I started playing D&D when I was around 9. My Dad and Uncles played D&D. My Grandparents still play D&D. I meet the love of my life playing D&D in a mutual friend's basement. I've made friends through playing or introduced friends and family that continue to play even now. To say I love this game and have strong memories of the various editions doesn't do it justice. So in honor of a game that has been passed down to me and I continue to pass on to other I'm embarking on a retrospective project. Starting with 1st edition and going on through each edition till the recent one 5th, I will be making a standard 4 player party in each game. A Dwarven Fighter, Human Cleric, Halfling Thief, and an Elven Wizard. Each chapter will include scans of all the character sheets and text about; ease of character creation, limitations of the system, usefulness of the ability scores, balance between the races and classes. Had I the equipment and the expertise this would be a video series, so instead this will be a 5 short chapter document with a probably short prologue and epilogue.
Which stat array would be better to use through all 5 editions? 3.5e and 5e; 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8 4e; 16, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10 Or something else?
I dunno how you get the 1e experience while using stat arrays. The true 1e experience is you roll 3D6 and take what the dice say, doing the stats, in order. That is, the first 3D6 roll goes into Strength, period. The second goes into Dex, period. And so on, in order. And no rolling 4 dice and take the highest 3 either. It's 3D6, period.
I mean if you are going to get into the ease of character creation for 1e, I don't see how you can leave off the fact that stats were utterly random and you could (and in fact, almost always would) end up with non-viable stat arrays and have to either cheat, or just keep dying until you got lucky with a new character getting some 16s or 17s.
As a note, if you are going to do it the 1e way, you're better off rolling up the 5 sets of stats and then assigning them to the various classes. If you say "This one will be a fighter" and start rolling, the odds of getting a strength above 13 are not good. And you might end up with a 6.
For instance, I just rolled the following sequence using pure 1e rules: STR-9, DEX-11, CON-7, INT-6, WIS-9, CHA-6. Yeah, good luck with that. ;)
The true 1e experience is you roll 3D6 and take what the dice say, doing the stats, in order. That is, the first 3D6 roll goes into Strength, period. The second goes into Dex, period.
Because I still see the 5e stats as being the wrong order, I'll just add here that it would be: Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution and then Charisma. Ah, the good old days...
I dunno how you get the 1e experience while using stat arrays. The true 1e experience is you roll 3D6 and take what the dice say, doing the stats, in order. That is, the first 3D6 roll goes into Strength, period. The second goes into Dex, period. And so on, in order. And no rolling 4 dice and take the highest 3 either. It's 3D6, period.
I mean if you are going to get into the ease of character creation for 1e, I don't see how you can leave off the fact that stats were utterly random and you could (and in fact, almost always would) end up with non-viable stat arrays and have to either cheat, or just keep dying until you got lucky with a new character getting some 16s or 17s.
As a note, if you are going to do it the 1e way, you're better off rolling up the 5 sets of stats and then assigning them to the various classes. If you say "This one will be a fighter" and start rolling, the odds of getting a strength above 13 are not good. And you might end up with a 6.
For instance, I just rolled the following sequence using pure 1e rules: STR-9, DEX-11, CON-7, INT-6, WIS-9, CHA-6. Yeah, good luck with that. ;)
Actually that is a common misconception about 1st edition, rolling 3d6 was never actually an official method, in fact it wasn't even an old school method. Rolling 3d6 first appeared in 2nd edition AD&D and it was largely rejected by the community at the time as being too random (pretty much what we hear today). 3d6 roll it straight didn't become a thing until the OSR was born where people started using the method to capture "old school gaming" which oddly never actually included that method.
In fact AD&D methods for generating character attribute scores were actually very generous, far more generous then what we have today. The harshes method was roll 4d6 drop the lowest and place scores where you like. Method 3 for example was to roll for each attribute score 3d6, six times and take the highest. Method 2 was to roll 3d6 12 times and pick the highest placing them where you like. In 1st edition AD&D days it was common to have characters with multiple 18's.
Contrary to popular belief, 1st edition AD&D ability scores where probably the highest of any edition on average.
I dunno how you get the 1e experience while using stat arrays. The true 1e experience is you roll 3D6 and take what the dice say, doing the stats, in order. That is, the first 3D6 roll goes into Strength, period. The second goes into Dex, period. And so on, in order. And no rolling 4 dice and take the highest 3 either. It's 3D6, period.
I mean if you are going to get into the ease of character creation for 1e, I don't see how you can leave off the fact that stats were utterly random and you could (and in fact, almost always would) end up with non-viable stat arrays and have to either cheat, or just keep dying until you got lucky with a new character getting some 16s or 17s.
As a note, if you are going to do it the 1e way, you're better off rolling up the 5 sets of stats and then assigning them to the various classes. If you say "This one will be a fighter" and start rolling, the odds of getting a strength above 13 are not good. And you might end up with a 6.
For instance, I just rolled the following sequence using pure 1e rules: STR-9, DEX-11, CON-7, INT-6, WIS-9, CHA-6. Yeah, good luck with that. ;)
Actually that is a common misconception about 1st edition, rolling 3d6 was never actually an official method, in fact it wasn't even an old school method. Rolling 3d6 first appeared in 2nd edition AD&D and it was largely rejected by the community at the time as being too random (pretty much what we hear today). 3d6 roll it straight didn't become a thing until the OSR was born where people started using the method to capture "old school gaming" which oddly never actually included that method.
