Stats that you never like dumping...

Skarose

I was curious if anybody else refrained from dumping Stats that weren't needed for their MainChar's build?

Speaking for myself, I just can't dump intelligence or charisma. I reason that my MainChar is the party leader so he better have some decent wits and a head for tactics, also he is the leader, and I figure a good Charisma score will reflect this.

I'll run with low strength, constitution, wisdom and even dexterity, just to ensure my PC has a decent INT and CHA.

Does anybody always go the tough guy route? (Constitution)

Does anybody always go Strength, so their PC can always have a 19 STR after tomes?

Does anybody like a good Wisdom, for common sense in their MainChar?

Does anyone favor quick and agile characters? (Dexterity)

Or do you always favor a good combination?

Have you noticed a pattern regardless of class, across your character builds?

*I think I'm interested in what you find yourself consistently playing, especially if for example you like warrior types and always have a high strength, even if you're playing a mage etc...

GemHound

For me I like having stats based on the class.

PK2748

For some reason I keep making cleric/thieves. I like having a undervalued combo that can be both very interesting and have a ton of utility that allows me to pick whatever companions I want since I don't need to fill particular gaps or have massive weak spots. That being the case I still keep making charisma and intelligence primary stars because in my head he is a clever mechanic and con man

meagloth

Same. Int and cha. I usually have really low con.

semiticgoddess

I almost never drop Constitution below either 16 or 18. We have items to boost every stat, but the Girdle of Fortitude's CON bonus can be dispelled, and is only relevant during combat. A Potion of Genius to scribe scrolls can be dispelled as well, but you wouldn't use them in battle in the first place.

deltago

I can't dump dex. The AC and the missile adjustment is too good to give up over any other stat.

I have dumped pretty much everything else.

Skatan

After many years of powergaming, lately I have actually started playing more low-stat CHARNAMEs. With one exception: DEX.

For me, WIS should be the better stat rather than INT if you want to portray a good, wise leader, making the best out of every opportunity and taking the right decisions in critical moments. I try to keep, INT, WIS and CHA at reasonable levels for any CHARNAME though. I only dump stats in IWD.

Tuth

Ever since I played Planescape: Torment I can't dump Wisdom. No matter what character I make, even a fighter, I always value wisdom. I tend to play Charnames that have a certain worldview, wondering about how the universe works etc. I know that for gameplay it deosn't make much sense, since wisdom is of no use to any characters apart from clerics and druids, beside a bonus to lore, which for me is enough. It's more about how I view the PC rather than the stats' usefulness in the game.

SmilingSword

hmmmm

This is why I spend ages rerolling, if it's not 95 or above I'm not taking it. CHARNAME is the spawn of a god, I just can't give her/him any terrible stats.

Arunsun

I dislike dumping stats below 9-10 (before race stat modification, a 8int orc is not unrealistic), it feels real weak below that...
Making a 3*18+3*11 roll is 87, which is rather achievable. And I have rather high standards -for conveniency- on STR even as a mage, because being able to carry less than 100lbs is just too low to be playable, at least until I get a belt. I usually pick any roll that is 90 or more (except for paladin because they have huge minima in Cha and Wis, and thus you can get a 93+ fairly easily and will need it anyway if you want good combat stat (17Cha+13Wis+9int+3*18 is 93)

PK2748

SmilingSword said:

hmmmm

This is why I spend ages rerolling, if it's not 95 or above I'm not taking it. CHARNAME is the spawn of a god, I just can't give her/him any terrible stats.

Imoen is Bhaalspawn and rocks the 87 total just fine

[Deleted User]

I have trouble dumping anything, though in the case of Int and Wis that's more of a roleplaying factor than anything else. I do like being able to identify a few things automatically, so I try to keep those at at least 10. I have a hard time dumping Strength because even back line characters can use daggers or slings and benefit, and with the Tome you can get respectable Strength without having to use an item if you start high enough. Gotta have the HP and AC from Con and Dex. And I like having high Charisma because I don't want to put someone else in the leader position and I want those shop discounts.

DJKajuru

I usually avoid having anything below 10 . Class requirements apart, I like my characters to be intelligent and charismatic.

SmilingSword

PK2748 said:

SmilingSword said:

hmmmm

This is why I spend ages rerolling, if it's not 95 or above I'm not taking it. CHARNAME is the spawn of a god, I just can't give her/him any terrible stats.

Imoen is Bhaalspawn and rocks the 87 total just fine

Yes but the Bhaal essence is weak in Immy, she only starts to gain abilities, have nightmares and whatnot in BG2 and late in BG2 at that, whereas CHARNAME feels Bhaals touch as soon as the Nashkel mines are cleared. CHARNAME is much more intune with his essence than Immy is, I mean Immy doesn't even turn to dust when she dies, hell her essence is so insignificant that it's not even taken from her at death, she has to physically go to the well of souls and give it up. CHARNAME and big bro Sarevok disintegrate at death. Sarevok can only be raised normally in ToB because he has lost his essence.

