Depends on the class and my expectations and/or whether or not I decide to set some personal restrictions on how many times/how long I roll - (and there is zero chance I will set the stats by any alternate method to rolling them)
I look at it this way - BG1/ToTSC can mean well over 100 hours of gameplay so investing some time rolling a character I'm going to be pleased with seems like a decent investment - of course the longer I find myself rolling the more likely I am to lower my expectations too)
(Sometimes tho I am more interested in gimping my character a bit to give the game a better chance to beat me and thats usually when I set specific limits of some sort...LOL)
I used to roll for dozens of minutes, but now I use a "best of X rolls" where X is usually 3 or 10 depending on how much time I want to spend. You don't need optimal characters to enjoy any of the IE games, and sub-optimal stats actually introduce some additional challenge.
First BG character I ever made was a paladin with an 18/00 str, 9 dex, 11 con, 10 int, 14 wis, and 17 cha. Think it was my first roll or at least didnt take me long. I just saw that 18/00.
I try to roll until I get the equivalent of three 18s and three tens ( 84 stat points). Think the best I ever got was a net 96 stat points. Probably about ten minutes.
For Temple of Elemental Evil... some characters would get their stats in like five rolls, others... 300+ rolls. 3e monks and paladins need so much...
That problem is referred to as MAD or Multi Attribute Dependency. Martial classes need Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution. Some classes need more, like Paladins need Charisma and Wisdom.
Spell Casters only realllllly need a single attribute, or SAD. Single Attribute Dependency. A wizard only needs Intelligence. A Cleric only needs Wisdom. A Sorceror only needs Charisma. They benefit from higher stats, but even a cleric, who could wear heavy armor, only really needs Wisdom.
It's one of the things that imbalances Casters vs. Non Casters. Not the primary thing, but it doesn't make it any better. Especially with Point Buy. The wizard can dump all his points into Intelligence. What's the Paladin supposed to do?
Five minutes or so. Enough to get three 18's and three off-attribute scores that are 10 or higher (I don't like unrealistic lowering of intelligence, wisdom or charisma). I don't try to hold out for the one-in-a-thousand roll that gives you four or five 18's, but it's fun when it occasionally comes up.
I don't really find that it makes a huge difference to my enjoyment of the game, since I enjoy party teamwork and role-playing.
Getting the five 18's or 19's can make a difference in your chances of success if you want to do a solo no-reload game.
If you refuse to play without the highest possible scores, I don't personally see the difference in just cheating it in with ctrl-8 or shadowkeeper, since rolling for an hour or more just seems like another way to cheat.
Some people kind of enjoy it as a separate game, though, kind of like playing with a slot machine.
If I'm creating an entire party from scratch, I usually spend 15-20 mins on each one. When playing solo I usually spent about 30-40 mins (over an hour once).
However, I might take into consideration what others are suggesting here - to take the best of X amount of rolls and go with that. As an added challenge, I may only allow myself to re-arrange a certain number of points (up to 5, i'm thinking). I like it when my character has character, and disallowing myself to min-max their stats gives them more dynamic strengths and weaknesses.
Admittedly me and the wife have a little bit of an OCD problem, but we role play our characters to pre-realized written models we have on file. We like smart people, very biased that way, even our Pallies and Fighters get a bit of love in the intelligence department. So rolling a character can take a very long time. The last time we did an Icewind Dale sessions, took us three nights of about 3-4 hours each night to streamline each of our 3 characters, for a six member party. Rolling stats does take awhile, but not near the time to come up with background, motivations, and names. Just the way we play. To each his own. One of the neat things about having a written record of characters through the years, is the subtle shift in alignment. We were both chaotic good with the occasional lawful good pally in the mix for the first 10 years or so. Then major shift to Neutral Good for the next five years. Current cycle is true neutral. Can't stand lawful at all anymore. Our two boys started playing much younger than we did, and they are most definitely in a lawful stage, evil and good. Very interesting to watch.
