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<blockquote data-quote="Caliban" data-source="post: 7259904" data-attributes="member: 284">All I can say is that 3d6 may be what Arial uses, and they are free to assume whatever they want about D&amp;D in general (in my opinion they are wrong, but they are free to assume it).&nbsp; But I know with absolute certainty that it is false for any D&amp;D game I've run in the last 20 years.&nbsp;&nbsp; Every NPC has either had no stats at all, or if they are important enough to need stats I've created them using point buy, or used one the NPC's from the back of the MM (usually with their stats beefed up a bit and a feat or two added).&nbsp; 3d6 is not and never has been &quot;realistic&quot;.&nbsp;&nbsp; It's just been &quot;good enough&quot;.&nbsp; &nbsp; Point buy isn't realistic - but it is also &quot;good enough&quot;.&nbsp; &nbsp; Pretending that one is more realistic than another is patently ridiculous.D&amp;D has never been &quot;realistic&quot;.&nbsp;&nbsp; Human abilities do not map onto 6 broad attribute scores, there are many physical and mental variations and nuances even between people who can lift the same weight (i.e. same Str score) or who score the same on an IQ test.&nbsp;&nbsp; Trying to be &quot;realistic&quot; about it would require many more physical and mental attributes, with a much finer grading scale than 3-18.&nbsp;&nbsp; As well as a host of possible talents and weaknesses that could apply to each and every attribute.&nbsp; But that's really not practical, so the game abstracts everything down six attributes and rates them on how they affect the game mechanics.&nbsp; Everything else is fluff.&nbsp; Important fluff for roleplaying your character, but still fluff. Even if you want to assume that 3d6 is how NPC's are generated (even though I've never, ever, seen that done) - PC's are not expected to be &quot;realistic&quot; examples of the population.&nbsp;&nbsp; They are the athletes, gymnasts, scholars, and actors of the world.&nbsp; They are exceptional, from the beginning.&nbsp;&nbsp; Unless you want to RP someone who isn't exceptional, in which case you RP them as someone who isn't exceptional -even though it's never actually true.&nbsp;&nbsp; You are still going to be better than 90% of the population because you are gaining levels and magic items.&nbsp; Because, despite everything else, this is still a game and short of death PC's just get stronger and more capable as time goes by, regardless of their starting stats.&nbsp; The only difference is in comparison to other PC's and whatever big bads the DM creates.&nbsp;&nbsp; Getting all pissy and judgemental about how other people play the game doesn't actually make anything better, it just makes you seem immature and judgmental.&nbsp;&nbsp; And I include myself in that.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Caliban, post: 7259904, member: 284"] All I can say is that 3d6 may be what Arial uses, and they are free to assume whatever they want about D&D in general (in my opinion they are wrong, but they are free to assume it). But I know with absolute certainty that it is false for any D&D game I've run in the last 20 years. Every NPC has either had no stats at all, or if they are important enough to need stats I've created them using point buy, or used one the NPC's from the back of the MM (usually with their stats beefed up a bit and a feat or two added). 3d6 is not and never has been "realistic". It's just been "good enough". Point buy isn't realistic - but it is also "good enough". Pretending that one is more realistic than another is patently ridiculous. D&D has never been "realistic". Human abilities do not map onto 6 broad attribute scores, there are many physical and mental variations and nuances even between people who can lift the same weight (i.e. same Str score) or who score the same on an IQ test. Trying to be "realistic" about it would require many more physical and mental attributes, with a much finer grading scale than 3-18. As well as a host of possible talents and weaknesses that could apply to each and every attribute. But that's really not practical, so the game abstracts everything down six attributes and rates them on how they affect the game mechanics. Everything else is fluff. Important fluff for roleplaying your character, but still fluff. Even if you want to assume that 3d6 is how NPC's are generated (even though I've never, ever, seen that done) - PC's are not expected to be "realistic" examples of the population. They are the athletes, gymnasts, scholars, and actors of the world. They are exceptional, from the beginning. Unless you want to RP someone who isn't exceptional, in which case you RP them as someone who isn't exceptional -even though it's never actually true. You are still going to be better than 90% of the population because you are gaining levels and magic items. Because, despite everything else, this is still a game and short of death PC's just get stronger and more capable as time goes by, regardless of their starting stats. The only difference is in comparison to other PC's and whatever big bads the DM creates. Getting all pissy and judgemental about how other people play the game doesn't actually make anything better, it just makes you seem immature and judgmental. And I include myself in that. [/QUOTE]

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