Kilgs:
I have to admit, I want to know what the poster's experience with gaming is because I'd say a good 50% of games use random characteristics. And prior to 2000, I would have said that 95% of them did so. Even videogames use it on a regular basis with some consistency.
I've been a roleplayer since the dawning days of Ultima Online actually, and I've never played a computer RPG, online or SP, that used random stat generation.
I'm a relative newcomer to old-fashioned, tabletop RPGs (relative in the sense that I found about DnD 2nd edition through people I met online in UO, rather than the other way 'round, which I've since gathered to have been more traditional that time - though I wonder if it still would be today given the explosion of online gaming). I know that old editions of AD&D used to use dice-rolling methods for that game's "Ability Scores". I even played 2nd edition once or twice, though even then, "home-brewed" points systems seemed to be the norm, at least at my high school.
That sort of thing, though, was dropped to the status of seldom-used optional rules several editions ago (and I can only assume that its only retained at all for nostalgic purposes since neither in real life, nor on PBP or PBIM websites, have I ever found a game that still uses them). From D&D to the World of Darkness (old and new alike), to the wide handful of smaller P&P games I've tried (Witchcraft; Mutants and Masterminds; the Dresden Files; ECT), I know of no other ORPG currently in print that uses a random generation method for character statistics by default. Until I was convinced by a friend to read this game, I had assumed it was one of those anachronisms of gaming like no-save death traps that was pretty dead except for the occasional fit of nostalgia from older gamers. I don't know the exact market share numbers for the ORPG industry, but given the combined dominance of D&D, WoD products, and superhero games (none of which use random generation that I know of), I would lay real money against your claim that "50%" of them are still using stat-rolling as their default chargen methods, although there's no question that that would have been true at one time in the past.
*le shrug* Perhaps I lack a certain rosy-goggled perspective on the history of gaming, from the 80s and early 90s, and all that, being an MMO player first, and a tabletop Roleplayer second (if not third or fourth - I'm a big RTS and SPRPG fan too). If I offend you with my ignorant youngster ways, then I apologize. I just don't see any virtue in this particular mechanic, and given the direction the industry's headed on it, it seems that the majority of RPG consumers don't either.
Kilgs:
Either way, the average roll is 11 for some reason. Eight characteristics. Give them 92pts, +1-10=1per1, 11-20, +1.
Bob chooses to put 38 into WS. He spends 10pts getting to 30, then spends another 16pts to get to 38.
The average roll is 11 because (2+20)/2 = 11. Also, there are 9 statistics.
The point is well-taken though. I didn't say it was hard to construct a point system for the game. I only remarked, as you may remember, on my surprise, that not only was such a system not the default method of character generation but, in fact, no official one seemed to exist. AS it turns out, I was wrong about that last part, as the people above have been kind enough to elaborate.
I want to say, before I go to bed, that I'm loving this conversation, but that if we're going to keep debating different character generating methods instead of advertising or starting games, then maybe we should move this to a different forum to continue?
Edit: Edited for clarity in responding.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:52, Thu 21 Oct 2010.
