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How do you roll up the stats for a new character in BGEE?

francofranco Member Posts: 507
We often talk about the PC characters we are using, but it might be interesting for us to discuss and share how we tend to roll the stats for our PC character once we have decided on gender, race and class.
  1. How do you roll up the stats for a new character in BGEE?91 votes
    1. I roll until getting total I like, then min-max to get maximum stats for certain abilities.
      42.86%
    2. I roll until getting total I like, then distribute stats according to role playing conception of character.
      32.97%
    3. I use a fixed number of rolls, then min-max to maximum stats for certain abillities.
        3.30%
    4. I use a fixed number of rolls, then distribute stats according to role playing conception of character.
        3.30%
    5. other. I have a more interesting way.
      17.58%
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Comments

  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    I think it would be interesting to see someone do a 'Challenge' wherein you get one single roll and can't adjust the stats at all.

    Personally, I am not much of a power gamer but I do have very specific stats for each of my characters. My wizard, for instance is a very sickly and bookish sort so he has an 8-9 STR and a CON no higher than 12. Dex is usually 16 and INT is either 17-18 with 10s for the rest. Total is not high, but that is who he is.
    francoKlorox
  • KlakierKlakier Member Posts: 39
    Something between first and second option. For example, yesterday i created girlie human mage Samira, and i rolled until i got 90, then i spend all the points for intelligence and wisdom, then more for charisma, little less for dexterity, constitution more less for strenght.
    francoQuartz
  • francofranco Member Posts: 507
    This new thread is the correct one. The previous incorrect will hopefully soon be removed.
    Klakier
  • TetraploidTetraploid Member Posts: 252
    Min-max is a misleading term: I tend to max but not min! Typically, I'll give 18 to whatever I feel is a character's main stat, then distribute the rest in a more natural way. So, for example, almost every mage I make will probably have 18 int, but other stats will vary depending on how I view the character.
    francoAwong124TJ_HookerSophia
  • SamuelVargSamuelVarg Member Posts: 598
    I fixed number of rolls ... well that is a large fixed number.
    Wolk
  • Awong124Awong124 Member Posts: 2,643

    I think it would be interesting to see someone do a 'Challenge' wherein you get one single roll and can't adjust the stats at all.

    That's a pretty pointless challenge. It depends entirely on luck.
  • KaltzorKaltzor Member Posts: 1,050
    edited June 2013
    I like my characters to have atleast 18 in their main stats (or 18/00 for fighters strength) or whatever the racial max happens to be... So I've gotten lazy and I just Ctrl + 8 and set the other stats...
  • WolkWolk Member Posts: 279
    I hate having a 3,4,5,6 in a stat, so I have to roll alot until I get like a 90-95, then I max physical stats (+ int/wis for mage or cleric ) then I split up in dump stats, it might take me hours to get a good roll I I ever play a FMC, because I would get nothing less then a 18 STR, 18 DEX (i might get along with a 17 to boost with tome)18CON, 18 INT, 18WIS, and not less then 8 CHA... wich makes around 97 for a roll... why i'm not playng FMC
  • sarevok57sarevok57 Member Posts: 5,975
    I've played this game for sooooooooooooooooo long, that I do stats way differently now, if im making a multiplayer team, my total is only allowed to be 75 ( it makes it feel more like you have game npcs on your team plust makes the game a hair more challenging) but if I do a single player game, I will give all the tomes to my main guy and try to make sure he stats don't go below 6 or 7 in any catergory
    franco
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    Awong124 said:

    I think it would be interesting to see someone do a 'Challenge' wherein you get one single roll and can't adjust the stats at all.

    That's a pretty pointless challenge. It depends entirely on luck.
    Which is more or less the point. In PnP, we used to roll stats and then pick class/race to go with it. Can't do that with BG, but that would be the next best thing.

    Besides, I think most challenges are pretty strange. This just struck me as in that vein.
    atcDave
  • GodGod Member Posts: 1,150
    As in any other instance where Chaos is to be found (which, in a basic, Earthly sense means mostly 'always'), I bind all particles and factors in an orderly manner. Then, characters just happen, and they always happen precisely in order with what I have planned for them.
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    edited June 2013
    @atcDave - LOL. Now I really want to go in and make a character based on Rincewind.

    STR - 8
    INT - 9 (only because that is the minimum allowable for the class)
    Wis - 6
    DEX - 17 (feets don't fail me now)
    CON - 10
    CHA - 5

    Or how about the two fighters who always went around with Phineas Fingers? They absolutely weren't "Power" builds.

