I want to create a character, but I want set some limitations on the character

steelsoldier

I generally have an urge to make characters in the character creation screen as powerful as they can be ability score, but at the moment I want to try to make a believable character that has clear strength in 1 or 2 attributes, the problem that I have at the moment is that I am unsure how I would set that limitation up, like what should be the highest stat and the lowest stat in the ability scores and what limitation I should set on the amount of ability points I can distribute.

Like for Example on a Fighter I would only allow my Strength to be 18 on my character creation, the second highest ability score would be 17, the other one 16, then the other ones would be 14,13,11 for example, I would specifically not allow an attribute to drop below 10 for ability scores purposes, nor have 2 attributes that are 18, the exception to the role would be when I rolled a Paladin for example, since the Charisma is always going to be between 17-18 anyways, so I can allow myself to have 18 Strength 18 Charisma.

Would drawing the line between 80~90 max Ability Score Points be a reasonable limitation?

Oximus

Reroll until you get an 80 total points.
No skill can be under 8.
To increase from 14 to 15 you have to spend 2 points. (so for every 15 you have you have to leave 1 point unspent)
To increase from 15 to 16 you have to spend 2 points. (so for every 16 you have you have to leave 2 points unspent)
To increase from 16 to 17 you have to spend 3 points. (so for every 17 you have you have to leave 4 points unspent)
To increase from 17 to 18 you have to spend 3 points. (so for every 18 you have you have to leave 5 points unspent)
After this you have to add and decrease the racial points.

So, to create an archer elf I would do it like this:

14 str
16 dx
15 con
10 int
14 wis
08 cha
Total = 77 +2 (for one 16) and +1 (for one 15) = 80

Now the racial +1dx -1con:
14 str
17 dx
14 con
10 int
14 wis
08 cha

This is more hardcore and balances more the classes.


I would settle for an 85 total in you case.

Southpaw

I use my own restraints for not creating munchkinesque characters that are almost just like yours.

- I roll till I get a score of around 85+ and keep that one
- The main character is obviously stronger than the average folk - cue his/her exploits. So some of the attributes can be pushing the limit - like:
- one attribute can be as high as 18 (19 if the race allows it, but it is considered 18)
- all the other attributes MUST be lower by at least 1 or 2 points. No 18/18/18 character.
- no attribute can be lower than 10 (no dump stats)
- charisma should be slightly higher (it's the main character after all)

One of my most iconic characters was my Assassin 17/18/16/10/12/14, Swashbuckler 18/17/16/15/10/14 and half-orc Dark Moon Monk (cheating a bit I know) 19/17/16/10/15/13

Philhelm

@steelsoldier I like your portrait!

One method, which I didn't create but saw here, is the "standard array" method. It's an 87 point build that lets you assign the stats of 17/16/15/14/13/12. So some reasonable role play builds could be:

Fighter: 17 Str / 15 Dex / 16 Con / 12 Int / 14 Wis / 13 Cha

Cleric: 15 Str / 12 Dex / 16 Con / 13 Int / 17 Wis / 14 Cha

Thief: 13 Str / 17 Dex / 16 Con / 15 Int / 12 Wis / 14 Cha

Mage: 12 Str / 16 Dex / 15 Con / 17 Int / 14 Wis / 13 Cha

Sometimes I'll cheat a bit if I have a particular concept in mind, or for Paladins who have to put so many points into Cha (Paladins should be a bit more heroic anyway!). For example, I wanted a crossbow-wielding Undead Hunter so turned the 12 into an 18 for the following:

15 Str / 18 Dex / 16 Con / 13 Int / 14 Wis / 17 Cha

For this one, I plan on not taking tomes (except for Dex, since I'll lose a point for taking the good path in BG2, but will end up with a further +1 to Wis and Cha).



Another method would be to use the exact same stats as one of the NPCs and rearrange the numbers to fit your character build. I would probably avoid Sarevok though, since it would kind of defeat the purpose.

BelgarathMTH

One method I'm becoming very fond of is to avoid using the + or - keys to adjust any score. Take the roll exactly as it comes.

I allow myself to roll as many times as I want, but I have to pick a natural roll. For certain character classes, this can even mean a lower total roll is better for the character than a higher total roll.

On my current character's second roll, (for a cleric), I got STR 15, DEX 12, CON 13, INT 17, WIS 17, CHR 9.

I rolled quite a few more times and never saw anything better. What excited me about this roll and went into my decision to accept it, was that this character happens to have the potential to dual class to mage later if I want him to. That's a very rare roll, and it made me feel lucky and excited about playing the character.

I've become convinced that this is *the* way to get a hard core, non-munchkin character - no funny business with the + and - keys.

steelsoldier

Alright cheers for the feedback guys,
After taking a careful consideration I decided to settle the character like this:

• I settled with a 85 Total
  
• The highest attribute I could allow myself to have would be a 17 instead of 18, I could pick two 17's at most.
  
• The character is a bit clumsy, so 9 dexterity makes a lot of sense.
  
• Trained himself hard during the day, studied the scriptures of Lathander during the night, determined to spread the word of Lathander and face the hardships outside the Keep if necessary.
  

This was the result:

Diomedes33

When I used to play D&D tabletop, when we were creating our characters the DM used wanted it to be realistic but fun. So he said we could roll all abilities 5 seperate times (3D6) and save each set of scores. Then we could allocate 3 points only from one ability to another. So it adds a bit of luck and a bit of customization.

steelsoldier

@Philhelm I agree, if Charisma had a direct influence on combat prowess, then that would be argueable, I think for the most part having a high charisma and still going above 87 skill points spent on the character ability scores is acceptable, unless you don't want that character to be a paladin or be the party leader.

Philhelm

@Philhelm Indeed. In fact, Ajantis has the most points in BG1 at 88, and Keldorn has 89 if memory serves.

moody_mage

@Philhelm said:

@Philhelm Indeed. In fact, Ajantis has the most points in BG1 at 88, and Keldorn has 89 if memory serves.

Dorn and Baeloth have 90 and 89 respectively.

Philhelm

decado said:

@Philhelm said:

@Philhelm Indeed. In fact, Ajantis has the most points in BG1 at 88, and Keldorn has 89 if memory serves.

Dorn and Baeloth have 90 and 89 respectively.

Fair enough. I'm more in tune with the original content NPCs.

steelsoldier

I actually decided to settle for this build instead, I know it's weird that I only switched the constitution score with the Dexterity around, the decision was more a roleplaying reason, I started thinking about and it didn't make much sense that my Cleric would have the same value for both Constitution and Wisdom, the Dexterity being 10 still makes him look clumsy.

The 15 Strength in general is mainly due to him being used to carry out his heavy armour, so he received some training in Candlekeep so he could grow accustomed to the weight of it, plus the weight of a heavy shield since he is clumsy he really needs to defend himself against blows