Rolling Random Stats

When creating your character there are certain stats to determine. Often things like physical strength, general dexterity, and intelligence must be determined. These are integral to a character and how they will interact with the world.

So how do you decide these stats? In the old days, they were determined randomly with dice. In doing this, characters were always unique, and exceptionally great characters were possible, but very rare, which made them special.

Characters also ended up being built around the stats you rolled. If you wanted to be a wizard, but your intelligence was minimal, you would be a worthless wizard. So if your strength happened to be good, you might decide to be a physical fighter instead.

Most people I know have a character in mind when they start, so rolling random stats can be problematic. The other issue with random stats is that about half the characters you create will be below average, and you will feel like you're getting cheated with them. It's so unequal that it tends to become unfair.

The alternative to random stats is to have fixed stats. For example, you have a number of stat points, and you can allocate them however you wish. Everybody can still be different, but they also remain even because of the system.

The one nice thing about rolling stats is that when you don't know what you want to be, they give you a framework to work on. Looking at a collection of stats may inspire you to create a character you really enjoy playing.