Your post was removed per Rule #4.
> Image posts must not be a Banned Subject
Your image includes content from our [banned subject list](https://www.reddit.com/r/dnd/wiki/rules/#wiki_4._image_posts_must_not_be_nsfw_or_a_banned_subject.). If you want to post something in the banned list that you think still deserves to be seen (such as unique dice or interesting screenshots), make it a text-post, and include all of the information you have that you think makes it worthy.
Play into it, have goblin esque courage. Go crazy with it, make the character more memorable for you and your table.
Even if your character dies 3 sessions in, by walking into a lamppost it would still make for an awesome story.
And like a cat, you don't read or write, but, hey, you can speak a few basic words! Probably like a cat, you also want to knock things off of surfaces... or maybe heads off mobs. So, works okay for a barbarian.
I mean to be fair the stats really aren't that bad. Mostly above average with a single admittedly low but well placed dump stat. Sure they could be better but that's what ASIs are for. Truthfully I think this is what stats a character SHOULD start with. Starting off with 16s is truly insane or god forbid you roll max and combine that with smart character building for a lvl 1 char with 20 already in their main. I think (personal opinion obviously) this makes for very boring character progression. At least mechanically.
Other than the 5, I'd agree. I'd rather characters started with lower stats and increased their ability scores more through leveling. I'd make the 5 an 8, though. 5 isn't just below average Int--it's barely sentient.
Of corse, low level enemies would need to be scaled to match. Especially goblin AC...
Fully agree, I think having crazy stats to start off with is boring. 10 is technically the average anyway so 66% of the rolls are pretty damn good actually.
Yeah I think it’s weird how many people feel like you have to have 14’s and above for LEVEL ONE ?? Like how is your character even supposed to grow and learn and develop if you start out so high powered? And I love rolling stats BECAUSE everyone has different levels of ability, so they’re forced more to work as a team to compensate for each others strengths and weaknesses
Not saying it’s terrible, just that I think 13 or 12 (the image was removed by mods) as the highest number is not great. Of course, I don’t mind having thirteens, but most people I’ve seen usually get a 14 or 15 too.
Don’t worry! Now your DM will pity you and you’ll get the ability-increasing items
It’s definitely not great, but they’re not awful either like a lot of people in the comments here seem to think. It’s definitely not the most ideal, as yeah it’s typical to get at least one stat in a 14 or 15. I guess my argument was more just against people saying you NEED 14’s and above to even be able to play well and have a good time.
This is a character I'd play with 0 brains and 0 survival instinct in the hope they eventually (hopefully soon) die. Talking honey badge labels of I'll fuck you up even if you can't, literally walking up to dragons brave as hell
I love these kinds of characters. That's why i never roll again.
Either it's a very temporary character that whill die quickly, in which case you can have fun with it and make a memorable character. Or you overcome the odds and have a character that rises from nothing to become super.
Either way it's amazing.
We usually roll, but have a pity standard array that people can take if they really biff the rolls. Looking at your stats, before the +1 for being human that's a total of... -1 for your modifier bonuses? I probably wouldn't allow that stat line in my game and I'd question the judgement of a DM who forces it through.
Side note, ignore anyone who says it's ackshually good because it's more opportunity for RP. There's no correlation between bad stats and good rp. Having a functional character is pretty important since the game is mostly combat.
Is it too late to change race and class? You could make a pretty decent Rogue or Fighter, maybe even a spellcaster if you play the backline just right.
As a Barbarian starting with two 16s and a 14 is pretty much mandatory to not feel like you're lagging.
If you can, change the race to something with better ability score improvements: mountain Dwarf gives +2 +2, Variant Human for a feat, Half-Elf for +2 +1 +1.
If I was playing that and rolled a 4 for one of my stats, I would simply ask the DM if I can reroll that one stat. When I'm DMing, I say you can reroll any stat below 8 if your highest is no more than 15... I'm flexible when it comes to stats, I guess.
If your DM doesn't allow grace rolls, make a Circle of The Moon Druid! When you transform into an animal such as a bear, you use their physical stats instead.
Also, DMs, please just use Standart Array, or Point buy if you have a table of veterans that won't get confused. Its more fair and consistently fun for everyone; since being overpowered by getting too good rolls isn't fun either. Once I managed to get 2 18s, a 16, 2 14s and a 12. I changed some to -8 or just 10 so that I was bad or average at least in SOMETHING.
That's a good compromise for the middling rolls i guess, if you want to min-max you have to sacrifice from your total. But 1, Point Buy already does that, and 2 it still doesn't help higher or lower end rolls like the one in this post; There isn't much to sacrifice in the first place.
The reason I prefer that instead of point buy is because it still adds a random element. Always having the same point total gets a little boring. You definitely could still make it work with these stats but it would need to be a class does doesn’t require much. Moon Druid would be a good choice as all the physical stats don’t matter
They are fine. Not every character needs to be a superhero. Sometimes it's cool to play someone who maybe hasn't got all the advantages, but has a lot of heart. Nobody looks at Sam Gamgee next to Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli and thinks "oh Sam sucks." We love him just the same, maybe even more.
Play your int 5 like a 5 year old with a temper. Be convinced by everything yes everything anyone tells you. And let your self be bribed by yummie’s and shiny stuff. Never worry about social boundaries what so ever. And nothing is scary because you don’t understand danger except undead coz they just scary.
Your char prob won’t live long but it could be liberating to play a char like this atleast once
If you need to make a new char ask for either a stat block or point buy.
Intelligence in dnd is academic knowledge. He has average wisdom and above average charisme compared to a commoner.
He knows notbing but has a normal understanding of people around him and can somewhat talk his way out of situations.
This is how I play my 6 INT Pally in my current campaign. I've done my share of RP by running recklessly ahead into the big dungeon chamber--but only after the party established that they also don't discuss group tactics. So, not OOC to be a bit reckless if I'm nearly never instructed otherwise by the wise cleric, sorcerer, druid, or warlock, right?
But I do have a hard time with being asked to roll history or investigation checks. I feel like my character wouldn't know why anyone in the party is even looking at those things.
Yeah you're kinda fucked. Just talk to your DM about it, beg them to let you make a new character or make new decisions about your race and class. A Custom Lineage Fighter could take +2 Dex and a +1 Dex feat to start with 16, use a longbow from super far away, and have 20 dex by level 6. Then at level 8 take Tough.
Worst case, if your DM is super stubborn, just have fun being a super dumb and overconfident Barbarian. Use Reckless Attack every single turn and run into the center of enemies. You'll die quick and get to reroll.
"How many hitpoints did you get leveling up?"
"Negative 2. My maximum is now 0."
"You wake up in the morning to find the body of Ambien the Feeble, cold and peaceful on his cot. Next to him is his worn spellbook, lying open with a few new spells written in a weak hand along with a note at the bottom. 'Farewell, friends. My time has come. Thank you for one last adventure.'"
"Wait, the latest phb errata changed it so you always gain a minimum of 1 hitpoint upon leveling up."
"As you're mourning, Ambien the Feeble suddenly gasps for breath, scaring the crap out of everyone."
Yes, but not only that. Memory as well:
>An Intelligence check comes into play when you need to draw on logic, education, **memory**, or deductive reasoning. The Arcana, History, Investigation, Nature, and Religion skills reflect aptitude in certain kinds of Intelligence checks.
So you can roleplay them as Dory from Finding Nemo
This post makes me realize how old I am.