    Yeah, I remember the random rolls well. Most of my DMs wouldn't let us move points, but we were allowed to move the stats around. If you rolled a 17 STR but wanted a Wizard, you could move that stat to INT, but you had to move one of your other rolls into STR. It worked very much like the system in ToEE (love that game). But not all of them were like that. One was very strict and you got what you rolled. He would 'Occasionally' allow one mulligan but even that was rare.
    franco
  • francofranco Member Posts: 507
    edited June 2013
    I very much enjoy emphasizing Randomness when I'm playing BG to keep the sense of uncertainty alive. I have started using this method a few times to roll up characters, and so far I've been enjoying it.

    First choose the character kit that you would really like to experience most.
    I predetermine the minimal roll total I want: 87+ (Imoen's number), 82+ (most good NPCs), 75+ challenge.
    I also designate two stats as: a) primary ability and b) secondary ability. (For example: Fighter, STR, DEX)

    Then I look for the very first roll that satisfies three conditions:
    1. It must be at or above my selected minimal roll total.
    2. It must give me an initial primary ability of 13 or better.
    3. It must give me an initial secondary ability of 12 or better.

    Then I distribute the stats as follows:
    1. No ability may be reduced by more than 3 points.
    2. No ability may be increased by more than 3 points.

    That's it.


    By using this method, for example, I would get a Fighter with STR of 15 to 18, and a DEX of 14 to 18, but no number is guaranteed. The other stats will be a bit more random, but you'll be increasing the ones you want to emphasize by up to 3. What is also interesting is that you might even sometime end up with a Fighter who has INT 14 (similar to Khalid). With this method you won't be maximizing, but you'll be emphasizing the stats that you think your PC's class should have, but you'll be introducing more variety and uncertainty.

    However you do it. Everybody keep enjoying the game.

    Post edited by franco on
  • FrecheFreche Member Posts: 473
    Most of the time I decide my total score then just ctrl + 8 and distribute that many points.
  • JarrakulJarrakul Member Posts: 2,029
    I tend to roll for awhile, because I like good stats and I don't like hard dump stats (no 3 Int, for example). There's definitely a certain amount of min-maxing involved, because I usually have very high physical stats, but I can justify that from an rp standpoint because, well, my character is the child of a god. That said, pure power is secondary to the character concept. If I think my fighter should have a high Wisdom, and I can't roll enough to get good physical stats and a high Wisdom, then too bad for my physical stats.
    franco
  • TheElfTheElf Member Posts: 798


    Which is more or less the point. In PnP, we used to roll stats and then pick class/race to go with it. Can't do that with BG, but that would be the next best thing.

    Besides, I think most challenges are pretty strange. This just struck me as in that vein.

    This is basically what I do, unless I have a class in mind that I'm set on beforehand. I'll take a generic fighter, roll it, and then just go backwards and pick the combo I'd want to play with. Sure, it gives a min 9 strength, so I'm a powergamer, but it's close enough.
  • GishGish Member Posts: 74
    I used to go with the roleplay concept a lot more in distributing them. But Now I do a mixture of that and planning out exactly "who" he is! Sometimes he maybe very wise and intelligent. Others more physical.
    franco
  • Lord_TansheronLord_Tansheron Member Posts: 4,211
    I CTRL+8 to set all stats to 18, then reduce them until they add up to a reasonable total. What total, that depends on what kind of game I want to play. Usually it's 90, sometimes 95. I also tend to add bonuses to CHARNAME for the BG1 tomes when I make new BG2 games.

    I do it this way because it's essentially the same as rolling until I get that number, just much faster. Clicking one button 50 times is not my idea of a good time.
    francoBalrog99
  • DurenasDurenas Member Posts: 508
    what lord_tansheron said. rerolling infinitely is not fun.
    franco
  • Balrog99Balrog99 Member Posts: 7,367
    edited June 2013
    I'm with Lord_Tansheron as well. The only difference is I use a '99' since that's the best roll I've ever gotten in BGEE (I believe I rolled that for a mage/thief of all things!). I got tired of trying to duplicate that roll for other PC's so I got lazy. If I choose a non-human I do the racial modifiers myself, so no halflings with 18 strength. It does feel a bit like cheating when I have a cleric or thief with 18/00 STR but what the heck, a god is my daddy after all!
  • GishGish Member Posts: 74
    edited June 2013
    The autoroller is a tool I'll sometimes let run for a couple of minutes. If I do it on my own I get trigger happy and miss huge numbers. It'll hit a 91 or an 89 and I just tell it to stop.
    Although I rolled a 100 once on vanilla baldur's gate a decade ago on accident. I felt like it was so wasted on him as a fighter! Then I realized by bg2 I could dual class to mage without setting myself to far behind. That was a bloody awesome character(literally bloody). The Genius Berzerker. I imagined he realized the benefits of berzerk on an intellectual level and decided to harness its power. Learning magic started as a mere curiosity. I always imagined my chaotic good character found a way with his magic to increase his lifespan and restore Aerie her wings, return Khalid to Jaheria and unscrabble Minsc's brain.
    I used the autoroller once last week on a sorcerer, got a 100 then too. It was fitting. I figured that character could be a super evil sorcerer who somehow got a large portion of Bhaal's divine essence and it empowered him beyond the means of mere mortals from an early age.
  • KloroxKlorox Member Posts: 894

    I think it would be interesting to see someone do a 'Challenge' wherein you get one single roll and can't adjust the stats at all.

