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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ruin Explorer" data-source="post: 7980589" data-attributes="member: 18">I don't think you understand the environment RPGs came from, and I don't think you're suffiently familiar with early RPGs.Talking stuff like there being "little trace" of wargaming in "most RPGs" is true now, in 2020. It was true even in 1990, albeit notably less true. It was not, however, as true in 1980, or earlier. Most people designing RPGs in that, perhaps all, had some kind of wargaming background.The idea that a specific, slightly unpopular class, in a specific non-main rulebook (Greyhawk, which was nowhere near as widespread as the actual OD&D rules), "directly inspired" (your exact words) all early percentile-based RPGs, when percentile mechanics were relatively common in wargames, especially homebrew ones, of that era, is not, to my mind, a plausible contention and you've offered no argument in support of your position. It seems like one of those things people assume because it's easier than thinking about the actual environment. It seems like if it had been directly inspired, you'd have a quote from one of the designers - people were not shy about admitting influences back then.The first RPG that used percentile mechanics apart from the Thief, that I'm aware of (there may well be others, I haven't got PDFs on hand to check), is Lou Zocchi's Superhero 2044 (1977). It uses them in a very distinct fashion from the Thief class, and obviously, as Zocchi manufactured dice, he was familiar with percentile and other mechanics, and IIRC, had used them in wargames before. Given that a number of RPGs chose the mechanic around same time, I'd suggest that the ease of use of the mechanic, together with early designers talking to each other was probably the origin.Also, was the Thief even the first time a percentile mechanic appeared in OD&D? I haven't got a copy to hand to check.</blockquote>

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