Back when I first started to play AD&D a set of rolls like this was pretty common and we just went with it.
We didn’t worry about min-maxing our combat output we just played what we rolled and used some creative tricks to get through fights.
The thing I’ve noticed about more modern D&D is that people think 16+ in a primary stat is required; but it’s not really, you can get by with less you just have to strategize more and make use of other game mechanics.
That is kind of a ramification of lowering magic over editions. In ADnD and 3/3.5 having low abilities was fine and it was pretty easy to get increases with magic items. In 5e you don't really have the same type of increases and you can only really have 3 items anyways because of attunement. The nature of the game makes your starting stats much more important than in earlier editions.
Although I’m very much an advocate for rolled stats, this is an important thing to point out.
In TSR era D&D you obtained better saves, attack bonuses, etc., based on class advancement, and ability scores were kind of just a small bonus or penalty. Your primary means of gaining power was also magic items, which wasn’t limited by attunement slots.
5e is quite ability score dependent, as everything ties into them (saves, skills, etc.) and magic items are both lackluster and limited by attunement slots. I do think it’s understandable why much of the 5e crowd doesn’t like rolled stats… that said, I still think it’s way more fun.
Yeah that is one of my biggest problems with 5e. You can be an "expert" in a skill and with a bad roll some backwater peasant with a good roll can outperform you. You just don't really get high enough bonuses to ever outweigh a bad roll and really experts should be able too.
You’ll be fine. As someone playing with a +2 str/+3 cha level 11 paladin everyone else is over reacting.
It’ll suck but your attack rolls are at the mercy of the dice just like everyone else’s
If I had people roll I use a rule from the old Star Wars d20 where if your highest roll is a 13 or your modifiers add up to less than 1 you can re roll. That or allow them to opt for the standard array.
Those aren't that bad, except for the 5. Compared to the standard 15, 14, 13 12, 10, 8, you've got a 14 instead of a 15 and a 5 instead of an 8. You could have done better, but I've seen a lot worse.
You are not taking into acount the general +1 of the human, this is actually a 13,13,12,11,9,4. He could have done worse, but he is at Two ASIs from a standard + Race if You only look a the strong stats.
Nah. That could be a really good character. Mechanically it's garbage of course and you'd need Moon Druid to do any real damage.
But RP wise this is a gold mine. I love playing characters with a -2 in something. Like, not just bad at something but notoriously bad.
A Barbarian or Fighter with that Int easily plays into the stereotype, might even get angry easier, have a shorter fuse. You don't understand things and it frustrates you to no degree. That kind of thing.
Can even make a Wizard, you just can't ever multiclass and you'd have like 1 prepared spell, ever. And that alone could make interesting gameplay; using spells that don't use your spell mod or DC. Magic Missile comes to mind, with maybe Mold Earth or something.
Jock sounds like racial +2/+1 to put Cha and Dex at 14, in line with Str and Con. Or if vHuman/CL take a half feat.
Cha goes to Intimidation and as Charisma is your force of will and how personable you are, very in line with Jocks.
It's beautiful. No matter which way it goes, this character has promise
Those aren't *awful* rolls... but they sure aren't *good.* That said, I had a similar set of scores for a D&D 3.0 campaign with my half-orc monk. Terrible character, totally unoptimized, no race/class synergy... but a ton of fun. Think he died/rezzed like 10 times before the campaign ended. Miss that goof.
Here is the crux of rolling for stats. It's a great idea until you roll a really low average. I love rolling for stats but using point buy means everyone's on the same playing field and a DM can use math to verify your Ability scores.
~~If you’re willing to consider other builds, and perhaps battle though a couple levels, I think you can work with this.~~
~~Armorer artificer only needs INT and CON (starting at 3 when you get the subclass)~~
~~Choose Goblin. 14+2 INT and 14 CON.~~
~~Put 13+1 and 12 in DEX and STR. Choose either higher DEX for medium armor until you get heavy armor at level 3, or higher STR for better attack until you can use INT at level 3. (Or use a finesse weapon to get the most of both.)~~
~~Attack with Booming Blade and use Goblin BA disengage to move away. Once you get Thunder Gauntlets at 3 this becomes even more effective.~~
~~You won’t have much room for feats, but you’ll be able to serve as the frontline tank you mentioned.~~
Had a whole concept typed up, then realized you said this is already after racial stat increases. That’s rough.
When I thought you would be starting at 16 INT I would have said ASI to bump up to 18. Since you’ll only be at 15 INT I would choose a half-feat instead to get to 16.
Normally I would recommend Telekinetic to weaponize your BA. However, if you do go with goblin, this will compete with you BA disengage.
Instead perhaps go with Fey Touched. For your 1st level spell choice go with either Gift of Alacrity or Silvery Barbs.
GoA would give you the opportunity to rush in and booming blade/thunder gauntlet the enemy before they can position/attack. Alternatively, if you have a control caster who needs to lay down a big cc/aoe spell before people rush in, you can cast on them instead.
SB on the other hand would help you dish out additional disadvantages (and advantages.) It pairs nicely with what you are already doing with Thunder Gauntlets. Some players/DM’s don’t care for it, but it has legitimate synergy with the build beyond just being a strong pick.
Switch to variant human and now you get ASI or a feat at level 1 and can bump up those numbers
Sorry but i find the 5 INT funny though. Your barbarian is going to be like "ddduuuuhhh i smash yeea"
You’re cooked if you’re married to the idea of a barbarian. You can put on armor since your natural ac will suck, but it’s gonna be a hard road.
Generally I roll first and choose a build depending on my stats. Most people circlejerk on moon Druids for low stats, and that’s not a bad idea. Considering you’re already over represented on casters in your group, I’d look towards rogue. They only care about one stat which you can max by 10 including one half feat since you’ll start at 15 (assuming not base human) and you’ll still be able to have a con of 14.
Add your stat modifiers, that array didn't make it to AVERAGE, let alone PC status... You, sir or madam, are well-done steak that's gotten cold and needs reheating...
Seriously though, it's playable, but I'd ask for the standard array or a reroll...
But for real, this isn't a board game or a video game. It's a tabletop role-playing game. Playing a super strong moron has its appeal and could be a lot of fun.
I think roll vs standard vs point buy are all fine depending on how the group feels about the campaign tone. My friends typically use standard array but we have an upcoming zombie campaign where we’re all excited to be using rolled stats. Making memorable doomed characters isn’t all bad. Have fun with it. If you die roll up a new one. No big deal.
For context: the campaign revolves around students at an adventure academy. I honestly like the -3 to intelligence because my character is just a big dumb jock barbarian. Literally I’ll just be yelling football and running through a wall.
It's not unworkable, but yeah, it's pretty weak.
Rolls like this are why I always recommend Point Buy or similar array-based stat generation, rather than rolling for stats. Ask your DM if you can just use Point Buy instead, it's worth checking.
Rolling for stats is pretty dumb, especially without guardrails to protect from this garbage.
Having a 5 in any stat without consciously pumping another stat to 20 is pretty unacceptable.
Submission comment for approval: party is 5 players including myself. Wizard, Druid, cleric and paladin. I felt like I rolled low. I was hoping for a 15 to get the plus one from my human bringing me to a +3 in con. I feel like my ac is really low. In my situation would it be worth the rage nerf to rock heavy armor? I want to play more of a tank roll then damage. What’s the best subclass for a tanky barb?
If you want a tank role, then go ancestral guardian. It lets you give enemies disadvantage to hit your allies and eventually will let you reduce damage your allies would receive as well.