    Personally, I am not much of a power gamer but I do have very specific stats for each of my characters. My wizard, for instance is a very sickly and bookish sort so he has an 8-9 STR and a CON no higher than 12. Dex is usually 16 and INT is either 17-18 with 10s for the rest. Total is not high, but that is who he is.

    I can't remember which message board it was on (sorcerers place maybe), but years ago we had a,"minimum stats" challenge. Tons of fun. You could bump STR to 6, IIRC, so you could carry some crap around.

    Of course, I wimped out and played an elven ranger (this race/class combo has the highest minimums across the boards)
    franco
  • mylegbigmylegbig Member Posts: 292
    The first choice, but a little bit of the second as well. I like to maximize my primary stats, but at the same time, even though I'm not much of a role player I still don't want my PC to be a mental and/or social retard. I like to keep my intelligence and charisma at least 9 no matter what I'm playing. I'm willing to go as low as 5 or 6 on wisdom since I don't mind playing a fool and there are 3 tomes of wisdom in the game.

    I also base my stats somewhat around my idea of the character. Recently, I made an elven fighter/mage specializing in bows. Instead of sacrificing other stats for strength, I took strength down to 13. Seemed kind of pointless to make a ranged fighter if he always has the option of going melee and being just as effective. This way, unless I get strength equipment for him, he'll always be more effective from the back with ranged weapons and spells.
    francolunar
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    edited June 2013
    I use online character generators, and create a character I like. I then copy the exact stats into BG, I can swap one stat with another, or decrease one stat by 2 to increase another by 1. ^^ Complex and difficult but it is fun! Created a mage yesterday: STR 8 DEX 7 CON 10 INT 17 WIS 10 CHA 13. He is rather clumsy, rash and can act/talk without thinking (hence low DEX and WIS), though he is real good with books (INT) and people tend to like his antics (CHA 13 gives +1 reaction)...most of the time.
    franco
  • francofranco Member Posts: 507
    edited June 2013
    I wanted to demonstrate an example of the Randomized roll up method I suggested in my earlier post.
    I chose that the roll would be in the normal range 82+, as opposed to the super range 87+, or the challenge range 75+. The character would be a vanilla Fighter, with STR and DEX selected as the main attributes. Based on the rule, I stopped on the very first role above 81, with STR 13 or above and DEX 12 or above. The roll was:

    STR 17
    DEX 13
    CON 10
    INT 16
    WIS 12
    CHA 17
    total 85

    Based on the rules 1)no ability reduced by more than 3 2)no ability increased by more than 3, the final
    stats for the character became:

    STR 18/74.........+1
    DEX 16 .........+3
    CON 13 .........+3
    INT 13 .........-3
    WIS 9 .........-3
    CHA 16 .........-1

    It's a character that is perfectly playable and may be interesting. The next fighter you roll up would then likely be different statistically. Maybe STR 15, DEX 18, CON 16 etc. It is a random system that is determined by the very first roll that meets the basic conditions.
    lunar
  • sarevok57sarevok57 Member Posts: 5,975
    I was thinking about making a game where I had 6 humans characters that had 10 in everything, but then I thought about it, and it would be waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much hassle
  • ZanathKariashiZanathKariashi Member Posts: 2,869
    I roll once and hit ok.

    It's about the only way I can resist the urge to min/max.
    franco
  • francofranco Member Posts: 507

    I roll once and hit ok.

    It's about the only way I can resist the urge to min/max.

    Would you be interested in a randomizing method such as I outlined in my 2 posts earlier? It permits increasing your most important attributes, but doesn't allow min/maxing. I've noticed recently that these types of formula based rules are not too interesting to most players, since they seem to cut across the grain of their basic tendencies.

    Anyone care to discuss this idea?

  • KidCarnivalKidCarnival Member Posts: 3,747
    Usually, I have a character concept in mind. I don't want my charname to totally suck in the prime stat, but I won't max it either if the points are needed to increase non-prime stats that are more or less useless. For example, my assassin is smart, so I give him ~14 int, even if it's not good for anything and it means I won't have 18 or 19 dex. My cleric has high wisdom because he considers himself very insightful, but he isn't the sharpest sword on the coast or very charismatic, so he may get max prime stat, but gimp skills that are useful for a party leader.
    franco
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