Attribute Generation for Lucky 7

As you know, I like to use modifiers as attribute scores. You also know that I’m trying to simplify Unlucky 13 to become Lucky 7. I ran into a problem.

The Problem

Crowfield’s attribute modifiers were based on those of D&D in the mid-1980’s. As a refresher:

Attribute Score	Modifier
18	+3
16–17	+2
13–15	+1
9–12	±0
6–8	-1
4–5	-2
3	-3

When you roll a d20, a +3 modifier shifts the chance of success by 15%.

In U13, a +3 gives a 20.8% advantage—the equivalent of +4 on a d20. That was a little bit of a drift, but I was willing to live with it.

L7 uses 1d12. Because of that a +3 is a 25% shift—exactly the same as a +5 for a d20 roll. That’s too much drift for my taste. It’s time to reign it in.

The Fix

On a 1d12, a +2 is a 16.6% shift—close to a d20’s +3 (a 15% shift). So our +3 to -3 range now becomes +2 to -2.

Generating Scores from +2 to -2

You could simply do it the same way I was doing the U13 attribute rolls, but using 2 dice instead of 3, though I’m not sure how the curve would look. Instead I’m proposing a different approach, aimed at players like James because James is a munchkin.

In this context, that term comes from a hilarious 1985 USENET post about different player types. In it we have these gems:

Favorite Melee Weapon:
Real Men use Broadswords/Bastard Swords/Pole Axes
Real Role-Players use Rapiers and Main-Gauches
Loonies use Stage Knives
Munchkins use whatever gives the most plusses

Favorite Missile Weapon:
Real Men shoot Long Bows/Composite Bows
Real Role-Players shoot Crossbows
Loonies shoot Twinkie Bazookas
Munchkins shoot whatever gives the most plusses

Favorite Alignment:
Real Men are Lawful Good
Real Role-Players don’t use alignment
Loonies are Amoral Silly
Munchkins are whatever gives the most plusses

Favorite God:
Real Men worship Humakt/Orlanth
Real Role-Players worship Issaries/Lhankor Mhy
Loonies worship Hare Krishna
Munchkins worship whoever gives the most plusses

Okay—I’m exaggerating just to tease James a little. He is not really a munchkin. He likes to engage NPCs in dialog. He likes to have a backstory for his character. He likes to find the adventure’s plot. But he does have munchkin tendencies when creating a character. Specifically he hates having a low attribute score. Dice-generated scores annoy him unless the mechanic is skewed to prevent low scores. His favorite is 2d6+6—this gives an average score of 13 for a +1 bonus per attribute! Very munchkiny.

So to make him happy, but not make me cry, I’ve decided that PC’s will have an “overall” +1 bonus.

Method #1: Quick

This method is the fastest of the bunch, but has the least player input. It also has the least character diversity. Using this method you will likely end up with two good (+1) attributes and one bad (-1) one. There’s a slightly less chance of getting either one very good (+2) score and one bad one. There’s a very small (2.8%) chance that you’ll get one good score and no bad ones.

Because it’s so quick, it’s particularly good for making characters when a new player shows up unexpectedly, or to replace a PC that was killed or captured.

This method uses this attribute table:

Roll	Attribute
1	Strength
2	Intelligence
3	Wisdom
4	Constitution
5	Dexterity
6	Charisma

Step 1: All attributes start at 0.

Step 2: Roll 1d6 and refer to the table above. Add 1 to the corresponding attribute.

Step 3: Same as step 2. Note: You could just combine this with the previous step by rolling two dice at that step instead of one.

Step 4: Roll 1d6 and refer to the table above. Subtract 1 from the corresponding attribute.

That’s it!

Method 2: Balanced Rolls

This method has more player input than the previous one, but it slower. It’s good for new characters that are generated away from the table if you want them to have some randomness.

To avoid repeating myself, this method uses a 2d6 attribute roll:

1. Roll 2d6.
2. A die of “1” has an effective value of “-1”
3. A die of “6” has an effective value of “+1”
4. All other rolls have an effective value of “0”
5. Sum the dice’s effective values for a value between -2 and +2

Step 1: Make a 2d6 attribute roll.

Step 2: Select which attribute to assign that roll to. Note: Once an attribute has a score assigned, it is “locked” and can not be changed until step 6.

Step 3: Select another attribute and assign it the “inverse result.” The inverse result of -1 is +1, the inverse result of +2 is -2, etc. The inverse of 0 is 0. Alternate rule: If you roll +2 your GM might allow you to assign -1 to two attributes instead of -2 to one attribute. The same applies to a roll of -2, or course.

Step 4: If four or fewer attributes have been assigned, go to step 1.

Step 5: If exactly five attributes have been assigned, assign a 0 to the final attribute. Note: This will only occur if you used the alternate rule in Step 3.

Step 6: Once all 6 attributes have been assigned, select one attribute and add one to it’s value. Note: You can not raise an attribute above +2.

Method 3: Point Buy

This method has the most player agency. Depending on the player involved it might be super quick, or it might take an eternity of agonizing decision making. Some players using this have the habit of making the same character every time.

Step 1: For each of the six attributes, assign any value between -2 and +2. The sum of all six attributes can not exceed +1.

Step 2: There is no step 2!

Epilogue

That’s it for this week.

Which method do you like the best? I think they all have their uses, depending what you’re trying to achieve.

Next week will probably be a modification to Crowfield’s spell casting rules.