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Hrm? No. What I computed is the odds of having exactly one X and five X-or-below, multiplied by six because the X could be any of the six stats. To put it another way, your odds of having a highest stat of 18 is the odds of rolling at least one 18 in six rolls of 3d6. Each roll is...

Some of these aren't particularly hard to solve by hand (as in, on a sheet of paper), just using counting formulae. For instance, here's the probabilities for highest stat being X: 3 -> 6 * (1/216) * (1/216)^5 ~= 0.0000000000000590784 4 -> 6 * (3/216) * (4/126)^5 ~= 0.00000000181489 5 -> 6 *...

I'm going to go out on a limb here, and assert that this discussion is conflating two different issues: mechanical balance, and narrative balance, which mirror the concepts of task and conflict resolution, if you're familiar with them. Task balance is the standard idea that every in-world...

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that there were ONLY two traditions of storytelling, but rather that, were D&D invented in a different cultural context, it seems likely that the storytelling tradition it would be born into/from would be different as well. American vs. Japanese CRPGs was meant...

There's also a significant difference in the storytelling traditions between Western and Eastern cultures. Just take a look at the difference between American (and other western) computer RPGs and Japanese ones.

Or they could just not CARE about the tactics of the game. Shockingly, there are gamers out there (myself one of them) who aren't interested in the tactical aspects of the game, and play it for other reasons. Just because people play the game differently than doesn't mean they're doing it...

Badwrongfun. Would also have worked for the second half of 2007.

For what it's worth, it was leafing through the 3e Manual of the Planes in a Borders that convinced me to try this D&D thing. It was that awesomely cool. It wasn't until much, much later that I read a real Planescape book and discovered how much EVEN AWESOMER they are. Just goes to show how...

I agree with you factual points, but not your assertion that this is tied to one gaming history. As I've pointed out, I started gaming with 3e, and developed a DM'ing NPC style essentially the same as what you explained. I think it has much more to do with mindset than history.

Personally, this explanation falls apart for me. I started playing with 3e, and have never played with someone who played before it. And yet I always get lumped into the "grognard" side of things, and I know I'm not the only person around in that situation. I remain unconvinced that length of...

I moved to Seattle relatively recently, and was hoping to find some 3.5 or Pathfinder gaming. I'd also be up for SWSE.

I've always been partial to nautili. A lot of their shell is actually empty. A small piece of the nautilus passes through each internal chamber and emits or absorbs gases to generate buoyancy. But there would still be plenty of space for people and/or goods to hitch a ride inside the shell of...

Cincinnatus, you mean.

As time has progressed, I'm increasingly convinced that we were shown a mockup or hi-fi prototype at GenCon. It's relatively standard operating procedure for the software engineering team to produce a mockup or prototype that implements just enough of the surface functionality to be useable for...

My experience is the same. I pretty much stopped visiting ENWorld altogether for most of the summer/fall because I felt unwelcome amidst the furor of 4e love. I've only come back recently since things seem to have died down.

Please reread my point. I claim that the PLAYER BASE is like the softdrink, not the books themselves. Both will run out over time.

I'm pretty sure I just demonstrated how it does fit. You pointed out that a fan of old Coke would have his horde of old cans to keep him going for a while, but eventually he'll run out. He might be able to buy some more on eBay for the next few years, but eventually the supply will diminish...

You're the one with Romeo in his sig.

I actually grew up in Athens, GA. But now I find myself pretty far away, so unless you want to come to Seattle to teach me, I think I'll have to miss out. :-)

While it was a rhetorical point, your comment re-enforces my point that, with 3e out of print, finding players for it will become harder and harder over time, just as it has to find OD&D players. (As an aside, I appreciate the offer, but I've never actually played OD&D (or any D&D before 3e)...