My DM chose a different kind of character creation method for this game, which made me a little wary. The details are below.
I was initially confused, as I thought the Elite Array was a useful tool for DMs to quickly crap out NPCs as opposed to a character generation method. This lead me to believe that this would be a low-powered game. However, this "bonus point" system, as written, allows one to generate some over-the-curve characters.DM wrote:Characters will start at level 3. I'm going to try something different than rolling stats. We'll be using the "elite array": 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8. Assign each number to an ability of your choice. Then, factor in racial modifiers.
Extra “homework” that enriches your character and provides me with more to work with can net your character extra ability points. Each of the following nets you one point to apply to any ability you wish:
-A sketch or portrait of your character.
-Your character’s backstory in written form, at least one page long.
-Having your written backstory intertwine with another player’s.
-Providing in your backstory a list of three allied and three enemy NPC’s of your devising.
-A concrete mechanical disadvantage: A phobia, a crippling injury or disability, a geas, or the like.
You may earn up to 4 points in this manner. If you plan on doing any of these things, go ahead and figure in those points during character creation.
His reply completely missed my point, but I guess I didn't elaborate on it enough:Me wrote:What are your reasons behind using the Elite Array, a tool that was intended for helping DMs quickly generate NPCs, for character generation? Do you want this to be a low-powered game? If that's the case, you might want to look at this.
Let's say I'm rolling up a Wizard. I'll give him this array:
STR: 10
DEX: 13
CON: 14
INT: 15
WIS: 12
CHA: 8
Let's have him be an Elf:
STR: 10
DEX: 15 (+2 Racial)
CON: 12 (-2 Racial)
INT: 17 (+2 Racial)
WIS: 12
CHA: 8
Now, we give him his four "bonus" points (let's face it, these are pretty much mandatory for anyone who wants to pull their weight in the party)
STR: 10
DEX: 16 (+1 Bonus)
CON: 12
INT: 20 (+3 Bonus)
WIS: 12
CHA: 8
Is this the type of character this system is intended to generate, or is there a maximum number that our ability scores can start off at? It seems like we're supposed to be a bit more low-powered, because of the Elite Array. I am a little apprehensive toward a low-powered game, but I'm willing to try out. However, if I could play a character like this, I'm going to, as the Pathfinder rules seem to be stifling my original character concept.
That last part gave me a chuckle. More to come later.DM wrote:Cry some more. This is not a "low powered" campaign, the scores are not intended to make weaker characters. That array, WITHOUT the bonus points you can get, equals to a point-buy of 15, which is a standard-power point buy. With your wizard example, I do not know what warped your perception so much that you think that a wizard with a 16 dex and 20 intelligence at first level is "weak", because honestly, that's quite strong. Maybe it is our group's constant pining to powergame your char to be the strongest possible, resulting in stronger than average chars.
Indeed, the bonus points are pretty strongly encouraged, this is a concrete way for me to have people flesh out their characters more. When I saw somebody using this, I immediately thought it was a fantastic idea, as it forces people to put more thought into creating their character, making them more than a bunch of numbers on a piece of paper.
FURTHERMORE, the classes in Pathfinder are inherently more powerful to start off with than their 3.5 counterparts.