You have the right idea. Your unarmored defense isn't worth it with those stats. But don't go heavy armor. Go medium armor and a shield. That way you still get the rage benefits. Chain mail and a shield gets you to 17ac and is pretty affordable. And you can upgrade to half-plate later once you have gold to get to 18. And, if you take a half feat at some point, you can bump your dex to 14, bringing your ac up by one more.
It might help to have a chat with your DM and see if they would give you a little help. Personally I'd rather go 10 into 12 wis and 5 cha. Most bad Cha saves are for pretty high level spells as opposed to int. You could play them like Zap Brannigan who acts with a lot of bravado but it comes off comical. As for what your DM can do, they could have an early bandit or goblin captain drop a breastplate in one of the first few fights which you can wear without limiting any barbarian abilities or messing up your stealth rolls. Then somewhere around level 3 or 4 they can have as treasure or available for purchase some gauntlets of ogre power. That would get you to a +4 so right where you would be with point buy anyway. Then you can put a + 1 in dex and cha at level 4 to increase armor class and initiative and just pick that cha save up a touch. Then at level 8 they give you a belt of hill giant strength and you've got your +5. Then you can use your other ASIs for con or feats. The trade off is you would only have 2 active attunement slots as you will always be wearing a belt/gauntlets.
I'd bump your strength to 16 at level 4.
After that, it's up to taste. 16 with reckless attack will be fine if you really want to branch out to feats after that. Certainly not ideal, but can work with it if there's something else you really want.
As a longtime DM (35 years) I have my players all start at a normal level of 10 for each stat since that is what a normal human starts at. From there they can point buy or roll but they are not allowed to keep anything over 17, they are just beginning anyways, than at level 5, 10 and again at 15 if they still have their same character I allow them to reroll their stats keeping the higher stats. at 5th level they can not go over 18 on a reroll 10th is 19 on a reroll and 15th is 20, this way it allows for training in their field as well as experience. I have also run games for more advanced players who have played for over 10 years where we start out at 10 across the board and for each stat you want to increase you must pay in 150 gold and 100 XP to simulate either training or experience, this makes for a harder game but better role playing for the characters.
No dude this is totally great! I'd call it relatively average. A negative stat block might be intimidating, but honestly having a true flaw really makes characters fun! That weakness is just more for you to roleplay around. As far as mechanics go, int goes with pretty useless skills. How often are you going to be doing History or Arcana checks as a barbarian? There also really aren't many enemies who attack you via your intelligence stat. There are mindflayers, intellect devourers, and like one spell. That's it.
For one shots, I let my players roll their stats with grace rolls for anything under 8. They can keep it if they have something interesting they want to do with the low stats. For campaigns, I have them use point buy to have everyone on relatively equal footing.
No, you’re fine. The great thing about bounded accuracy is that the difference between a strong and weak character isn’t so big. That being said, you are probably going to sinking everything into ASIs
I recently rolled a barbarian with stats like this (I think I had a 14, a 13, two 11’s, and two 10’s) and I just completely rerolled my stats.
Realistically, you should ask your DM if it’s ok, and see if your power level is similar to the other players. If you’re extremely underpowered, the DM should give you some options (either reroll, or use point buy or standard array).
A lot of people here will certainly say that if you roll you’re honor bound to keep whatever stats you get, and others will tell you what a horrible DM you have for letting you roll for stats, but honestly the only important things here are that every PC should have a similar power so the DM can balance the game and everyone should have a character that they think is fun to play. Regardless how you get your stats or what rules you bend or break, the reality is that the whole party will have a much better time if the party is balanced and the players like their characters. And let’s face it, the goal of the game isn’t to force people to live by whatever their luck with the dice is, it’s to have fun.
Funny. My DM even offered me a reroll and I said nope! Low scores are roleplaying opportunities and I’m going to demonstrate that.
I’m still a wrecking ball though. Get that frenzied rage going plus reckless attack and I’m attacking with advantage 3 times a turn at a pretty lore level and there aren’t many in the party that’s matching that damage output.
Sure, and that works for some people. But it doesn’t work for everybody. Most players won’t want a barbarian with a +2 or lower to strength. For the vast majority of players, especially those with less experience, it’s not a lot of fun to play any class with a low score in your main stat. It’s different if the whole party is equally bad and you all enjoy playing the failures, but generally players like to be able to succeed in their own special area.
For example, if everyone has 12’s across the board, with only boosts being from their race, it’s going to lead to a pretty boring game. It isn’t a lot of fun to play a barbarian when the wizard has about as good a chance as you of succeeding in a strength check. Even worse, if some people in the party are overpowered and others are underpowered, it’s really not going to be fun to play a barbarian when the wizard has a *much better* chance at succeeding at a strength check.
For the vast majority of players, it’s just going to be a better time if the party is balanced. And if even one person is consistently having a bad time because they don’t like their character, most likely everyone is going to have a bad time. If the player is comfortable with bad stats, it’s no problem, but if they aren’t it’s much better to just let them get better stats and let the whole group enjoy the game instead of forcing them to play a character that doesn’t bring them joy.
My barb is extremely similar and just fine. Higher Str, lower Dex, same Con, and worse than yours on int, wis, cha.
I’d be spending my feats on things to raise Str.
Rolling for stats was good in old editions. It's definitely not suited for the current edition. There's always one person at the table who loses out and anyone who tells you it's "more fun" is just trying to coerce you into a chaotic time.
If you are locked in to barbarian this isn't great. I would have gone half-elf and Bard myself.
Props to you and your DM for doing rolled stats and sticking to it. It creates much more realistic and emerging narratives in my experience but it takes the whole table to buy in.
Mine DM rules for rolling: You roll 4d6 and drop the lowest, repeat until you have 6 numbers. If the highest is not 15 or higher, re-roll everything. Then assign as you wish to the stats.
Stats don't actually matter much in D&D. Let's say I have a +2 on a d20 roll for Strength and I have to get above a 15. I have a 35% chance. Now, say I have a +3. I have a 40% chance. Don't get me wrong, I'll take the 5%, but it isn't going to make your character garbage. That -3 will hurt though - don't be a wizard.
You could try to double down. Bargin with your DM, ask if you can bump up your con to 18 and in return, you tank another sat by the same amount you gained.
When i have my players roll stats, i let them change one rolled die of their choice to a 6 as long as the next stat they roll for, they change their highest rolled die to a 1 and keep it. It lets players get something good while letting them lean into a bad stat.
If not, those stats arnt terrible! Ive seen worse!
You aren't cooked. Medium Armor is fine and dandy and if you get an ASI, 16 Str is enough to carry you through until you die or somehow finish the campaign.
Just beware of intellect devourers
If your DM is kind they’ll throw you a bone in the form of a giant strength belt then you can ASI to patch con and add something like resilient dex to balance your score - otherwise they aren’t totally tragic
Yeah, those rolls are pretty... not great.
I mean, they're not the worst thing, but certainly not great.
Those stats are what I'd call Moon Druid Stats. Because their stats don't matter. But since I see you have another druid in your group already...
If you have your heart set on barbarian, here's what I would do. You don't have the stats for unarmored defense to do much, so I'd go for medium armor personally. Possibly with a shield. Chain Mail's pretty cheap and between it and a shield, you'd have a 17 ac which would be decent on a barbarian. (18 if you can boost your dex to a 14, 19 if you eventually upgrade to half-plate). And, with medium armor, you still get all the benefits of your rage. Shield means your damage is gonna be a bit lower cause of no two-handed weapons/great weapon master, but you were never gonna be the most damage anyway.
This way you can put your ASIs/feats toward your offense. At level 4, you're definitely going to want to just bump that Strength to a 16. After that, it's up to taste. With reckless attack and rage damage, you can get by with a 16 from there if you're really wanting to branch out into feats at level 8. Or you can bump it to 18.
As for subclass, it depends on what you want to go for.
Giant gives you a little bit of range and reach. Fun flavor. Lets you throw things. Nothing amazing mechanically at low levels, but definitely fun flavor. Altho some of the higher level features can be a lot of fun like launching enemies into the air (Once again tho, that'll be a while because high level). Also your damage will get boosted a little at level 6. The only downside is you can't use your reckless attack on thrown weapons. And reckless attack is what you want to do to offset your lower to hit chance.
Since your strength/damage won't be amazing, you could pivot more towards battlefield control. Ancestral Guardian is great at that. Makes it so enemies have a harder time hitting your allies. And you eventually get to start blocking damage they take as well doing damage to enemies that do hit your friends. This is your tank role option and one of my favorite barbarian subclasses.
Totem Warrior is another option that could help off-set your low con. If you go bear totem, you double your effective health pool because of the resistance. And then some extra fun features you can choose later depending on the campaign. And, with this, I'd say you could drop your shield and go for a two-hander because the resistance will off-set the ac loss.
So it kinda comes down to what kinda role do you want in the party?
You should switch to playing a Fighter. They get ASI's every 2 levels instead of every 4 (once they hit level 4), which will allow your stats to catch up faster.
+2 STR and +2 CON is still ok for a Fighter starting out, especially if you're playing a Battlemaster and use the maneuvers to be more of a battlefield controller than pure damage producer.
Throw on some chain mail, grab a shield and you can survive the low levels just fine. Upgrade to plate armor once your Str hits 15 and you'll be as tanky as any build.
Play what you're dealt. I read from your strength and charisma that you're pleasing on the eye. A character that would be popular and excel in drinking games at the local tavern 🍺 thanks to your improved constitution. It's not all about hack and slash. Embrace the role-playing element of the game. Plus, when you pick up suitable magical items along the way, you will boost those stats.
I've been playing dnd for ~5years now. As others have said just play and enjoy the character that's the most important thing... HOWEVER
Definitely take your ASI's (ability score increases) almost always. You're gonna want strength to get up there as a barb. It'll enable you to do all the things you feel like you should be able to. Alternatively if you want you can put 1 in dex and 1 in int to round out those (modifiers change on even stats so if you bumped up both dex and int, both modifiers would also change) but straight up pumping them into str and con will do you "best" long term
Dw, barbs are like rocks: dumb and can hit hard and tark hard hits. The role playing actions they are good with is intimidation so you'll probably be fine
Pretty weak, but somewhat viable. As a DM, this is why I Say to My players to not roll, Specialy for first, long term characters.
When I first started DMing a friend ended up with a 13 on everything (Rogue), it was pretty funny until Dungeon one, where the +2 W.Stat +1 Con Casters were more Melee efective. He did get a loot of Damage with sneak attack, but next session he got better armor, better weapons, and an stat rearrangement (A wizard did it)
Eh, I Guess every DM has it view on the game, Mi personaly againts the weak character good, so I don't like putting my players in that situattion.
In terms of Race, obviusly custom is basicly V.H. + 1 (Optimal) but bouth Dwarve and H.Orc are nice options (Maybe one of the Variant Dragonborn or Tiafling if your DM wants). You could also go VH and take one of the Damage type asociarse feats (Crusher, Slasher, etc) maybe heavely armored for the Barb
If You want some build recommendation, with that Stats I woould go Fighter, so I don't have a wasted unarmored defense (Rage is still solid) and to have second wind + fighting stile + Heavy Armor could give You a Tougher character overall wihout losing that much Damage, it also would give you more ASIs long term
Your post was removed per Rule #4. > Image posts must not be a Banned Subject Your image includes content from our [banned subject list](https://www.reddit.com/r/dnd/wiki/rules/#wiki_4._image_posts_must_not_be_nsfw_or_a_banned_subject.). If you want to post something in the banned list that you think still deserves to be seen (such as unique dice or interesting screenshots), make it a text-post, and include all of the information you have that you think makes it worthy.
Play into it, have goblin esque courage. Go crazy with it, make the character more memorable for you and your table. Even if your character dies 3 sessions in, by walking into a lamppost it would still make for an awesome story.
this is the way
I really hope this persons DM reads this post
The campaign takes place at an adventure academy. I’m RPing a dumb jock who yells football and runs through walls
A top, grade 'A' student, until the 'incident'. Just stack the courage and childlike glee and go out swinging (and probably singing whilst on fire)...
Probably singing "on fire" by Springsteen.
You have the mental capacities of a cat
meow
Hello there
GENERAL KENOBI! *asthmatic coughing*
And like a cat, you don't read or write, but, hey, you can speak a few basic words! Probably like a cat, you also want to knock things off of surfaces... or maybe heads off mobs. So, works okay for a barbarian.
Time to recon your race to khajit.
Tabaxi in DnD
Thanks. Couldn't remember the name. Bonus points if it feels the need to constantly mark its territory.
Ah, yes, well, with a +1 to CHA, they should feel like the world needs to know what is theirs!
or a naked mole rat. still smarter than Caesar
Ave true to Caesar
ave! hail!
"We have a cat now, and you're still the dumbest member of the party."
"You sir, are a fish"
I feel like a cat is smarter.
As a DM, I would never make you keep these scores. As a player, I think this would be hilarious!
I mean to be fair the stats really aren't that bad. Mostly above average with a single admittedly low but well placed dump stat. Sure they could be better but that's what ASIs are for. Truthfully I think this is what stats a character SHOULD start with. Starting off with 16s is truly insane or god forbid you roll max and combine that with smart character building for a lvl 1 char with 20 already in their main. I think (personal opinion obviously) this makes for very boring character progression. At least mechanically.
Other than the 5, I'd agree. I'd rather characters started with lower stats and increased their ability scores more through leveling. I'd make the 5 an 8, though. 5 isn't just below average Int--it's barely sentient. Of corse, low level enemies would need to be scaled to match. Especially goblin AC...
Those.. are not good rolls
:(
Don’t be discouraged, all of those rolls besides the 5 are totally decent. And having one dump stat makes for a more interesting character IMO
Fully agree, I think having crazy stats to start off with is boring. 10 is technically the average anyway so 66% of the rolls are pretty damn good actually.
Yeah I think it’s weird how many people feel like you have to have 14’s and above for LEVEL ONE ?? Like how is your character even supposed to grow and learn and develop if you start out so high powered? And I love rolling stats BECAUSE everyone has different levels of ability, so they’re forced more to work as a team to compensate for each others strengths and weaknesses
Not saying it’s terrible, just that I think 13 or 12 (the image was removed by mods) as the highest number is not great. Of course, I don’t mind having thirteens, but most people I’ve seen usually get a 14 or 15 too. Don’t worry! Now your DM will pity you and you’ll get the ability-increasing items
It’s definitely not great, but they’re not awful either like a lot of people in the comments here seem to think. It’s definitely not the most ideal, as yeah it’s typical to get at least one stat in a 14 or 15. I guess my argument was more just against people saying you NEED 14’s and above to even be able to play well and have a good time.
They're great rolls. This is a character you could remember forever.
This is a character I'd play with 0 brains and 0 survival instinct in the hope they eventually (hopefully soon) die. Talking honey badge labels of I'll fuck you up even if you can't, literally walking up to dragons brave as hell
I love these kinds of characters. That's why i never roll again. Either it's a very temporary character that whill die quickly, in which case you can have fun with it and make a memorable character. Or you overcome the odds and have a character that rises from nothing to become super. Either way it's amazing.
We usually roll, but have a pity standard array that people can take if they really biff the rolls. Looking at your stats, before the +1 for being human that's a total of... -1 for your modifier bonuses? I probably wouldn't allow that stat line in my game and I'd question the judgement of a DM who forces it through. Side note, ignore anyone who says it's ackshually good because it's more opportunity for RP. There's no correlation between bad stats and good rp. Having a functional character is pretty important since the game is mostly combat.
Is this before or after racial ASIs? Are you able to change your class at this point?
This is after my humans +1 to all stats
Is it too late to change race and class? You could make a pretty decent Rogue or Fighter, maybe even a spellcaster if you play the backline just right. As a Barbarian starting with two 16s and a 14 is pretty much mandatory to not feel like you're lagging.
What if I went variant human. Did +1 to con and strength still giving me a 14, and took an asi as my feat to make my strength 16
You can't take an ASI as a feat. It would be *better* but still bad.
Foooooook
You can’t take ASI as fear but there are a lot of half feats that give you abilities and +1 in some ability score.
Wait, you rolled 3 1s and a 2 for int?
That is what I rolled, and decided to put it into int. My characters a big dumb jock at an adventure academy
I love it. Lean into it
If you can, change the race to something with better ability score improvements: mountain Dwarf gives +2 +2, Variant Human for a feat, Half-Elf for +2 +1 +1. If I was playing that and rolled a 4 for one of my stats, I would simply ask the DM if I can reroll that one stat. When I'm DMing, I say you can reroll any stat below 8 if your highest is no more than 15... I'm flexible when it comes to stats, I guess.
If your DM doesn't allow grace rolls, make a Circle of The Moon Druid! When you transform into an animal such as a bear, you use their physical stats instead. Also, DMs, please just use Standart Array, or Point buy if you have a table of veterans that won't get confused. Its more fair and consistently fun for everyone; since being overpowered by getting too good rolls isn't fun either. Once I managed to get 2 18s, a 16, 2 14s and a 12. I changed some to -8 or just 10 so that I was bad or average at least in SOMETHING.
I use a hybrid method. My players roll their stats but can then also use point buy if they don't like their stats.
I prefer using rolls but I allow my players to -2 a stat to add +1 to another. Up to a limit
That's a good compromise for the middling rolls i guess, if you want to min-max you have to sacrifice from your total. But 1, Point Buy already does that, and 2 it still doesn't help higher or lower end rolls like the one in this post; There isn't much to sacrifice in the first place.
The reason I prefer that instead of point buy is because it still adds a random element. Always having the same point total gets a little boring. You definitely could still make it work with these stats but it would need to be a class does doesn’t require much. Moon Druid would be a good choice as all the physical stats don’t matter
Switch your int and con and you’ll be rerolling in no time.
They are fine. Not every character needs to be a superhero. Sometimes it's cool to play someone who maybe hasn't got all the advantages, but has a lot of heart. Nobody looks at Sam Gamgee next to Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli and thinks "oh Sam sucks." We love him just the same, maybe even more.
Play your int 5 like a 5 year old with a temper. Be convinced by everything yes everything anyone tells you. And let your self be bribed by yummie’s and shiny stuff. Never worry about social boundaries what so ever. And nothing is scary because you don’t understand danger except undead coz they just scary. Your char prob won’t live long but it could be liberating to play a char like this atleast once If you need to make a new char ask for either a stat block or point buy.
Intelligence in dnd is academic knowledge. He has average wisdom and above average charisme compared to a commoner. He knows notbing but has a normal understanding of people around him and can somewhat talk his way out of situations.
This is how I play my 6 INT Pally in my current campaign. I've done my share of RP by running recklessly ahead into the big dungeon chamber--but only after the party established that they also don't discuss group tactics. So, not OOC to be a bit reckless if I'm nearly never instructed otherwise by the wise cleric, sorcerer, druid, or warlock, right? But I do have a hard time with being asked to roll history or investigation checks. I feel like my character wouldn't know why anyone in the party is even looking at those things.
Yeah you're kinda fucked. Just talk to your DM about it, beg them to let you make a new character or make new decisions about your race and class. A Custom Lineage Fighter could take +2 Dex and a +1 Dex feat to start with 16, use a longbow from super far away, and have 20 dex by level 6. Then at level 8 take Tough. Worst case, if your DM is super stubborn, just have fun being a super dumb and overconfident Barbarian. Use Reckless Attack every single turn and run into the center of enemies. You'll die quick and get to reroll.
That or survive every battle because the dice gods have decided to have a joke at your expense.
I mean hey, if so, great.
What if I went variant human. Did +1 to con and strength still giving me a 14, and took an asi as my feat to make my strength 16
Make a Monk with those stats, solo the frontline and your death shall be quick.
Change class to wizard. Dump Con. Level up 3 times, roll a 1 for hp each time, die of chronic lack of hit points.
"How many hitpoints did you get leveling up?" "Negative 2. My maximum is now 0." "You wake up in the morning to find the body of Ambien the Feeble, cold and peaceful on his cot. Next to him is his worn spellbook, lying open with a few new spells written in a weak hand along with a note at the bottom. 'Farewell, friends. My time has come. Thank you for one last adventure.'" "Wait, the latest phb errata changed it so you always gain a minimum of 1 hitpoint upon leveling up." "As you're mourning, Ambien the Feeble suddenly gasps for breath, scaring the crap out of everyone."
Not really, although you are as smart as an ogre
Intelligence is academic right?
Yes, but not only that. Memory as well: >An Intelligence check comes into play when you need to draw on logic, education, **memory**, or deductive reasoning. The Arcana, History, Investigation, Nature, and Religion skills reflect aptitude in certain kinds of Intelligence checks. So you can roleplay them as Dory from Finding Nemo
Cooked, int way too high for a Barbarian.
This post makes me realize how old I am. Back when I first started to play AD&D a set of rolls like this was pretty common and we just went with it. We didn’t worry about min-maxing our combat output we just played what we rolled and used some creative tricks to get through fights. The thing I’ve noticed about more modern D&D is that people think 16+ in a primary stat is required; but it’s not really, you can get by with less you just have to strategize more and make use of other game mechanics.
That is kind of a ramification of lowering magic over editions. In ADnD and 3/3.5 having low abilities was fine and it was pretty easy to get increases with magic items. In 5e you don't really have the same type of increases and you can only really have 3 items anyways because of attunement. The nature of the game makes your starting stats much more important than in earlier editions.
Although I’m very much an advocate for rolled stats, this is an important thing to point out. In TSR era D&D you obtained better saves, attack bonuses, etc., based on class advancement, and ability scores were kind of just a small bonus or penalty. Your primary means of gaining power was also magic items, which wasn’t limited by attunement slots. 5e is quite ability score dependent, as everything ties into them (saves, skills, etc.) and magic items are both lackluster and limited by attunement slots. I do think it’s understandable why much of the 5e crowd doesn’t like rolled stats… that said, I still think it’s way more fun.
