OD&D The Beauty of OD&D

[howandwhy99]

3d6 are rolled in order to represent odds. 1:216 Ability Scores may be an 18, but by removing player choice from what Ability score they represent we make characters with specifically an 18 strength or 18 intelligence even rarer. The rolls serve 2 purposes as do almost all D&D rules (if not many more). First, they are an expression of a distributive pattern that is actually part of the game. And second, they ensure fair odds for all players before beginning the game and dice are rolled.

Gaming the game system (game play basically) doesn't occur during character creation. It is creation or generation for this reason. We don't have a choice for who we begin as. Our choices are made during the game.

Player decisions during character creation include:
1. Class options - the focus of the game for the player & XP rewards for the character
2. Race options - a variation of the standard set of abilities everyone begins with
3. Alignment options - like the other options this is where you begin in the game
4. Name - this is usually always custom to the player, but some games may supply starting options too
5....and equipment - but technically buying equipment is an in game action. Starting prices are related to trade prices in the starting area.

There are plenty of other decisions which can be made too about the nature of the setting, what types of adventures people like, even specifics like having a setting which includes a preponderance of phasers or ice weasels or political backstabbing or anything else.

 

[pemerton]

Our group has recently revisited OD&D on a nostalgia kick and something has occurred to me as to what appeals so much about the system.

Essentially you roll stats and place them in the sequence rolled against your abilities. No swapping, no optimization, you are what you are.

<snip>

With OD&D you can't pick and choose, your fighter may not be the strongest, your wizard the smartest, and your rogue may struggle sometimes with dexterity or charisma but to me that's the beauty of OD&D.

You're conflating AD&D with OD&D (or Classic, or Basic/Expert). OD&D didn't have those kinds of restrictions. And AD&D didn't have "3d6 six times, straight down in order".

B/X does have state "optimisation" - you can swap two points in one non-prime stat to boost your prime req (under the restriction that thieves can't drop STR, and no one can drop DEX, CON or CHA).

Sometimes you get some high stats, sometimes you get average and once in a while, they are mostly low. The feeling of relief that washes over players when they realize how little it actually matters from a success/survival standpoint is like a wave of freedom. No constant worrying that the character you rolled up isn't good enough compared to the next one.

The realization that survival really does depend on your choices in actual play instead of some random numbers generated at the start is empowering.

I think that it is a good thing that success depends on play. Personally, though, I think this is orthogonal to stat optimisation. Only for a certain type of scenario design (primarily, pre-scripted adventure paths) is PC build the main contributor to success in play.

 

[Zal]

The problem, of course, is that a fighter that is neither strong nor hearty is going to be dead rather quickly. A wizard who isn't particularly smart or wise is not going to cast spells very well.

This isn't really the case in OD&D. It is the case with later editions, which rely much more heavily upon stats, and character build in general for success. In OD&D, a well-played magic-user with a 9 intelligence can be just as effective as anyone. And therein lies the beauty

 

[Jan van Leyden]

This isn't really the case in OD&D. It is the case with later editions, which rely much more heavily upon stats, and character build in general for success. In OD&D, a well-played magic-user with a 9 intelligence can be just as effective as anyone. And therein lies the beauty

If you embrace the low to mid levels as cool playground for your characters, at least. Your INT 9 magic-user would be limited to which spell level? Wasn't it 5? And don't forget the chance of learning new spells. 45% I believe?

So there are stat-introduced differences, which are too much for certain game styles.

 

[Zal]

If you embrace the low to mid levels as cool playground for your characters, at least. Your INT 9 magic-user would be limited to which spell level? Wasn't it 5? And don't forget the chance of learning new spells. 45% I believe?

So there are stat-introduced differences, which are too much for certain game styles.

In the Original three OD&D books there are no such rules whatsoever, as far as I recall. The chance to know spells was introduced as an optional rule in the Greyhawk supplement, and those Greyhawk rules extended all the way down to a 3 intelligence for magic-users. Further restrictions were not yet present -- perhaps you're thinking of AD&D?

 

[ExploderWizard]

In the Original three OD&D books there are no such rules whatsoever, as far as I recall. The chance to know spells was introduced as an optional rule in the Greyhawk supplement, and those Greyhawk rules extended all the way down to a 3 intelligence for magic-users. Further restrictions were not yet present -- perhaps you're thinking of AD&D?

Yup. 3LBB only OD&D is very friendly to all ranges of stats. The main differences between someone with an average score and a high one largely amount to the character with the higher score earning a bonus to earned XP.

An 18 stat PC can die just as easily as a 9 stat PC. Survival is determined via player decisions and a measure of luck.

 

[Iosue]

Yup. 3LBB only OD&D is very friendly to all ranges of stats. The main differences between someone with an average score and a high one largely amount to the character with the higher score earning a bonus to earned XP.

An 18 stat PC can die just as easily as a 9 stat PC. Survival is determined via player decisions and a measure of luck.

In many ways, ability scores in OD&D were just a guide to roleplaying. If you were a fighter, it didn't really matter what your Int, Wis, and Dex were. And if your strength was low, you took a slight hit on XP, but your combat effectiveness wasn't affected at all. Ditto magic-users and clerics, for their respective stats.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

In the Original three OD&D books there are no such rules whatsoever, as far as I recall. The chance to know spells was introduced as an optional rule in the Greyhawk supplement, and those Greyhawk rules extended all the way down to a 3 intelligence for magic-users. Further restrictions were not yet present -- perhaps you're thinking of AD&D?

Not quite; I was going by the Sword & Wizardry version, the closes approximation of the ancient stuff I have. Thanks, I've learned something new!

 

[Zal]

Not quite; I was going by the Sword & Wizardry version, the closes approximation of the ancient stuff I have.

FWIW, that's my favorite version of the OD&D rules too, and I agree that it would be difficult to play a magic-user with a very low intelligence using those rules. I still like rolling ability scores in order though, and find that it encourages some very cool role-playing, especially in the case where the player doesn't get rolls that are well-suited to their preconceptions about what character to play. It's amazing what can come out of someone being nudged in a less-familiar direction.

That said, I also have an idea to require ability scores to be rolled in order, but then to allow all players at the table to trade their set of scores with any other player. I've yet to actually try it, but the few others I've mentioned the idea to seemed mildly intrigued.

 

[obijon_kenobi]

...I also have an idea to require ability scores to be rolled in order, but then to allow all players at the table to trade their set of scores with any other player. I've yet to actually try it, but the few others I've mentioned the idea to seemed mildly intrigued.

Huh. I really like that idea. It would be interesting to see how badly a player wants to play their concept. ("Here, I'll trade you some well rounded decent stats for your pile of trash with a high INT so I can play a wizard!")