Method V (4d6, drop lowest, arrange as desired):

Before choosing to use this method, think about how adventurers fit into the population as a whole. There are two schools of thought.

One holds that adventurers are no different from everyone else (except for being a little more foolhardy, headstrong, or restless). The man or woman down the street could be an adventurer--all that's required is the desire to go out and be one. Therefore, adventurers should get no special bonuses on their ability rolls.

The other school holds that adventurers are special people, a cut above the common crowd. If they weren't exceptional, they would be laborers and businessmen like everyone else. Player characters are heroes, so they should get bonuses on their ability rolls to lift them above the rabble.

If you choose method V for creating player characters, then you agree with this second view and believe that adventurers should be better than everyone else.

This method creates above-average characters. They won't be perfect, but the odds are that even their worst ability scores will be average or better. More scores push into the exceptional range (15 and greater). It is easy for a player to create a character of any class and race.

Method V Disadvantages: Like other methods that allow deliberate arrangement of ability scores, this one takes some time. It also creates a tendency toward "super" characters.

Unless you have a considerable amount of experience as a DM, however, beware of extremely powerful characters. They are much more difficult to challenge and control than characters of moderate power. On the plus side, their chance for survival at lower levels is better than "ordinary" characters. (See "Super Characters ," below, for more on this subject.)

One last point about method V: High ability scores are less exciting under this method, since they are much more common, as the fighter characters below indicate:

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