Kurumi

I agree with DJKajuru with the exception, that I don't mind having STR or CON below 10 for certain characters.

lroumen

Low anything makes characters vulnerable and interesting

sarevok57

STR- always max for my all my characters ( and has to be at least 18/91=) , even mages because now that str affects the damage of throwing daggers ( which my mage always uses) that damage bonus is a varry nice-a

DEX- always max at 18 or 19 and if its a dwarf 17, dex is very very important in the bg series

CON- if a warrior class is in the name, then it is cranked to the max, if there is no warrior class to be found, then never a hair pass 16, if im playing a single player team I will even set it to 15 and increase it by 1 from the tome to hit 16

INT- usually never below 11, and only because of mind flayers, if I luck out on a roll pass 90 or so, I can sometimes bump it to 15 or 16 ( depending on if im playing single player or not, to use a tome to increase it to 16)

WIS- unless it is a cleric or mage (which will be maxed right out) I will dump this stat to 3 in a heart beat, or if its a fighter/druid, then down to 12 it goes, sometimes if my int won't make it to 15 or 16 I will put the left overs on wis, and make it around 8 or 9 so when I hit level 5 or 10 I will start getting a lore bonus just for the lols, and usually this is the stat I choose when im at spell hold for the permenant stat loss

CHA- if its going to be a character up front, then max right out, if not, regardless of single or multi player then it can be 3, although sometimes it can be tricky to have 3 cha, but luckily in SoA there is a ring very early in the game that sets cha to 18, so shazam jam

Grum

All stats must be at least a 9 for any character.
Front liners must have strength 18. Don't care for casters/bards
Dexterity and con must be at least 16
At least one character must have charisma of at least 16.

But no matter what, no stat is ever dumped to unrealistic levels. Who would adventure with anyone who has a 3 in any stat?

spacejaws

10 is what i consider a dump. If I give it anything less it's for role playing the character (it can be fun to role play low stat characters) not for the purpose of pumping another stat to max

Hudzy

Nothing under 10 for me. Usually INT or WIS or both depending on the character.

Calmar

I usuall aim for some 90+. I'm not even too keen on high score in every important stat, my Bhaalspawn just ought to have at least average mental stats. S/he need not be a genius, but abysmal wits just don't seem appropriate.

Aerakar

Nothing below 9 ever. I like to have decent intelligence on all of my characters, whether they are fighters, thieves, wizards, or clerics. And I can never resist getting the full constitution bonus, ever. This means my shorty characters always need at least 18 constitution for the full saving throw bonuses, no matter their class.

I often roll for an hour though to get a good spread. I aim for 90+ also. I tend to play shorty thievish characters (usually Halflings or Dwarves these days, but sometimes also Elves) and like to have the combat abilities all high and then I usually go for above average intelligence and roleplay him as a clever rogue. I guess wisdom usually is my lowest ability, although never below 9-10. By the end of BG1 his wisdom is usually between 13-15 from the stat bonuses, which I like to roleplay as him gaining insight and wisdom from his adventures.

BillyYank

I used to dump Cha or Wis, or Str on a mage, but I fell out of love with min-maxing a while ago. Now, I only swap full rolls, and lately, I've been limiting that to only one swap per character.

Son_of_Imoen

My least dumped stats over all character classes are DEX and CHA. Dexterity as it's painful if my main character gets hit too often, as Charname death is game over of course. And as I tend to play arcane casters mostly, they can't really on heavy armours to keep them alive. Charisma needs to be high as there's no other way Charname would be able to gather a party around him that's willing to risk their lives for his quest.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

Abi_Dalzim

I only ever dump STR or CON, and neither ever get below 8. Sometimes I'll do that to WIS, but that's a lot rarer.

FinneousPJ

STR. Encumbrance and inventory management is cumbersome enough in this game anyway. I don't really rp stats so I don't mind them when they don't affect actual game play.

Skatan

spacejaws said:

10 is what i consider a dump. If I give it anything less it's for role playing the character (it can be fun to role play low stat characters) not for the purpose of pumping another stat to max

I agree and I don't mind playing low-WIS chars, especially with CN alignment. To me it fits perfectly that a CN character does all kind of weird and impulse actions without stopping for a moment to analyze and choose the best course of action. I woulnd't dump it down to 3 since that's the wisdom equivalent of stone, but I have played chars with below average WIS, at ~6-7 or so. As you say, it can be perfectly viable for RP reasons and can prolly be applied to other stats as well.

Gallowglass

I never dump any stat, I roll for around 90-ish so that I can allocate good stats in the ones that matter to the class and still have average (~10) in the others. I reckon around 90 makes role-playing sense - Imoen is a weak Bhaalspawn and her roll is 87, Sarevok is a fairly strong Bhaalspawn and his roll is 92, so I reckon that shows that ~90 is the norm for a Bhaalspawn.

Whatever the class, however, I always try to max DEX, because the DEX bonuses to AC and ranged attack are great for anyone.

Grum

Do the bhaalspawn bosses have any stats? It'd be interesting to compare.

JuliusBorisov

Grum said:

Do the bhaalspawn bosses have any stats? It'd be interesting to compare.

They have (except for Illasera) god stats:

Sarevok in BG1: Str 20, Dex 18, Con 21, Int 17, Wis 13, Cha 14

Gromnir: 19, 19, 19, 9, 10, 12

Yaga-Shura: 23, 15, 18, 11, 10, 11

Balthazar: 22, 22, 20, 15, 15, 13

Mellisan: 19, 20, 22, 18, 19, 21

Illasera 17, 17, 9, 14, 14, 9

At least, you can say they don't have "dump" stats (except for the poor Illasera the Quick).