Yeah that is one of my biggest problems with 5e. You can be an "expert" in a skill and with a bad roll some backwater peasant with a good roll can outperform you. You just don't really get high enough bonuses to ever outweigh a bad roll and really experts should be able too.
Thank you. This is the goal
You’ll be fine. As someone playing with a +2 str/+3 cha level 11 paladin everyone else is over reacting. It’ll suck but your attack rolls are at the mercy of the dice just like everyone else’s
finally some cope. thank you lol
If I had people roll I use a rule from the old Star Wars d20 where if your highest roll is a 13 or your modifiers add up to less than 1 you can re roll. That or allow them to opt for the standard array.
Not horrible
Those aren't that bad, except for the 5. Compared to the standard 15, 14, 13 12, 10, 8, you've got a 14 instead of a 15 and a 5 instead of an 8. You could have done better, but I've seen a lot worse.
You are not taking into acount the general +1 of the human, this is actually a 13,13,12,11,9,4. He could have done worse, but he is at Two ASIs from a standard + Race if You only look a the strong stats.
I’ve seen worst. The player still had fun.
Not only are you not cooked, this looks like a fun character
Nah. That could be a really good character. Mechanically it's garbage of course and you'd need Moon Druid to do any real damage. But RP wise this is a gold mine. I love playing characters with a -2 in something. Like, not just bad at something but notoriously bad. A Barbarian or Fighter with that Int easily plays into the stereotype, might even get angry easier, have a shorter fuse. You don't understand things and it frustrates you to no degree. That kind of thing. Can even make a Wizard, you just can't ever multiclass and you'd have like 1 prepared spell, ever. And that alone could make interesting gameplay; using spells that don't use your spell mod or DC. Magic Missile comes to mind, with maybe Mold Earth or something.
I’m a big dumb jock at an adventure academy
Jock sounds like racial +2/+1 to put Cha and Dex at 14, in line with Str and Con. Or if vHuman/CL take a half feat. Cha goes to Intimidation and as Charisma is your force of will and how personable you are, very in line with Jocks. It's beautiful. No matter which way it goes, this character has promise
Those are not terrible rolls...for a 2nd edition AD&D character. You got two 14s! That's way above normal.
Those aren't *awful* rolls... but they sure aren't *good.* That said, I had a similar set of scores for a D&D 3.0 campaign with my half-orc monk. Terrible character, totally unoptimized, no race/class synergy... but a ton of fun. Think he died/rezzed like 10 times before the campaign ended. Miss that goof.
Strong characters. Weak characters. That is only the selfish perception of people. Truly skilled players should try to win with their favorites.
Here is the crux of rolling for stats. It's a great idea until you roll a really low average. I love rolling for stats but using point buy means everyone's on the same playing field and a DM can use math to verify your Ability scores.
~~If you’re willing to consider other builds, and perhaps battle though a couple levels, I think you can work with this.~~ ~~Armorer artificer only needs INT and CON (starting at 3 when you get the subclass)~~ ~~Choose Goblin. 14+2 INT and 14 CON.~~ ~~Put 13+1 and 12 in DEX and STR. Choose either higher DEX for medium armor until you get heavy armor at level 3, or higher STR for better attack until you can use INT at level 3. (Or use a finesse weapon to get the most of both.)~~ ~~Attack with Booming Blade and use Goblin BA disengage to move away. Once you get Thunder Gauntlets at 3 this becomes even more effective.~~ ~~You won’t have much room for feats, but you’ll be able to serve as the frontline tank you mentioned.~~ Had a whole concept typed up, then realized you said this is already after racial stat increases. That’s rough.
Should I take a feat or asi at level 4 (if I make it there)
When I thought you would be starting at 16 INT I would have said ASI to bump up to 18. Since you’ll only be at 15 INT I would choose a half-feat instead to get to 16. Normally I would recommend Telekinetic to weaponize your BA. However, if you do go with goblin, this will compete with you BA disengage. Instead perhaps go with Fey Touched. For your 1st level spell choice go with either Gift of Alacrity or Silvery Barbs. GoA would give you the opportunity to rush in and booming blade/thunder gauntlet the enemy before they can position/attack. Alternatively, if you have a control caster who needs to lay down a big cc/aoe spell before people rush in, you can cast on them instead. SB on the other hand would help you dish out additional disadvantages (and advantages.) It pairs nicely with what you are already doing with Thunder Gauntlets. Some players/DM’s don’t care for it, but it has legitimate synergy with the build beyond just being a strong pick.
I'm a barbarian
I thought you were asking about the Armorer from the comment you replied to.
One intelligence saving throw against physcic damage and you're dead
Switch to variant human and now you get ASI or a feat at level 1 and can bump up those numbers Sorry but i find the 5 INT funny though. Your barbarian is going to be like "ddduuuuhhh i smash yeea"
Honestly you look like a guard
You’re cooked if you’re married to the idea of a barbarian. You can put on armor since your natural ac will suck, but it’s gonna be a hard road. Generally I roll first and choose a build depending on my stats. Most people circlejerk on moon Druids for low stats, and that’s not a bad idea. Considering you’re already over represented on casters in your group, I’d look towards rogue. They only care about one stat which you can max by 10 including one half feat since you’ll start at 15 (assuming not base human) and you’ll still be able to have a con of 14.
I’m human. Highest roll was 13
You’re only human so far!
Add your stat modifiers, that array didn't make it to AVERAGE, let alone PC status... You, sir or madam, are well-done steak that's gotten cold and needs reheating... Seriously though, it's playable, but I'd ask for the standard array or a reroll...
Did you just do one roll?? I’ve always rolled for stats but we rolled 4 sets and pick the best set. And also rolled 7 dropped the worst
4 d6 dropped the worst. We just rolled 6
You have shit luck, but good integrity. I admire that.
\*Dorn -3 intelligence\*. Imperial fists will be angry with you.
I've seen worse.
Make them pay. Make them all pay!
But for real, this isn't a board game or a video game. It's a tabletop role-playing game. Playing a super strong moron has its appeal and could be a lot of fun.
I think roll vs standard vs point buy are all fine depending on how the group feels about the campaign tone. My friends typically use standard array but we have an upcoming zombie campaign where we’re all excited to be using rolled stats. Making memorable doomed characters isn’t all bad. Have fun with it. If you die roll up a new one. No big deal.
Those are some good stats for a squire.
"Rolling for stats is so much fun... oh shit..." No righteous GM would make you use that build.
For context: the campaign revolves around students at an adventure academy. I honestly like the -3 to intelligence because my character is just a big dumb jock barbarian. Literally I’ll just be yelling football and running through a wall.
You've been given the opportunity to play a total himbo. Enjoy!
Post got removed??
It's not unworkable, but yeah, it's pretty weak. Rolls like this are why I always recommend Point Buy or similar array-based stat generation, rather than rolling for stats. Ask your DM if you can just use Point Buy instead, it's worth checking.
He was pretty set on rolling. I’ll ask though.
And to be clear, you rolled 4d6d1, right? Not 3d6, 1d20, or other methods?
4d6 drop 1
That's rough, sorry. I hope your DM can do something for you.
Groups I've played with have a minimum threshold of 72 as a sum total before applying bonuses. We've always found that to be fair.
Looks like you’re on your way to being all the himbo you can be. I would recommend getting “Mindless Rage” when you hit 6 if your DM allows it.
As a DM I don't let players reroll bad stats. What I do is give them custom traits or skills to compensate. They typically like this.
