Shifter attribute assignments

[Malleable]

Assuming during character creation people roll 8 sets of 3d6, and then assign them to stats appropriate to the class you want to play, I'm not sure where to assign my stats.

As a Shifter it says that IQ and ME are important, but MA is used to determine the battle of wills with summoned creatures.
I got three exceptional stats (24, 22 and 19) and thought I would ask you guys how you would rank the 8 stats based on their usefulness.

Also are their any guides out there that talk about attributes and classes with more detail than the books?

Thanks,
Mal

[Nekira Sudacne]

MA is more important than ME. ME usually is what is used in the battle of wills, but for some reason the Shifter was changed to MA. if it was a typo it has never been corrected, regardless, MA is the most important stat if your character is going to be summoning things. PP next simply because it dictates how well you do in combat. This is true for every class as it controls defense and attack and so there's never a good reason to not have a good PP unless you don't have a good roll to slot into it. after that, PE is important because it gives your mage a higher save vs magic, important when dealing with demons, and a little extra PPE.

[Tor]

There has never been a traditional mental attribute to use for the BoW. Even back in PRPG the "Summoner Greater Familiar" spell used MA and the Summoner's class ability used ME.

[Malleable]

Thanks guys.
I am not sure how much Summoning that I will do, but if I am going to do it at all I want to make sure I don't fail. I got ridiculously lucky and pulled a 24 for one ability, so I guess I should put that for MA.

Then should I put my 22 in ME, and my 19 in IQ? Then 15 PP, 14 PE, 14 PB, 9 PS, 9 Spd?

Sound decent?

Mal

[drewkitty ~..~]

Assuming during character creation people roll 8 sets of 3d6, and then assign them to stats appropriate to the class you want to play, I'm not sure where to assign my stats.

As a Shifter it says that IQ and ME are important, but MA is used to determine the battle of wills with summoned creatures.
I got three exceptional stats (24, 22 and 19) and thought I would ask you guys how you would rank the 8 stats based on their usefulness.

Also are their any guides out there that talk about attributes and classes with more detail than the books?

Thanks,
Mal

Part of it depends if the character concept for your shifter. Is he more interested in gathering minions? Just wanting to see new things? etc...?

For the most part mages' high stats should be in IQ and then PE. For the skills bonuses the would add to their Spell Creation & Scroll Conversion %'s and vs magic bonuses.
But if your shifter is going to be gathering SN minions via summoning and battle of wills then your highest stat should be in ME.

[Nekira Sudacne]

Thanks guys.
I am not sure how much Summoning that I will do, but if I am going to do it at all I want to make sure I don't fail. I got ridiculously lucky and pulled a 24 for one ability, so I guess I should put that for MA.

Then should I put my 22 in ME, and my 19 in IQ? Then 15 PP, 14 PE, 14 PB, 9 PS, 9 Spd?

Sound decent?

Mal

ME does nothing for a shifter unless you are afraid they'll be running into a lot of psionics. PE for save vs. magic tends to be a much more common and useful attribute. I know the book says ME, but trust me, ME helps only if you are psychic or deal with them frequently. 19 in IQ is a good one, the 22 should be either PP (Dodgeing/striking with attack spells that need an attack roll), PE (save vs. magic, you can never really have this too high), or MA (Again, only if you summon). note, if you are going to be summoning at all try to have it be at least 15+.

[flatline]

From a character concept point of view:

Having an IQ above 14 or so is handy so that the GM can't say "your character isn't smart enough to have thought of that". Putting any more into IQ is pretty much a waste since your character will be smarter than you and, therefore, limited by you. Disregard this if your GM has favorable house rules for IQ bonuses to skills (aka "bonus is applied once per level" or similar).

Similarly, having a MA of 15+ is good because it means your character is comfortable around others and is clearly likeable. The actual value is unimportant.

From a game mechanic point of view:

As a rule, you don't want to enter melee combat with anyone who wants to enter melee combat. They'll be a specialist and you'll be playing right into their hands. As such, physical stats are less important to you. However, there are still some considerations to be made.

You have to have enough PS to carry your gear and use your favored weapon without penalty
You have to have enough Spd to not hold up your party.
However, both of these stats are easily improved via skills, spells, or equipment (why run when you have a grav pack?).

PP, PE, and ME all give defensive bonuses (dodge/parry, magic, and psionics, respectively). You'll just have to decide which bonus is most important to you. It mostly depends on the types of threats you anticipate.

But don't fret about your stats too much. You can have just as much fun with mediocre stats as with godly ones. Having the wrong stat pumped doesn't matter as much in Rifts as in other systems.

Good luck!

--flatline

[Alrik Vas]

When playing a magician type character, i totally agree with flatline's assessment.

[Library Ogre]

Thanks guys.
I am not sure how much Summoning that I will do, but if I am going to do it at all I want to make sure I don't fail. I got ridiculously lucky and pulled a 24 for one ability, so I guess I should put that for MA.

Then should I put my 22 in ME, and my 19 in IQ? Then 15 PP, 14 PE, 14 PB, 9 PS, 9 Spd?

Sound decent?

Mal

IQ 22
ME 19/15 (your choice)
MA 15/19 (your choice)
PS 9
PP 14
PE 24
PB 14
Spd 9

PE adds PPE, which is your most valuable resource. The rest are nice bonuses... 10 more points of PPE can save you far more consistently.

[Nekira Sudacne]

Thanks guys.
I am not sure how much Summoning that I will do, but if I am going to do it at all I want to make sure I don't fail. I got ridiculously lucky and pulled a 24 for one ability, so I guess I should put that for MA.

Then should I put my 22 in ME, and my 19 in IQ? Then 15 PP, 14 PE, 14 PB, 9 PS, 9 Spd?

Sound decent?

Mal

IQ 22
ME 19/15 (your choice)
MA 15/19 (your choice)
PS 9
PP 14
PE 24
PB 14
Spd 9

PE adds PPE, which is your most valuable resource. The rest are nice bonuses... 10 more points of PPE can save you far more consistently.

Though it can also depend on what kind of game your playing. a light combat game might never see a ley line walker down to his last 10 PPE unless he's reckless with expedatures.