In fact AD&D methods for generating character attribute scores were actually very generous, far more generous then what we have today. The harshes method was roll 4d6 drop the lowest and place scores where you like. Method 3 for example was to roll for each attribute score 3d6, six times and take the highest. Method 2 was to roll 3d6 12 times and pick the highest placing them where you like. In 1st edition AD&D days it was common to have characters with multiple 18's.
Contrary to popular belief, 1st edition AD&D ability scores where probably the highest of any edition on average.
I noticed that in the abilities table for 1e that most score below 16 didn't really do anything for you.
That's true but White Box D&D did not diverge into AD&D, White Box D&D diverged into the Basic/Expert/Master systems which while had many similarities to AD&D, it was a very different system in a lot of ways.
I started with the Basic set which I sometimes still confuse with AD&D, which I began playing the next year. So I guess my memory of the strict 3D6 rolls was from Basic/Expert. Sorry about that.
I no longer own any of the old books to check them.
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WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
In either case, when people speak about 1e and "Old School", they are more commonly talking about AD&D so I made that assumption, but you are correct that in the original D&D game, 3d6 was the default and only method of creating characters. In the 70's and 80's however, the glory days of AD&D, rolling 3d6 to create AD&D characters was a really uncommon practice, even for people who played the basic/expert/master sets.
That is not really true. The standard baseline is something like B/X sets (or MC) and based on my experience with OSR in the last decade, rolling 3d6 in order is just part of the experience -- usually because people are straight up running B/X or a retro-clone based on it. "Modern" concepts that do get used are things like advantage/disadvantage or at least a more formal ruling for skill checks. But stats? 3d6 straight down the line, or maybe let them order as desired if the group is new.
Granted, I can't speak for every OSR group out there, but AD&D in general doesn't seem to be the primary influence for rules (plenty of settings and adventures though).
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I started playing D&D when I was around 9. My Dad and Uncles played D&D. My Grandparents still play D&D. I meet the love of my life playing D&D in a mutual friend's basement. I've made friends through playing or introduced friends and family that continue to play even now.
To say I love this game and have strong memories of the various editions doesn't do it justice. So in honor of a game that has been passed down to me and I continue to pass on to other I'm embarking on a retrospective project. Starting with 1st edition and going on through each edition till the recent one 5th, I will be making a standard 4 player party in each game. A Dwarven Fighter, Human Cleric, Halfling Thief, and an Elven Wizard. Each chapter will include scans of all the character sheets and text about; ease of character creation, limitations of the system, usefulness of the ability scores, balance between the races and classes. Had I the equipment and the expertise this would be a video series, so instead this will be a 5 short chapter document with a probably short prologue and epilogue.
Which stat array would be better to use through all 5 editions?
3.5e and 5e; 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8
4e; 16, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10
Or something else?
I dunno how you get the 1e experience while using stat arrays. The true 1e experience is you roll 3D6 and take what the dice say, doing the stats, in order. That is, the first 3D6 roll goes into Strength, period. The second goes into Dex, period. And so on, in order. And no rolling 4 dice and take the highest 3 either. It's 3D6, period.
I mean if you are going to get into the ease of character creation for 1e, I don't see how you can leave off the fact that stats were utterly random and you could (and in fact, almost always would) end up with non-viable stat arrays and have to either cheat, or just keep dying until you got lucky with a new character getting some 16s or 17s.
As a note, if you are going to do it the 1e way, you're better off rolling up the 5 sets of stats and then assigning them to the various classes. If you say "This one will be a fighter" and start rolling, the odds of getting a strength above 13 are not good. And you might end up with a 6.
For instance, I just rolled the following sequence using pure 1e rules: STR-9, DEX-11, CON-7, INT-6, WIS-9, CHA-6. Yeah, good luck with that. ;)
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
The true 1e experience is you roll 3D6 and take what the dice say, doing the stats, in order. That is, the first 3D6 roll goes into Strength, period. The second goes into Dex, period.
Because I still see the 5e stats as being the wrong order, I'll just add here that it would be: Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution and then Charisma.
Ah, the good old days...
So true
From the white box D&D on page 10 it says roll 3d6 and place them in order. I believe the other options became available in AD&D.
I noticed that in the abilities table for 1e that most score below 16 didn't really do anything for you.
I started with the Basic set which I sometimes still confuse with AD&D, which I began playing the next year. So I guess my memory of the strict 3D6 rolls was from Basic/Expert. Sorry about that.
I no longer own any of the old books to check them.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
That is not really true. The standard baseline is something like B/X sets (or MC) and based on my experience with OSR in the last decade, rolling 3d6 in order is just part of the experience -- usually because people are straight up running B/X or a retro-clone based on it. "Modern" concepts that do get used are things like advantage/disadvantage or at least a more formal ruling for skill checks. But stats? 3d6 straight down the line, or maybe let them order as desired if the group is new.
Granted, I can't speak for every OSR group out there, but AD&D in general doesn't seem to be the primary influence for rules (plenty of settings and adventures though).