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Truly, IMHO anyone with 16+ strength or dexterity is a professional athlete or gymnast or sports player. 16+ con people are the tough bastards that never tire or survive deadly wounds/situations/diseases miraculously that they appear on newspapers. 16+ int people are all aspiring Nobel winner scientists/doctors. 16+ wisdom people are famous and legendary figures that inspire people with their philosophy/life styles like Buddha, Gandhi, etc. or real cult leaders/real life saints/gurus. 16+ cha people are either rock/movie stars, gorgeous people that make fans go 'ooh' and 'aah', or iconic leaders that nations follow and cherish.
Wow I waffled on...
For example, if you mean "put myself into the Sword Coast", I'd have terrible stats cos I live in a comfortable modern society, and I have no need to develop competent fighting skills to survive. Also I obviously have no magical talent. Thus if I lived in Faerun, I would certainly not become an adventurer cos I value personal safety way too much for that. (Did you know that the word for "adventurer" in Chinese is literally "man who seeks danger", which is kinda irrational when you think about it.)
If you mean "if I grew up in Faerun, and adapted to its conditions", then I would like to think I am of above average intelligence, and would probably prefer to study magic to protect myself rather than learn to wield a sword. I'd end up a Mage and my stats would depend primarily on my ego. Realistically, I would still be unlikely to become an adventurer. lol
Since just hiding indefinitely would make a very boring playthrough, I try to roleplay characters who would, if reluctantly, accept the challenge of fate and venture forth, and possess a reasonable level of attributes to successfully navigate all the dangers he will face.
I remember reading that the average stats in 2E D&D should be 9-11. However in the BG games, all the NPCs and most enemies have significantly higher stats than that. Thus I favour "realistic stats" in line with NPC companions.
I try to keep away from 18 or higher stats and stick with the simple rule (for warriors) that they are either tough and stong (high Str and Con) or fast (high Dex), never both.
But the more I think about it the more flawed stats seem to me, especially 2e, and especially the physical stats.(str, dex, con). They're static. It's really illogical. How does imoen stay at 9 strength carting a 40lb pack and fighting for her life every day for months in end? All the physical stats can be trained and increased. Sure, some people have limits, not everyone can train up to 18, but 16 at least. It's not like you're just born with whatever strength you have. Same for dex. Dance. Sports. Games. All of these can increase dex. And con. Train for a marathon. Go hiking. Ect. Sure, some people are just naturally stronger, tougher, or more coordinated, but that's more than likely due to lifestyle than some permanent, unchangeable genetic make up.
The same goes for the mental stats, to some extent, though they are much harder not only to pin down, but to train, and do have a lot more to do with genes and childhood. Some people are just really smart. Some people are gifted with people skills. Some people just have incredible intuition. But you can always get smarter, you can learn more about how to please people and wisdom... Well, no one even knows what wisdom is supposed to be. But that's like, 5 other threads.
Actually I don't think of 2E attributes as your actual performance statistics. I think of it as your potential or aptitude. For example even if you were a warrior with 18 Constitution, you cannot sustain much punishment at lv1, in fact a lot less than a lv10 warrior with 10 Constitution. Thus the spells you know, your THAC0, your AC, your hp etc... those are your actual performance stats, and your base attributes only determine how well you are likely to develop as you gain experience.
If I were to use a real world example. I don't think I am naturally very athletic, if I train a lot, I can certainly run 100m faster than I can now, I can certainly do more push-ups, but a more athletic individual will be able to run faster than me and do more push ups given the same quality and quantity of training. I can improve my actual performance, but I cannot do anything about my natural athleticism.
Thus through the course of your BG adventures, your capabilities improves dramatically, but your basic attributes don't change very much.
Oh... you meant min requirements at character creation... Well you can get around that quite easily with EEkeeper, but then I don't take the arbitrary restrictions for character stats/classes very seriously. In my Black Pits party i got a Cavalier with under 16 Charisma, and a Fighter/Shadow Dancer multi-class and Kensai/Druid multi-class. lol
And ouch. Really? That hurts
The Mk I version was strong, fit and a 'dangerous sports' junkie, whereas the Mk II me is wiser (at least I haven't tried to find new and innovative ways to damage myself for at least 10 years) but is carting around a broken and badly made body (although part of it's brokenness is due to having survived both malaria and tick bite fever).
(Don't tell anyone, but sometimes I cheat and combine the two).
Trainer: "so what are your workout targets?"
