Another thing that's often confused for realism is detail. People see a set of rules that goes into great detail on something, and assume that just because they're detailed that means they're realistic. As an example, Traveller The New Era had a sourcebook called Fire, Fusion and Steel, which had really detailed rules on how to build all sorts of weapons and vehicles and maybe other things too, where you would calculate things like focusing distance on lasers and muzzle velocity on slugthrowers to create weapon stats... but in the end, they still plugged into a system where a PC could take a 9 mm bullet to the head once a week and only be mildly inconvenienced.
D&D General So, you want realism in D&D?
- Thread starter Mezuka
- Start date
MichaelSomething
Legend
If people find Dragonborn unrealistc, they should play races based off of real life creatures like naked mole rats.
James Gasik
We don't talk about Pun-Pun
What about Half-Dragons?
Maxperson
Morkus from Orkus
Depends on how much the offspring takes after the non-dragon parent and what species that non-dragon parent is.
DND_Reborn
The High Aldwin
FINALLY, SOMEONE GETS IT!!! (j/k)
So, using the OP metrics:
STR 16
INT 16
WIS 18 (when not DMing) / 8 (when DMing)
DEX 20
CON jeez... like 30+ LOL!
CHA 8, maybe 10 I think...
Hell, I like this SYSTEM! (still j/k)
FWIW, I am glad to see the various threads pop-up from my quest to find a fantasy RPG that is more simulationist than D&D--it has been interesting following it all.
Mezuka
Hero
The funny thing is that once in the early 80s a group of PCs accidentally travelled through a portal to a strange place and entered a strange house. In the 'dungeon' below they found a group of teenagers sitting around a table who help them get back to 'Greyhawk Land'.
I asked players to secretly rate the six abilities of each other. I did the average and gave them their stats according to the group's estimate. There was some moaning but overall it went well. It was a fun one-evening adventure.
I asked players to secretly rate the six abilities of each other. I did the average and gave them their stats according to the group's estimate. There was some moaning but overall it went well. It was a fun one-evening adventure.
DND_Reborn
The High Aldwin
The problem with this is the Wechsler model (like other IQ models) is (in theory) normally distributed, but 3d6 is not (its kurtosis (-0.4045) is off compared to a standard normal distribution with kurt 0). So it has too data much in the middle compared to the tails.Requisite reminder that the old "divide your IQ by 10 to get your D&D Intelligence" idea is based on the now-obsolete Stanford Binet test. To convert a character's Intelligence score to IQ using the newer Wechsler model, check out this blog post:
D&D and IQ
I first started playing RPGs about two decades ago with Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. Back before 4th edition finally defaulted to a point...simantics.blogspot.com
If you wanted to generate ability scores which were (very close) to normally distributed, you would have to roll something like 15d2-12 (kurt = -0.133, so closer but still not ideal).
15d2 - 12 has mean 10.5, SD 1.94, skew 0, and kurt -0.133 and is the best I have found so far that most accurately models a normal distribution.
Vaalingrade
Legend
You know it's a good time when the graphs and the thousandths place in decimals come online.
EzekielRaiden
Follower of the Way
Of course it more accurately reflects a normal distribution: the normal distribution is the continuous limit to which discrete binomial distributions tend. Using more, smaller dice necessarily produces something closer to normal. Likewise, doing something like 150d2/10-12 would get you even closer, or 1500d2/100-12, etc. Take it to the limit (one more time) as [15*x]d2/x-12 as x approaches infinity, and you get a normal distribution.The problem with this is the Wechsler model (like other IQ models) is (in theory) normally distributed, but 3d6 is not (its kurtosis (-0.4045) is off compared to a standard normal distribution with kurt 0). So it has too data much in the middle compared to the tails.
If you wanted to generate ability scores which were (very close) to normally distributed, you would have to roll something like 15d2-12 (kurt = -0.133, so closer but still not ideal).
15d2 - 12 has mean 10.5, SD 1.94, skew 0, and kurt -0.133 and is the best I have found so far that most accurately models a normal distribution.
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