Pretty much the title. I'm not sure if letting people start with an 18 (15 base +3 racial points) is going to break anything or not. It doesn't seem like it should, but it's entirely possible I'm missing something.
Doing so is not worse than letting them roll. Rolling randomly can literally give you a 20 in an initial stat, assuming you get 3 sixes out of 4 rolls. If you roll 4 dice, dropping the lowest, six times (one for each stat), then there is a 5% chance that you will get at least a single 18. If you pick a race that gets +2, you now start the game with a 20.
If you want to allow a +3, go for it. HOWEVER..
This changes the balance of the races. Races that let you choose are rare, and now they are suddenly more powerful. Consider upping their profile. Are they head of a huge empire? After all, their low level wizards are the smartest, their fighters the strongest, their low clergy the wisest, etc. Are they hated by all, jealous of their birthright? Are they an invading force taking over the world? etc. etc.
It depends on how you feel about min/maxing. The things that, by themselves, would break the game are pretty obvious. The most important issue this change would have for me is the effect it will have when I play at other tables. By upping your power level, will other tables now be less fun because your characters will be relatively weaker at the same character level? When you turn on God Mode in video games, does that eventually ruin the entire game for you, even after you return to normal mode? If it does, I'd stay away from anything that increases the power of characters compared to the RAW.
I hate cheat codes, they have ruined so many games for me I prefer to not even know they exist until I’ve played the game through to the end at least once or twice if at all ever.
Pretty much the title. I'm not sure if letting people start with an 18 (15 base +3 racial points) is going to break anything or not. It doesn't seem like it should, but it's entirely possible I'm missing something.
It won’t “break” anything, but it’ll be less fun for that player to level up their character because they’ll have less to look forward to.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
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Content Troubleshooting
Doing so is not worse than letting them roll. Rolling randomly can literally give you a 20 in an initial stat, assuming you get 3 sixes out of 4 rolls. If you roll 4 dice, dropping the lowest, six times (one for each stat), then there is a 5% chance that you will get at least a single 18. If you pick a race that gets +2, you now start the game with a 20.
If you want to allow a +3, go for it. HOWEVER..
This changes the balance of the races. Races that let you choose are rare, and now they are suddenly more powerful. Consider upping their profile. Are they head of a huge empire? After all, their low level wizards are the smartest, their fighters the strongest, their low clergy the wisest, etc. Are they hated by all, jealous of their birthright? Are they an invading force taking over the world? etc. etc.
It depends on how you feel about min/maxing. The things that, by themselves, would break the game are pretty obvious. The most important issue this change would have for me is the effect it will have when I play at other tables. By upping your power level, will other tables now be less fun because your characters will be relatively weaker at the same character level? When you turn on God Mode in video games, does that eventually ruin the entire game for you, even after you return to normal mode? If it does, I'd stay away from anything that increases the power of characters compared to the RAW.
I hate cheat codes, they have ruined so many games for me I prefer to not even know they exist until I’ve played the game through to the end at least once or twice if at all ever.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting