatic. Sure. Wise? Eh...I don't think so...I mean how can he have any street smarts if he has lived in some stuffy library town all his life? Meh.

My character might not be a very good fighter, but I think I am focusing more on who my character is than if he will actually do well combat wise.

I think that's what most of us do, play for the experience of making the character that we WANT. Most of the time, that means the smartest, strongest, etc.... but it doesn't always have to be. I think it's awesome to focus more on who the character is than making the most OP character in the game

Chow

I've always been rather compulsive about stats and rerolling myself really good ones, even though I am reasonably certain it will not make a huge load of a difference. But old habits die hard, and this game really is rather difficult at times, so every bit helps.

Playing for the story and characters is all very well, but it will not help you if you get stuck because you are not mechanically strong enough.

Troika

Imho if you are rerolling for more than 1 minute, you might as well use an editor to give yourself the stats you want rather than waste your time. I get that it feels more legit that way. But really it is meaningless and you are just cheating yourself. If you are too obsessed about the illusion of feeling powerful in a video game, your real life personality will suffer from it.

Yeah, yeah, I know I'm taking it too far, but it's true nonetheless.

marfig

I care about the stats for my main character. And I roleplay.
The two things aren't mutually exclusive.

Madhax

Considering the PC's lineage, I'm comfortable giving myself good stats. I don't do crazy min-maxing, though. Feels cheap.

I'd never take an NPC based solely on their story/personality, though. To join my party, you need to pull your own weight. This isn't Planescape: Torment; the occasional line of banter and MAYBE one side quest aren't good enough if you get cut in half every fight.

OurQuestIsVain

I think the reason so many people number crunch and min max and create and develop god-like chars is because we know the story and NPCs by heart. Personally I have played the BG series to completion what feels like hundreds of times. Seeing how good a char you can make is a way of adding fun to the game. Doing solo runs or no reloads or insanity difficulty runs are ways of making a game that we played so many times stay fun. I enjoy a good RP playthrough myself but sometimes I find it extremely difficult not to meta game because I know the game mechanics so well. I often find myself starting an RP and thinking...why would he choose halberd as his main weapon, there are no good ones in the game...why not take one more point of dexterity to get an ac bonus...why not go to this location for this good item.

TJ_Hooker

Madhax said:

I'd never take an NPC based solely on their story/personality, though. To join my party, you need to pull your own weight. This isn't Planescape: Torment; the occasional line of banter and MAYBE one side quest aren't good enough if you get cut in half every fight.

This.

I've spent a fair bit of time on these forums over the last few months and am always a little surprised by how some people go on about the NPCs. Listening to these people, you'd think that the NPCs all had deep and intricate personalities that were exquisitly communicated throughout the game. In reality each NPC has a couple lines when they join, a couple when you complete their quest (if they have one), and another line or 2 if you kick them out.

If you can swap one character out for another and the only real difference it's going to make is that you'll hear a different line when you select them, then why not go with the character who's more powerful, or whose abilities are better suited to you party configuration? Unless of course you really like the character's selection/action lines; I know a lot of people, myself included, have a soft spot for Minsc in this regard.

Helias

Stats are everything. Roleplaying does not imply disregarding the stats.

BelgarathMTH

I also have the middle-of-the-road approach. I play primarily for roleplaying and story, but I also enjoy tactical combat and strategy. I want at least my PC to be decent at his tactical role, and I want at least competent if not "fourth standard deviation" NPC stats. Most of the Bioware written ones do very well at their jobs, with just a few of them being arguable.

In a way, no warm body is useless, regardless of stats, because of the "safety in numbers" factor.

Cooper

I care about my stats, but I'm terribad, so I need good stats if I'm going to survive.

Howie

I'd do that in PS:T, but not BG

darthchair

Yeah, I think some people sort of misunderstood what my original post was saying. I recognize the reason why people enjoy the numbers side. And I did not say that you can't have fun with a roleplaying game's story or characters while also playing with numbers and statistics.

My goal was to see if there were people out there that don't care about the numbers and just play it for the story. I acknowledge that there are middle of the road people and I'm glad you are posting and stating your feelings, but ultimately...everyone has their specific play style and I guess I'm just wondering who has a similar playstyle to me.

Which is basically...screw the numbers.

Now that I think about it though...how would a person in Faerun buy enchanted items and armor in a store. I mean the merchant doesn't say, "Well it'll enhance your strength by one point." Maybe he says it will make you stronger. So that sounds good. But how does a person even know how strong they are to begin with? I picture some guy who is already epically strong suddenly becoming stronger and not even looking human any more because he's covered with muscles and left with a small pin-head to look around with. That'd be bizarre.

But I know a lot of you guys love the numbers game. But there are some of us that just like messing around for fun. And that's the point of this post.

*Buddy Jesus Smile and Thumbs Up*

Mercurious

I enjoy creating characters almost as much as playing the game. The beauty of it is that I can play however I want. Like the old album, "You Bought It, You Name It." Joe Walsh, I think. Min Maxxors are ok, and purist RPers are OK too. Just playing to watch what the story does is OK as well.

Play like you want. You are not wrong.

MP is another story altogether. The two ends of the spectrum don't mix so well from what I have seen.

Elendar

I've already started like 4 parties that I probably wont finish the game with :P I tend to like making characters... then I get bored with them when I get to a certain point...

darthchair

Making characters is pretty fun. I got kinda spoiled though with character creation systems like Arcanum and Fallout that let you pick skills and backgrounds and such though. Those are fun. Especially if that background comes back to bite you in the story. But Baldur's Gate is fun too. I have made a ton of characters I probably won't get back to. In the end I always end up playing a chaotic good fighter. Haha.

Moomintroll

I find some amount of number based decisions unavoidable. I tend to make game choices that I like, rather than those that are most effective, however.

Failed to learn a scroll? Bah! reload is for wimps.

Madhax

Part of the reason that people get number oriented may be a deficiency in the 2nd ed. rules (at least in my opinion). Since DEX, CON, and especially STR only kick in with the good bonuses at extremely high levels, not having ridiculous stats can really hurt a character's usefulness in a fight. A fighter with 14s across the board may have quite a physique from a roleplayer's perspective, but those aren't doing anything when the dice start to roll. In 3rd ed., on the other hand, a melee combatant can easily get by with 12-14s in their major stats, since the bonuses are awarded at set intervals.

To sum up, in my experience it's easier to not care about the numbers in IWD 2 than in the BG games. Too bad IWD2's story isn't nearly as engrossing.

RedGuard

I try to roll a decent character and get the best equipment, but I just can't give a damn about the stats. To me it's more about the characters, the story and the setting.

Lemernis

I do get a little weary of all the math myself. I basically just roll up a decent character with respectable stats and play. I'm not going to spend more than a minute or two at it. If I happen to get great dice that's fine, I'll take it. But it really doesn't make all that much difference if they aren't amazing scores. Once you get a grasp on some basic combat tactics (spellcasting mainly), it actually isn't all that hard to beat the game with any class or party.

For me, when a character is uber and I'm just chunking enemies right and left, that can actually get kind of boring. I do want for there to be a good amount of challenge. Some of the funnest games I've ever played were with offbeat parties, and some of the less popular characters. I kind of like a good mix of battle difficulty. Every so often it feels great to win by the skin of my teeth. It means more then.

LadyEibhilinRhett

Yup. I don't give much of a shit about stats, but apparently, my choice in party is questionable?
...Some of my friends prefer the more technical side of things. I have had them watch me before. They just take one look at my party, frown, and shake their heads.

Some of my favorites to hang out with are Imoen, Alora, Xan, Quayle, and Garrick. Is there something wrong with that?

Silverstar

LadyEibhilinRhett said:

Some of my favorites to hang out with are Imoen, Alora, Xan, Quayle, and Garrick. Is there something wrong with that?

Well Quayle is kind of a douche.

TheSwamper

The first playthrough, I play for the story. The second playthrough, I explore everything and min/max more.

shawne

Well, for me one tends to be a facilitator for the other - I only pay attention to stats insofar as my characters can survive what the game is throwing at them, because I don't resurrect NPCs and I don't want my experience of the story flow to be interrupted by constant reloads.

(Of course, it's a fortunate coincidence that I prefer RPing the occasional villain protagonist and some of the most powerful NPCs in this series are evil...)