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Evaluating Your Game: Part Two
This is part two in an ongoing series, designed to help you evaluate your game from the ground up.
Often, the first and most important thing that your players will encounter in your game is the process of character creation. For purposes of this discussion, I will assume that the characters being created are done so using the Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 rules, though I believe the process is universal enough that it may be translated into different rulesets without difficulty.
The first step in character creation is the assigning of attribute points. The different methods used to determine attributes all have different effects on the character creation process and how players approach the game.
Random attribute generation is perhaps the most classic, and my personal least favorite method of character generation because it takes a large level of control away from me in the process of character development. While it is true that you can play anything with any stats, it can be very hard to have sufficient attributes to make a character worth playing in the presence of other party members, who’s attributes are far better. Nothing deflates the enjoyment of the game for me like having all elevens and twelves while someone else in the party has all seventeens and eighteens.
Some people, however, prefer random generation. It has the benefit of being more realistic, and forcing players to make do with statistics which may not be quite ideal for them. It can also have the benefit of encouraging people to play different concepts or class types.
The pattern I have noticed with random character generation is that more high attributes tend towards fighter characters, while single high attributes tend towards caster characters.
The second method of attribute generation is the array method. The array method works through taking a set of pre-determined numbers, usually 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18, and allowing players to place them as desired. This method has the benefit of being balanced between party members and discouraging min-maxing.
The third method of attribute generation is the point-buy method. This method works by giving each player a number of points, which are then used to purchase attributes. The purchase cost can either be flat, usually one-for-one, or the cost may increase for higher attributes, so that each modifier increase costs more. This method has the benefit of providing players the most freedom, though it can lead to min-maxing, and the process can take longer with the point-buy method than any other of the others, due to the number of choices to be made. Though the point-buy method is theoretically balanced, the fact that it can lead to min-maxing means that it can result in some unbalanced characters.
The final method of character creation is a hybrid method, combining random generation with the point-buy system. In this method, players generate their attributes randomly as normal. They are then free to use the point-buy system to shuffle points around and customize their attribute distribution. This method can lead to unbalanced characters, as the random method can, though it is rarely as crippling as with pure random generation.
What method do you use to generate characters?
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I’m not much of a fan of random generation; for D&D, I like assigning arrays. For other systems, I’m typically using their specific system [often point buy or other assignment systems].
We’ve been doing point buy assignment in D&D for quite some time now… actually ever since Iron Heroes which has a point buy. Players are really happy with it.
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[…] from the ground up. Previously, I discussed Genre, Setting, and Scope, followed by an analysis of Character Generation Methods. Today, I’m going to explore the role that randomness plays in your […]