OotS #435

[Celebrim]

All six ability scores have the same distribution in the human population. The mean is 10.5 and the standard deviation is 1.7078. So a 6 is about 2.6 standard deviations below average. That would be in the lower one-half percent of the human population. If you know 200 people well enough to get a sense of their Wisdom, the least wise of all probably has a Wisdom, in D&D terms, of about 6.

Interesting theory. Where did you find that idea? What math are you basing it on? I thought the standard deviation was normally considered to be up around 2.95

Because if I understand you right, you are saying that, for example, a 3 is nearly 5 standard deviations from normal. So, without doing the math, I'd guess that would be say lower .001% of the population, or like 1:100000. That's really interesting, because if I'm counting the possibilities right, there are only 256 possible dice throws on a 3d6.

Going the other way, that implies that only one in 100000 people have an 18 str - if as you said all six ability scores have the same distribution. The problem with that is that you can go into almost any high school or gym in a American and find at least someone that can clear enough weight to be considered 18 str.

Like I said, its an interesting theory, but I don't think it came from the players handbook.

 

[orsal]

Interesting theory. Where did you find that idea? What math are you basing it on? I thought the standard deviation was normally considered to be up around 2.95

Oops! my bad. I think I was calculating the standard deviation for a single die. Multiply that by 3^.5 to get -- yes, about 2.958. Or, to be precise, the square root of 8.75.

So, 6 is about 1.5 standard deviations below mean. That's clearly low end but not exceptional -- about the 7th percentile.

That's really interesting, because if I'm counting the possibilities right, there are only 256 possible dice throws on a 3d6.

216 actually, but who's counting?

 

[Wilphe]

6 would put him like three and a half standard deviations below human norm, making him severely mentally retarded... In fact, with the perceptiveness implied by a 6, I think he'd be a paranoid schizophrenic.

Which of course we know he isn't...

 

[MavrickWeirdo]

Excellent. Though I do wish I could visually distinguish the demon from the devil.

Isn't "Slaad" someone's intellectual property?

-- N

I believe he can hide behind "parody protections". As long as it doesn't become major content WotC is unlikely to challenge it.

 

[PallidPatience]

His comic is in Paizo...

Would WotC really go after someone even that loosely attached to itself?

 

[DreadArchon]

So, 6 is about 1.5 standard deviations below mean. That's clearly low end but not exceptional -- about the 7th percentile.

Wait, that's 3d6? Shouldn't it be either "3d6, re-roll 1's," or "4d6, drop the lowest?"

Also, isn't 8 the theoretical human minimum for any give stat, thus making anyone below an 8 technically retarded (by human standards)?

 

[orsal]

Wait, that's 3d6? Shouldn't it be either "3d6, re-roll 1's," or "4d6, drop the lowest?"

Also, isn't 8 the theoretical human minimum for any give stat, thus making anyone below an 8 technically retarded (by human standards)?

I'm talking about the general human population, not the adventurer population.

 

[Slife]

I'm talking about the general human population, not the adventurer population.

But the general population is generated with arrays because the DM is too lazy to roll out their stats.