after patching yesterday i tried to create a rogue/fighter/mage. i always roll the dice since i got 90 points or more. but since yesterday i could*t get more then 85 points. is there a cap which was fixed with the last patch? and if so - can some please send me an personal note how i can use shadowkeeper? i am german and my english is not so good and i do not understand the tutorial given by an other member here in the forum. thx for your support
A shamefully long time. I really can't help myself. It is borderline compulsive behavior
Yep, for me too My question to you: Ok, You answered the time. But I am more interested in what amount of points is acceptable for you? What was the max. you rolled? (Everyone who said they roll once, go for min. stats ans so on are not affected by this question. )
I dont think I've spent more than 5 minutes rerolling. As long as I have enough points for one 18 stat, a pair of 16-17ish ones, and 10ish for everything else I'm usually fine. The game is pretty generous letting you swap points around, so I dont feel the need to go that crazy.
As long as it takes, heh. For my main character I try to not have any stats below 10 and the class ability score as well as two others maxed. That generally means I try to have at least 24 spendable points when every ability score is set at 10. If I attain this quickly, like less than four minutes, I store the roll and try a minute or two more to get a better roll and if I don't I go with the roll.
I don't care quite as much for other party members I create. I'm usually happy with a maxed primary ability score there and nothing so low it adds penalties. Usually achieve this within a couple of rolls.
My most recent obsessive-rerolling bout ended up with a 98-point skald. Apparently I wasn't satisfied with the 90-, 91-, or 92-point rolls I burned through along the way.
Comments
This time, no more than 10 re-rolls, as I want to get into the game ASAP!
One maxed stat at the most.
I look at it this way - BG1/ToTSC can mean well over 100 hours of gameplay so investing some time rolling a character I'm going to be pleased with seems like a decent investment - of course the longer I find myself rolling the more likely I am to lower my expectations too)
(Sometimes tho I am more interested in gimping my character a bit to give the game a better chance to beat me and thats usually when I set specific limits of some sort...LOL)
I try to roll until I get the equivalent of three 18s and three tens ( 84 stat points). Think the best I ever got was a net 96 stat points. Probably about ten minutes.
For Temple of Elemental Evil... some characters would get their stats in like five rolls, others... 300+ rolls. 3e monks and paladins need so much...
Spell Casters only realllllly need a single attribute, or SAD. Single Attribute Dependency. A wizard only needs Intelligence. A Cleric only needs Wisdom. A Sorceror only needs Charisma. They benefit from higher stats, but even a cleric, who could wear heavy armor, only really needs Wisdom.
It's one of the things that imbalances Casters vs. Non Casters. Not the primary thing, but it doesn't make it any better. Especially with Point Buy. The wizard can dump all his points into Intelligence. What's the Paladin supposed to do?
I don't really find that it makes a huge difference to my enjoyment of the game, since I enjoy party teamwork and role-playing.
Getting the five 18's or 19's can make a difference in your chances of success if you want to do a solo no-reload game.
If you refuse to play without the highest possible scores, I don't personally see the difference in just cheating it in with ctrl-8 or shadowkeeper, since rolling for an hour or more just seems like another way to cheat.
Some people kind of enjoy it as a separate game, though, kind of like playing with a slot machine.
However, I might take into consideration what others are suggesting here - to take the best of X amount of rolls and go with that. As an added challenge, I may only allow myself to re-arrange a certain number of points (up to 5, i'm thinking). I like it when my character has character, and disallowing myself to min-max their stats gives them more dynamic strengths and weaknesses.
Add the line: 'Program Options', 'Debug Mode', '1',
Save and launch Baldur's Gate. Create a new character and on the Abilities screen just hit ctrl+8
If you don't want 18's in everything you can always subtract a few points before hitting done.
My question to you:
Ok, You answered the time. But I am more interested in what amount of points is acceptable for you? What was the max. you rolled? (Everyone who said they roll once, go for min. stats ans so on are not affected by this question.
I don't care quite as much for other party members I create. I'm usually happy with a maxed primary ability score there and nothing so low it adds penalties. Usually achieve this within a couple of rolls.