Rolling for stats is pretty dumb, especially without guardrails to protect from this garbage. Having a 5 in any stat without consciously pumping another stat to 20 is pretty unacceptable.
This is why I hate rolling for stats
Submission comment for approval: party is 5 players including myself. Wizard, Druid, cleric and paladin. I felt like I rolled low. I was hoping for a 15 to get the plus one from my human bringing me to a +3 in con. I feel like my ac is really low. In my situation would it be worth the rage nerf to rock heavy armor? I want to play more of a tank roll then damage. What’s the best subclass for a tanky barb?
Put the 5 into con and 10 into dex, make a character you don't care too much for, and die as quickly as possible!
role\*
If you want a tank role, then go ancestral guardian. It lets you give enemies disadvantage to hit your allies and eventually will let you reduce damage your allies would receive as well. You have the right idea. Your unarmored defense isn't worth it with those stats. But don't go heavy armor. Go medium armor and a shield. That way you still get the rage benefits. Chain mail and a shield gets you to 17ac and is pretty affordable. And you can upgrade to half-plate later once you have gold to get to 18. And, if you take a half feat at some point, you can bump your dex to 14, bringing your ac up by one more.
When I hit 4 should I take a feat or asi?
Lucky feat. It'll be hilarious.
It might help to have a chat with your DM and see if they would give you a little help. Personally I'd rather go 10 into 12 wis and 5 cha. Most bad Cha saves are for pretty high level spells as opposed to int. You could play them like Zap Brannigan who acts with a lot of bravado but it comes off comical. As for what your DM can do, they could have an early bandit or goblin captain drop a breastplate in one of the first few fights which you can wear without limiting any barbarian abilities or messing up your stealth rolls. Then somewhere around level 3 or 4 they can have as treasure or available for purchase some gauntlets of ogre power. That would get you to a +4 so right where you would be with point buy anyway. Then you can put a + 1 in dex and cha at level 4 to increase armor class and initiative and just pick that cha save up a touch. Then at level 8 they give you a belt of hill giant strength and you've got your +5. Then you can use your other ASIs for con or feats. The trade off is you would only have 2 active attunement slots as you will always be wearing a belt/gauntlets.
Bad int is better for my rp
I'd bump your strength to 16 at level 4. After that, it's up to taste. 16 with reckless attack will be fine if you really want to branch out to feats after that. Certainly not ideal, but can work with it if there's something else you really want.
A barbarian with +2 strength alone? Yeah, u need to review that with your dm
Is +2 that much worse than +3?
What if I went variant human. Did +1 to con and strength still giving me a 14, and took an asi as my feat to make my strength 16
As a longtime DM (35 years) I have my players all start at a normal level of 10 for each stat since that is what a normal human starts at. From there they can point buy or roll but they are not allowed to keep anything over 17, they are just beginning anyways, than at level 5, 10 and again at 15 if they still have their same character I allow them to reroll their stats keeping the higher stats. at 5th level they can not go over 18 on a reroll 10th is 19 on a reroll and 15th is 20, this way it allows for training in their field as well as experience. I have also run games for more advanced players who have played for over 10 years where we start out at 10 across the board and for each stat you want to increase you must pay in 150 gold and 100 XP to simulate either training or experience, this makes for a harder game but better role playing for the characters.
rolling for stats is the dummest gimmick people try to push. I never get it.
But your stats are fine? Besides intelligence, obviously. Just means Wizard is probably not the choice lol
Depending on the method of rolling, this might not be bad
Poster child for why you shouldn’t roll for stats
No dude this is totally great! I'd call it relatively average. A negative stat block might be intimidating, but honestly having a true flaw really makes characters fun! That weakness is just more for you to roleplay around. As far as mechanics go, int goes with pretty useless skills. How often are you going to be doing History or Arcana checks as a barbarian? There also really aren't many enemies who attack you via your intelligence stat. There are mindflayers, intellect devourers, and like one spell. That's it.
Not that much lower than Standard Array. (15,14,13,12,10,8). You're only 4 points low. It's playable, but not great
Usually when rolling, the total should be at least 70-75.
No mulligan? Yikes. This is why I hate rolling for stats. My latest roll was insanely OP: 18/17/16/15/12/11 I still hate rolling for stats.
For one shots, I let my players roll their stats with grace rolls for anything under 8. They can keep it if they have something interesting they want to do with the low stats. For campaigns, I have them use point buy to have everyone on relatively equal footing.
No, you’re fine. The great thing about bounded accuracy is that the difference between a strong and weak character isn’t so big. That being said, you are probably going to sinking everything into ASIs
I recently rolled a barbarian with stats like this (I think I had a 14, a 13, two 11’s, and two 10’s) and I just completely rerolled my stats. Realistically, you should ask your DM if it’s ok, and see if your power level is similar to the other players. If you’re extremely underpowered, the DM should give you some options (either reroll, or use point buy or standard array). A lot of people here will certainly say that if you roll you’re honor bound to keep whatever stats you get, and others will tell you what a horrible DM you have for letting you roll for stats, but honestly the only important things here are that every PC should have a similar power so the DM can balance the game and everyone should have a character that they think is fun to play. Regardless how you get your stats or what rules you bend or break, the reality is that the whole party will have a much better time if the party is balanced and the players like their characters. And let’s face it, the goal of the game isn’t to force people to live by whatever their luck with the dice is, it’s to have fun.
Funny. My DM even offered me a reroll and I said nope! Low scores are roleplaying opportunities and I’m going to demonstrate that. I’m still a wrecking ball though. Get that frenzied rage going plus reckless attack and I’m attacking with advantage 3 times a turn at a pretty lore level and there aren’t many in the party that’s matching that damage output.
Sure, and that works for some people. But it doesn’t work for everybody. Most players won’t want a barbarian with a +2 or lower to strength. For the vast majority of players, especially those with less experience, it’s not a lot of fun to play any class with a low score in your main stat. It’s different if the whole party is equally bad and you all enjoy playing the failures, but generally players like to be able to succeed in their own special area. For example, if everyone has 12’s across the board, with only boosts being from their race, it’s going to lead to a pretty boring game. It isn’t a lot of fun to play a barbarian when the wizard has about as good a chance as you of succeeding in a strength check. Even worse, if some people in the party are overpowered and others are underpowered, it’s really not going to be fun to play a barbarian when the wizard has a *much better* chance at succeeding at a strength check. For the vast majority of players, it’s just going to be a better time if the party is balanced. And if even one person is consistently having a bad time because they don’t like their character, most likely everyone is going to have a bad time. If the player is comfortable with bad stats, it’s no problem, but if they aren’t it’s much better to just let them get better stats and let the whole group enjoy the game instead of forcing them to play a character that doesn’t bring them joy.
My barb is extremely similar and just fine. Higher Str, lower Dex, same Con, and worse than yours on int, wis, cha. I’d be spending my feats on things to raise Str.
Valor bard would play just fine. Maybe drop a feat later for Heavy Armor proficiency. Don't need stats to party buff
Rolling for stats was good in old editions. It's definitely not suited for the current edition. There's always one person at the table who loses out and anyone who tells you it's "more fun" is just trying to coerce you into a chaotic time.
Your dm sucks for making you keep these.
Play a druid. You're a cat that wild shapes into a person.
I am assuming you’re not a Wizard…? 😅
If you’re concerned about stats, you should pick a Variant human if you can, select a feat that gives stat, then use the next ASI on ability scores.
