Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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My understanding of the Point Buy mechanic the max a person can "buy" is 15.
You're background can add another +2 to a stat (and +1 to a different stat). Meaning the highest would now be 17.
At level 1, or even up to level 3, I don't understand how a person (without magic items) could have an 18. A one shot I was in tonight had 2 level 3 characters with a stat that was 18, and a level 4 character had a 20 INT. (I can understand the 20 if he had a level 18 INT before level 4... but I don't think that is possible according to PHB.
Am I misinterpreting something? Or is there some other way to get an 18?
(As a side note I know the stupid character builder on this will allow you to add +2 to a stat and then +1 to the same stat... but that seems like a bug to me because even the builder clearly tells you to "Increase one of these scores by 2 and another one by 1..." Really wish WotC cared enough about their products to follow their own rules.)
The 2024 PHB gives 3 ways of getting your stats. Two out of the three will make an 18 on creation impossible. "Random Generation" (roll 4d6, drop lowest), however, does allow for an 18.
Did the DM question how they achieved 18? As this is important enough to post here, did you ask them how they got those stats?
I agree, if you use 27 point buy, 17 is the max. Some DMs do allow a higher amount to get above 15, but no idea how much 16+ costs and I assume they have more then 27 points to spend.
If your DM had everyone use point-buy and exclusively 2024 rules, with no magic items at level 3 or lower, the only way to get an 18 is, well, cheating. If they're new players this might not have been intentional, as - as you pointed out - DnDBeyond doesn't prevent you from putting your +2 and +1 in the same stat, even though that's not allowed per RAW.
If you're planning to play with this group/DM more in the future, might be worth asking them about it.
If you are the DM you should definitely ask them how they achieved that. It is possible that they misunderstood and added +3 to a single stat, since Character Builder allows that. It is also possible that they rolled 4d6 and dropped the lowest. As the DM I would have no problem saying 'we aren't using that method'. The only time I encounter it is with groups of friends where the rolls were typically done in front of the DM or where the DM has a very high degree of trust in the players. One-shots almost never use that mechanic because it is far too problematic (even if the player is being 'honest' it is way too easy to spend 30 minutes rolling up 50 complete sets of stats using 4d6 and dropping the lowest and then taking the best set of those 50 stats).
On the other hand, if you're the player, beyond a polite 'wow, how did you get those stats?', I would just let it go. The downside of pick up games is that sometimes you end up playing with people who you will find a bit on the problematic side, whether it is because they are min-maxing, super into roleplay, constantly looking up rules to make sure every i is dotted and t crossed, or something else*. Sometimes the groups just don't work out. If you find someone wildly problematic (and it doesn't sound that way in this case, just that they you found them somewhat problematic) then it is probably best to just make up an excuse and move on.
*To be clear, I said 'who you find' because I'm not making any judgements on people who do these activities. Everyone has different preferences for their play and all of these are valid as long as they don't degrade the experience of the group as a whole. That's why I said you should move on if you find the player extremely problematic, because if it just you and you make an issue of it, you are now the one degrading the experience of everyone else. Sometimes people just aren't compatible with a given group. It's not reflection on their character. They are just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Was it changelings that allowed +3 to a single stat?
One possible explanation is if the game allowed older expanded rules. In that case, you can select custom lineage and pick a feat that comes with a stat increase.
Under 2014 rules, this was possible (with point buy or standard array) with the Custom Origin race, choosing a "half feat" with a +1 that matched your chosen +2 ASI.
The DM for this one shot was a bit harried and wasn't really paying attention. He just let it go.
I did ask the player next to me how he got an 18 Dex. He said the character builder let him do it so it must be legal.
That’s a common belief. The character builder has quite a few places where it deviates from the actual rules. And it also has to accommodate house rules. As others said, some people allow point buy with more points and higher starting stats — it’s not cheating if your DM allows it.
I would even go a step further and say it isn't cheating if it is an honest mistake. That doesn't mean someone should continue to run with an honest mistake once it is found out, but I feel it really isn't fair to brand them as cheaters. We all make mistakes.
I appreciate everyone's input on this. Thank you.
The only other possible way is if they select a general feat instead of an origin feat. 15 + 2 + 1(18). Since general feats are 1/2 ASI + feat. Which could have been mistaken at character creation. Choosing wrong type of feat?
You don't choose a feat during character creation, one is simply tied to your background (which is what you choose). DnDBeyond applies the corresponding origin feat automatically upon background selection, it's not an additional step.
We have had a bit of this in our group. I've pointed out a few times that DDB is a tool, not the game. If you gain Fighting Styles from two sources you can double up on them. Not legal but possible.
You do if:
1) you are human
2) you are using the legacy Custom Origin
3) you are using most any legacy background (custom or otherwise)
4) you are using the custom background rules from the DMG
So you do not if you only have the 2024 PHB per the title?
The 2024 PHB has humans, who get an origin feat as a species feature. (Not even "variant" this time around.)
But, per the actual topic, you are limited to Origin Feats (even with all the legacy or custom options), which don't include half feats.
If using any of the 2024 feats, they have a restriction of being level 4+, so I think even you found an option that was not restricted to Origin feats, you would also have to pick a half feat that hasn't been updated.
How to add Tooltips.
My houserulings.
This was a one-shot using exclusively 2024 rules, from the original post. As such, I highly doubt they were using custom backgrounds, and beyond that the only possibility for another feat is being Human, and the character builder restricts you to origin feats for that. Building a 2024 character in DnDBeyond there is no way to select a non-origin feat in the character builder, you would have to go into your character sheet afterwards and manually add one.