Me: "I want to improve my Strength, Dexterity and Constitution so I can roll better characters for realistic stats playthroughs of Baldur's Gate."
Strength, since it's being disussed:
I can bench press about(lbs): (3)30 (6)99 (7)111(9)134 (11)157 (13)180 (15)195 (16)219 (18)250 (19)400
I can do ______ push-ups before stopping to breath: (1)0 (3)2 (6)8 (9)13 (12)25 (15)45 (17)100 (18)130 (19) 200
I can do _______ sit-ups before stopping tho breath(tiring):(1)0 (4)5 (7)15 (9)27 (13)45 (15)150 (17)250 (18)400 (19)600
I can do _____ pull ups before tiring: (2) 0 (4)almost 1 (7)one if I didn't have much breakfast (10)1 (14)5 (15)8 (17)15 (18)30 (19)45
I can carry a pack of_____ lbs: (1)5 (3)13 (6)30 (9)50 (12)90 (15)140 (17)180 (18)210 (19)300
I can hang on a 2-3" dowel for(minutes): (3)I cannot get on the bar (2)I can't (5)0:10 (6)0:30 (8)1:00 (10)2:00 (14)4:30 (16)10:00 (18)30:00(19)60:00
And IQ to int equivilants, because they usually start and argument uh, trigger thoughtful conversation.
(1)<50
(3)65 human minimum
(4)75
(5)80
(6)85
(7)90
(8)95
(9)100 dead average
(10)104
(12)110
(13)114
(14)117
(15)122
(16)127
(17)130 top 5%... I think
(18)145
(19)160+
As you can see it doesn't work very well.
[spoiler=I'm a schmuck]
[strength] I can bench press about(lbs): (3)30 (6)99 (7)111(9)134 (11)157 (13)180 (15)195 (16)219 (18)250 (19)400
I can do ______ push-ups before stopping to breath: (1)0 (3)2 (6)8 (9)13 (12)25 (15)45 (17)100 (18)130 (19) 200
I can do _______ sit-ups before stopping tho breath(tiring):(1)0 (4)5 (7)15 (9)27 (13)45 (15)150 (17)250 (18)400 (19)600
I can do _____ pull ups before tiring: (2) 0 (4)almost 1 (7)one if I didn't have much breakfast (10)1 (14)5 (15)8 (17)15 (18)30 (19)45
I can carry a pack of_____ lbs: (1)5 (3)13 (6)30 (9)50 (12)90 (15)140 (17)180 (18)210 (19)300
I can hang on a 2-3" dowel for(minutes): (3)I cannot get on the bar (2)I can't (5)0:10 (6)0:30 (8)1:00 (10)2:00 (14)4:30 (16)10:00 (18)30:00(19)60:00
[dexterity]I can stand on one foot for(minutes): (1)0:01 (3)0:05(6)0:15 (8)0:30 (10)2 (13)5 (16)15 (18)60 (19)180+
Now on the other foot with your eyes closed: (2)0:01 (4) 0:05 (6)0:10 (9)0:20 (11)0:37 (14)1:00 (16)2:00 (18)10:00 (19)30:00+
When I comes to sports that involve throwing/hitting fling objects I am: (2)world-class terrible (3)really, really terrible (5)I can't catch (8)about average (10)decent (13)just a smidge over average (15)pretty good (17)very good (18)could play professorially, If I wanted
Do a standing long jump. What did you get? (1)<1' (3)1' (5)3' (7) 4' (9)5.5' (12)7' (15)10' (18)17' (19)24'
I do I 100 meter sprint in ________ seconds: (2)100 (4)60 (5) 40 (7)30 (9)17 (12)15 (17)12 (18)10. (19)9.6
[constitution] i run a mile in(minuets): (2)20:00 (4)15:00 (6)13:00 (8)10:00 (11)8:00 (14)7:00 (16)6:00 (18)5:00 (19)4:30
I am home sick: (1)permanently (3)always, but I can go out with the help of technology (5) more than 6 weeks a year(7) more than 1.5 weeks a year (10)1 week a year(12) just a few days a year (15)very rarely. I don't usually use sick days (18)once or twice (19)never
How long can you function effectively without sleep? (1)I am in a coma (3)I wake up < 3 hours/day (5)I can barley make it through the day, though I get enough sleep. (8)I'm often tired. (12)a little better than average (15)actually quite a while. I (17)i can stay up a night and nearly make it through the day (18)I pull all-nighters easily (19)more than 40 hours with no ill effects
How would you rate your pain tolerance(higher is better)? (2)1 (4)2 (6)3 (7)4 (10)5 (12)6 (14)7 (16)8 (18)9 (19)10
How long can you hold your breath? (3)0:10 (5) 0:15 (7)0:25 (10)0:35 (12)0:60 (15)1:10 (17)3:00 (18) 6:00 (19 10:00
[intelligence](int. and wis. start at 9, and are modified as per the instructions.) What's your IQ? If you know this, skip the other int questions. (1)<50 (3)65 (6)85 (9)100 (12)110 (15)122 (17)130 (18)145 (19)160+
