Quote from: Omega;891797I have never met a pre-3e DM expect high stats.

In fact more oft I've seen the DM suspicious of high stats. Usually because they are not common. Expecting a 17 or 18 is absurd. A 17 is a mere 4.16% chance and an 18 is a 1.62% on r4h3.

Eh. Such is. As for the character. To me its pretty average. The 7 STR is just a -1 to hit in melee and less carrying capacity. I preferred darts anyhow so not a problem overall. The 7 WIS is a -1 on saves. The DEX and CHA are neutral no bonus or loss. The biggy was the aforementioned CON of 4 and the following poor HP rolls. Apparently for that character all my luck went into system shock and raise saves.

But still. An odd example of how different DMs look at stats of characters brought in. Which shows in how different our personal encounters vary.

In OD&D the STR would only affect carrying, and the WIS is irrelevant.

Quote from: Omega;891797But still. An odd example of how different DMs look at stats of characters brought in. Which shows in how different our personal encounters vary.

Sure, that is true, esp pre-internet. I would not necessarily call one 17 or 18 high stats, when you factor the stat pluses from different races, it was easier to get a higher stat. Part of it is play styles, we mostly liked the 5-9 levels of characters, which at that point, stats really aren't that important anymore, and any minor boost you got at 1st level had flattened out. Having 1st level characters survive, was just easier, instead of having them die and then go back through the rigmarole of re-rolling a character mid-game. Most of the monsters in the MM & FF were for mid to higher level characters, so in that range, the options were wider for everybody. How we used to roll stats was to roll three sets of stats with 3d6, take the best set and place the scores where you wanted. It worked, usually I played some sort of fighter or thief; and there is another point, Dex was the killer stat to have boosted, as it affected both TH with missiles and AC. Then you can have a short bow fighter with two 1d6 shots a turn, vs say a longsword at 1d8. Strength you could get with a girdle of giant strength or something. Do I think I'll ever go back to that style of play? I don't know. I am planning a LotFP game, I think I'll just see which way that goes. I have played some 5e, it's ok, but it lacks something, our old AD&D games felt grittier.

Quote from: Sable Wyvern;891819Assuming your percentages are accurate, this gives a 30% chance of one or more 17+ stats in any given set of six rolled legitimately.

Your chances are more like one in 6 characters rolled via r4h3 might get a 17. And one in 10 might get an 18. About every other character will probably get a 16. So my assessment that its rare was a little off I think. (Though was about right if using 3d6. One in 36 characters of getting an 18, One in 11 of a 17.)

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;891824In OD&D the STR would only affect carrying, and the WIS is irrelevant.

Verily, and even with the bad CON its still only a -1 penalty. Whereas in BX it would have been a -2 and the 7 STR would have netted a -1 penalty. BX was harsh like that. heh-heh.

Though is a great primer for harsh modules like Tomb of Horrors.