The Human Target
Adventurer
Good god, no.
In AD&D, you didn't get much (if any) benefit unless you had a 15 or higher. Yes, there were classes that were supposed to be rare due to ability requirements, but except for the paladin, they weren't super high (15 was the highest, except for the 17 Cha for paladin), and the 1E Unearthed Arcana even provided an alternate rolling method that pretty much ensured you could play the class you want (not to mention the number of DMs that just boosted the scores to reach the minimum). The bonus XP should have been huge (a big benefit if you got lucky and got a 16), but in reality it seldom mattered since everyone and their brother got it (DM's might give it to everyone, or players would only keep characters that had high ability scores anyway). I do miss avoiding the treadmill, however.
As for "skill checks" that was a product of 2E, which I didn't start playing until the late 90s. There was some system in the Dungeoneer's/Wilderness Survival Guides, but not many DMs I know used it. This made things more about the player's skill, rather than the characters.
As it states in the DMG, though, NPCs use the same method as PCs for generating stats. If you wanted a system where halfling PCs could be exceptionally strong and halfling NPCs were as weak as we'd expect, then a better model would be to start them with a penalty (or even just a low maximum value) and permit them to raise that with levels.I thought I would miss them when I started playing 5e, but I was wrong- PC's are the top 1% of the top 1% and are meant to be outside the norm. If that means my halfling ranger can out arm wrestle a goliath barbarian, so be it.
As it states in the DMG, though, NPCs use the same method as PCs for generating stats. If you wanted a system where halfling PCs could be exceptionally strong and halfling NPCs were as weak as we'd expect, then a better model would be to start them with a penalty (or even just a low maximum value) and permit them to raise that with levels.
No one cares about any particular pre-generated NPC. Those are singular data points which provide very little information regarding the underlying principle by which they were generated.The DMG guidelines are moot. No one designs each individual NPC who appears in a campaign. The vast majority of NPC's likely haven't been statted at all and most of the remaining are taken from the Monster Manual or Volo's as needed.
Do you miss the time when a 4 Intelligence character couldn't be an Elf, or when a female human couldn't have 18/00 strength? Would the re introduction of racial and gender minimums and maximums add anyting to 5E, or would it be pointless? Would it detract?