Starting D&D. Any advice?

[old_school]

I think Wisdom of 0 is so dumb you cant even function unless your player version 3 or higher. However the DM in 2nd or higher can adjust the rules slightly to fit party needs. Just has to keep things realistic. An for stats you roll 20 sided die I belive.

 

[Amnestic]

be careful you don't accidentally give your half Orc barbarian a charisma of -4. Best advice I can give.

PC stats can't be below 3.

Initially no. However they can drop below 3, either via magic/cursed items or from abilities - Mindflayers can drain INT as I recall, though they might have changed that when moving out of AD&D 2nd.

They cannot, however, go into negatives from what I know. d20srd.org [http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm] notes:

* Strength 0 means that the character cannot move at all. He lies helpless on the ground.
* Dexterity 0 means that the character cannot move at all. He stands motionless, rigid, and helpless.
* Constitution 0 means that the character is dead.
* Intelligence 0 means that the character cannot think and is unconscious in a coma-like stupor, helpless.
* Wisdom 0 means that the character is withdrawn into a deep sleep filled with nightmares, helpless.
* Charisma 0 means that the character is withdrawn into a catatonic, coma-like stupor, helpless.

Keeping track of negative ability score points is never necessary. A character?s ability score can?t drop below 0.

Having a score of 0 in an ability is different from having no ability score whatsoever.

Not sure how I feel on only Con drain killing you. Might change that around in my own games to include Int as well.

An Int of 3 is required for sentience. If your race gives you penalties to any other stat, it's possible to start below 3. Int is the only exception.

I stand corrected. I assumed since they used the Half-Orc Int example in the 3.5th PHB, it applied to all stats. Just went back and checked and I'll freely admit, I bollocksed that one up. Can't imagine playing a game with any score below 3 though.

An for stats you roll 20 sided die I belive.

I dunno, having a level 1 character with a potential for 22 in their favoured stat seems a bit overpowered to me. Generally, the options are:

Roll 3d6, either assign to stats as desired or roll 6 times and assign in order (STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, CHA)
Roll 4d6 and remove the lowest.
or a Points System where you allocate x points to each stat as you desire.

Personally I prefer the first option as desired, though I've seen all used. Gives a nice balance of random chance as well as letting you customise your character as you want.

Edit: While I'm here: Don't feel the need to constrain yourself to a "young" character! I drafted a Human Paladin recently who is 51 years old and only level 1.

 

[Naheal]

be careful you don't accidentally give your half Orc barbarian a charisma of -4. Best advice I can give.

PC stats can't be below 3.

Initially no. However they can drop below 3, either via magic/cursed items or from abilities - Mindflayers can drain INT as I recall, though they might have changed that when moving out of AD&D 2nd.

They cannot, however, go into negatives from what I know. d20srd.org [http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm] notes:

* Strength 0 means that the character cannot move at all. He lies helpless on the ground.
* Dexterity 0 means that the character cannot move at all. He stands motionless, rigid, and helpless.
* Constitution 0 means that the character is dead.
* Intelligence 0 means that the character cannot think and is unconscious in a coma-like stupor, helpless.
* Wisdom 0 means that the character is withdrawn into a deep sleep filled with nightmares, helpless.
* Charisma 0 means that the character is withdrawn into a catatonic, coma-like stupor, helpless.

Keeping track of negative ability score points is never necessary. A character?s ability score can?t drop below 0.

Having a score of 0 in an ability is different from having no ability score whatsoever. /

Not sure how I feel on only Con drain killing you. Might change that around in my own games to include Int as well.

An Int of 3 is required for sentience. If your race gives you penalties to any other stat, it's possible to start below 3. Int is the only exception.

I stand corrected. I assumed since they used the Half-Orc Int example in the 3.5th PHB, it applied to all stats. Just went back and checked and I'll freely admit, I bollocksed that one up. Can't imagine playing a game with any score below 3 though.

An for stats you roll 20 sided die I belive.

I dunno, having a level 1 character with a potential for 22 in their favoured stat seems a bit overpowered to me. Generally, the options are:

Roll 3d6, either assign to stats as desired or roll 6 times and assign in order (STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, CHA)
Roll 4d6 and remove the lowest.
or a Points System where you allocate x points to each stat as you desire.

Personally I prefer the first option as desired, though I've seen all used. Gives a nice balance of random chance as well as letting you customise your character as you want.

I'm a 4d6 kind of guy, myself. I've found that 3d6 tends to produce shit for stats and I have a tendency to toss players in some exceedingly... difficult situations at times. High stats aren't key (anymore), but they certainly help.

 

[Amnestic]

*condense snip*
I'm a 4d6 kind of guy, myself. I've found that 3d6 tends to produce shit for stats and I have a tendency to toss players in some exceedingly... difficult situations at times. High stats aren't key (anymore), but they certainly help.

Well there's no real right or wrong answer. I got a bit turned off of the 4d6 plan when one guy rolled a character with nothing below 10, a 17 and an 18, the 17 of which he used his racial bonus on to bump up to a 19 base which lead me to stick to the 3d6.

I've seen another version which had you roll 3d6, but you could then shuffle some of the points from stat to stat as if you were working on a point system to help avoid the shit stat problems, so the initial rolls only ended up deciding how many "points" you had.

I'm not really fussed on the whole, and I'll generally go with whatever the DM suggests for eases sake. Don't really want people using two different methods of stat allocation, just ends up getting confusing.

 

[Rofl-Mayo]

Does your friend live anywhere in Winchester, England~? Because I'm telling you.. it's freaking IMPOSSIBLE to find a player base here.

I can't give you much advice but I will say this, if you're into RPGs and storytelling, you will become an addict.

I enjoy RPGs a lot and I always write stories for fun. Maybe I should play a game with some friends with me as DM.

 

[Jesus Phish]

As you've stated you're a player,

Don't get bogged down in rules.
Don't make your DM's job harder than it has to be.
Pay attention to your DM at all times, unless he says otherwise.
Make several copies of your character sheet. Always make sure your DM has your most up to date one. That way if you ever forget yours (which you shouldnt) he'll have a back up.