There are 12 passengers on a bus. At the first stop 2 get off, and one gets on. Then 3 get off, and 2 get on. Then 5 get on, and 0 get off. Next 0 get off, and 4 get on. Then the last four people who where originally on the bus get off. How many people are on the bus? (+-1)16 (-)15 (-1)none of the above
What was the first question on the test? Write it down, then go back and check. We're you: (-1)completely wrong (+1)correct (-)right idea but the wording was off
Solve for x: [x(10)+200]/3=100: (+1)x=10 (-1)100 (-2)5 (-2)200 (-)1
Find two words, one from each group, that are closest in meaning. Group A:(raise floor stairs) Group B.(top elevate basement) (+1)raise and elevate (-1)raise and top (-1)floor and basement (-1)stairs and top (-1)floor and elevate1.
Rearrange the following letters to make a word and choose the category in which it fits. RAPETEKA (-1)city (-1)fruit (+1)bird (-1)vegetable
[Wisdom] Do you often speak quickly, or get told off by those around you? (-1)yes (-)sometimes, but only as much as anyone else (+1)I can usually hold my tongue, and I rarely speak rashly
Do you believe strongly? (-1)no. I can be swayed easily. (-)I stick to my beliefs (+1)yes. I always stick up for my beliefs.
Do you often think about how you're everyday actions will play out I the long run? (-1)not really, it's the big picture that matters (-)only in the context of the everyday, really (+1)yes, small actions inevitably translate into big ones.
Do you often think of your place In The universe? (+1)all the time. (-)only when it's relevant to the situation (-1)I try to avoid thinking about how small I am
Do people often come to you for advice on big decisions? (-)only close friends (-1)no, people don't seem to talk to me. (+1)yes, I seem to be asked more than I would think.
Do you usually ask advice from many sources before making a decision? (-1)no, I'm very independent (-)yes, I try to be well informed (+1)yes, and I change my actions accordingly.
There is whole in the ground 2' by 2' by 2'. How much dirt is in it, in cubic inches? (-1)8 (-)96 (+1)
Are you very put together and prepared? (-1)I'm usually pretty frazzled, and am usually ad-libbing my life (-)Sometimes I'm caught at unawares, but I'm usually pretty good (+1) I make a point of being prepared and organized.
How important are words? (+1)very important. What you say defines you. (-)pretty important, but you can mis-say something and still be alright (-1)not super important. Actions speak louder than words.
Are you generally opinionated and argumentative? (-1)yes, I believe it is important to take a stand for what you believe in (+1)not usually, I have strong opinions but I try to say so in a calm, reserved way. (-)no, I usually try to stay out of any argument.
[charisma] how do you look? (-1)incredibly ugly. (-)I'm no outlier, on either side. (+1)incredibly attractive
How well do you lie? (-1)miserably. (-)just about the same as most people (+1)very well
Would you say you are pretty unique? (-1)not at all (-)I'm special, just like everyone else (+1ssw)very.
Are people usually pretty nice to you? (-1)no (-)yea, I guess so (+1)yes. Very.
How confident in yourself are you? (-1)Not at all. I am doomed to fail (-)I'm pretty sure of myself (+1)very
If someone you are somewhat aquatinted with says you are a pathetic loser who's going nowhere in life, how would you feel? (-)bad, but I'd get over it. (-1)terrible. (+1)I wouldn't care at all.
Suppose a friend did something you didn't approve of, like a minor misdemeanor. How would you react? (-1)chastise him, and force him to fix it and change his ways (-)I would tell him so, but wouldn't be aggressive. (+1) maybe tell him my feelings, but probably nothing.
How convincing are you? (-)average (-1)not very (+1)very.
Does public speaking make you nervous?? (-)only as much as you would expect (-1)yes. Very (+1)no.
Do you think you could make money from your looks, like win a beauty contest or get a modeling job? (-1)HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA no. (-)it's very doubtful (+1)yes[/spoiler]