Rolling Attributes vs Point Buy

You might wonder, "What kind of character can I play? Is it male or female, young or old, strong as a bull, quick as a dragonfly, dumb as an ox?" There is a way to figure this out. Each player character has eight attributes: Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Constitution, Dexterity, Charisma, Comeliness, and Faith. The player characters calculate each of these attributes by rolling a cluster of dice for each attribute. For Humans, this cluster is 3d6, thus generating a number between 3 (very weak) and 18 (very potent). Ability modifiers are used for other races. Because characters controlled by the players are a cut above the common peasant riff-raff, the player can reroll 1’s on the dice (thus ensuring a minimum score of 6.)

The Point Buy system is handy if the player wants to have his or her character automatically qualify for a specific class. It also has the advantage for the Game Master of producing a balanced character (in other words, there is no chance of the character having all high or all low rolls.) The standard allotment of points is 35, although the Game Master may optionally choose any value between 25 and 50, depending on the anticipated toughness of the campaign. The standard allotment produces an attribute average of slightly higher than 12.

Racial modifiers are enacted after the points are bought. The table below displays the point cost for purchasing primary attributes. Note that one cannot subtract points to create an attribute lower than 8 just to get more points to spend elsewhere.