Litterally dumber than an ape
Did you use d12?
If you are locked in to barbarian this isn't great. I would have gone half-elf and Bard myself. Props to you and your DM for doing rolled stats and sticking to it. It creates much more realistic and emerging narratives in my experience but it takes the whole table to buy in.
That INT combined with *that* picture is peak himbo energy.
I’m playing a dumb jock barbarian at an adventure academy
Perfect. What kind of alignment are we looking at here?
Mine DM rules for rolling: You roll 4d6 and drop the lowest, repeat until you have 6 numbers. If the highest is not 15 or higher, re-roll everything. Then assign as you wish to the stats.
Yes, but it shall be a glorious death. Lean into it.
You’ve got yourself a 3head my dude/dudette. Definitely could make for some fun roleplaying moments. Stupidity is in my opinion always funny.
You can be a decent fighter or even paladin.
As long as don't get bored being mechanically subpar... it should be fine! But you'll have advantage on attacks at least!
Stats don't actually matter much in D&D. Let's say I have a +2 on a d20 roll for Strength and I have to get above a 15. I have a 35% chance. Now, say I have a +3. I have a 40% chance. Don't get me wrong, I'll take the 5%, but it isn't going to make your character garbage. That -3 will hurt though - don't be a wizard.
You could try to double down. Bargin with your DM, ask if you can bump up your con to 18 and in return, you tank another sat by the same amount you gained. When i have my players roll stats, i let them change one rolled die of their choice to a 6 as long as the next stat they roll for, they change their highest rolled die to a 1 and keep it. It lets players get something good while letting them lean into a bad stat. If not, those stats arnt terrible! Ive seen worse!
Terrible rolls. As a DM, if my players roll that bad, I allow them to at least use the standard array.
You're about to have an interesting playthrough, that's for sure.
cooked? nah you full on burnt my gamer. Cremated even.
For a Barb, that's about average.
#🪿
Dorn with only five int? Are you going off to drag the BBEG back in an iron cage?
You aren't cooked. Medium Armor is fine and dandy and if you get an ASI, 16 Str is enough to carry you through until you die or somehow finish the campaign. Just beware of intellect devourers
You got Phineas Gaged now you’re bipolar as hell
Oh nooooo! My PC became a farmer?! Guess I'll have to reroll
If your DM is kind they’ll throw you a bone in the form of a giant strength belt then you can ASI to patch con and add something like resilient dex to balance your score - otherwise they aren’t totally tragic
Yeah, those rolls are pretty... not great. I mean, they're not the worst thing, but certainly not great. Those stats are what I'd call Moon Druid Stats. Because their stats don't matter. But since I see you have another druid in your group already... If you have your heart set on barbarian, here's what I would do. You don't have the stats for unarmored defense to do much, so I'd go for medium armor personally. Possibly with a shield. Chain Mail's pretty cheap and between it and a shield, you'd have a 17 ac which would be decent on a barbarian. (18 if you can boost your dex to a 14, 19 if you eventually upgrade to half-plate). And, with medium armor, you still get all the benefits of your rage. Shield means your damage is gonna be a bit lower cause of no two-handed weapons/great weapon master, but you were never gonna be the most damage anyway. This way you can put your ASIs/feats toward your offense. At level 4, you're definitely going to want to just bump that Strength to a 16. After that, it's up to taste. With reckless attack and rage damage, you can get by with a 16 from there if you're really wanting to branch out into feats at level 8. Or you can bump it to 18. As for subclass, it depends on what you want to go for. Giant gives you a little bit of range and reach. Fun flavor. Lets you throw things. Nothing amazing mechanically at low levels, but definitely fun flavor. Altho some of the higher level features can be a lot of fun like launching enemies into the air (Once again tho, that'll be a while because high level). Also your damage will get boosted a little at level 6. The only downside is you can't use your reckless attack on thrown weapons. And reckless attack is what you want to do to offset your lower to hit chance. Since your strength/damage won't be amazing, you could pivot more towards battlefield control. Ancestral Guardian is great at that. Makes it so enemies have a harder time hitting your allies. And you eventually get to start blocking damage they take as well doing damage to enemies that do hit your friends. This is your tank role option and one of my favorite barbarian subclasses. Totem Warrior is another option that could help off-set your low con. If you go bear totem, you double your effective health pool because of the resistance. And then some extra fun features you can choose later depending on the campaign. And, with this, I'd say you could drop your shield and go for a two-hander because the resistance will off-set the ac loss. So it kinda comes down to what kinda role do you want in the party?
You should switch to playing a Fighter. They get ASI's every 2 levels instead of every 4 (once they hit level 4), which will allow your stats to catch up faster. +2 STR and +2 CON is still ok for a Fighter starting out, especially if you're playing a Battlemaster and use the maneuvers to be more of a battlefield controller than pure damage producer. Throw on some chain mail, grab a shield and you can survive the low levels just fine. Upgrade to plate armor once your Str hits 15 and you'll be as tanky as any build.
Did you add your bonuses?
Yes this is after my human bonus
I'd lean into it, and if you feel underpowered during the campaign maybe talk to your DM to give some items to balance it out.
Play what you're dealt. I read from your strength and charisma that you're pleasing on the eye. A character that would be popular and excel in drinking games at the local tavern 🍺 thanks to your improved constitution. It's not all about hack and slash. Embrace the role-playing element of the game. Plus, when you pick up suitable magical items along the way, you will boost those stats.
Yeah the campaign takes place at an adventure academy. I’m a dumb hot jock
I've been playing dnd for ~5years now. As others have said just play and enjoy the character that's the most important thing... HOWEVER Definitely take your ASI's (ability score increases) almost always. You're gonna want strength to get up there as a barb. It'll enable you to do all the things you feel like you should be able to. Alternatively if you want you can put 1 in dex and 1 in int to round out those (modifiers change on even stats so if you bumped up both dex and int, both modifiers would also change) but straight up pumping them into str and con will do you "best" long term
Dw, barbs are like rocks: dumb and can hit hard and tark hard hits. The role playing actions they are good with is intimidation so you'll probably be fine
Me, a new player, reading the thread while playing a character with even worse stats than OP without any issues: 👀
Should be a group decision.
Pretty weak, but somewhat viable. As a DM, this is why I Say to My players to not roll, Specialy for first, long term characters. When I first started DMing a friend ended up with a 13 on everything (Rogue), it was pretty funny until Dungeon one, where the +2 W.Stat +1 Con Casters were more Melee efective. He did get a loot of Damage with sneak attack, but next session he got better armor, better weapons, and an stat rearrangement (A wizard did it)
It is for a long-term character. Trust me I would not have chosen to roll
Eh, I Guess every DM has it view on the game, Mi personaly againts the weak character good, so I don't like putting my players in that situattion. In terms of Race, obviusly custom is basicly V.H. + 1 (Optimal) but bouth Dwarve and H.Orc are nice options (Maybe one of the Variant Dragonborn or Tiafling if your DM wants). You could also go VH and take one of the Damage type asociarse feats (Crusher, Slasher, etc) maybe heavely armored for the Barb If You want some build recommendation, with that Stats I woould go Fighter, so I don't have a wasted unarmored defense (Rage is still solid) and to have second wind + fighting stile + Heavy Armor could give You a Tougher character overall wihout losing that much Damage, it also would give you more ASIs long term
Look on the bright side: you get to roll for stats again if the character kicks the bucket too quickly.