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Old 10-11-2018, 01:45 PM   #46
TippetsTX
 
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Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: North Texas
Default Re: Conan the wizard

Quote:
Originally Posted by larsdangly View Post
Ive bought into the logic behind the ~40 point cap (and really you would be better off stopping stat advancement around 38): A score of 16 nearly saturates the 'value' you get out of a stat, and 20 clearly gets you to effective maximum useful value. So, a character with 48 points has probably distributed them pretty evenly across all three stats (as this is going to provide maximum value per point assigned). Therefore, every 48 point character is going to be something like 16-16-16. So, everyone is basically the same and basically perfect at everything. I don't find this sort of play very interesting.

A 40 point limit is a very different situation. You still have the drive to get one of your stats to 16 or so, which leaves your other two averaging 12 each - meaning you will often be out classed at either one. Or maybe you are 16 in two stats and take an 8 on the third - meaning you spent your adventuring career truly deficient, almost handicapped, at one of the three spheres of human capacity. And what if you reach for the stars and want a 20 or 22 in one stat (super genius wizard, most dexterous thief in the world, a fighter like The Mountain)? That's cool, and achievable, but leaves you with an average score of 10 or 9 in the other two stats. You are paying a price for that singular gift. Very different trade offs; very different sorts of characters that interact with each other in a wide variety of ways. Much more interesting game.
I suppose if you are only interested in adventures that pit you against humans, orcs and the occasional ogre, 40 points is plenty. I want my players to face off against demons and dragons eventually, however.

Stats don't define the characters, players do that by making choices.
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