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TSR's "subliminal" message about PC power level
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<blockquote data-quote="Glyfair" data-source="post: 2915873" data-attributes="member: 53"><p>Occasionally discussion will come up about stats and power level of characters. I noted a long time ago that 18's seem a lot more common than they should be if people actually rolled the dice.</p><p></p><p>So, I decided to pulll out a few sources with PC stats. It's interesting to see what the staff at TSR was suggesting to players should be expected PC stats. I'm going to go through a few things and note some statistics. </p><p></p><p>Note that these are just for discussion, and entertainment. No wagering <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /></p><p></p><p>The first book I'm going to look at is the AD&D <em>Rogue's Gallery</em>. One section of the book contains stats for various player characters, including many whose names are quite well known. I'm going to note the noted player of the character, since some might find it interesting (and it's listed). Note that these aren't necessarily the actual stats from play. That's not important for this, just what TSR presented as their stats.</p><p></p><p>Also, for point values I'm going to count stats below 8 as 0. It doesn't come up very often, and probably never twice in the same character. I'm going to treat exceptional strength just as 18s. Also, I'm not taking into account racial stat adjustments (I don't have my 1st edition books handy right now).</p><p></p><p><em>Arrarat</em> </p><p>Fighter 8 (Tim Jiardini)</p><p></p><p>Point Buy: 54</p><p>Stats of 18: 1</p><p>Stats of 17: 1</p><p>Stats under 10: 0</p><p>Lowest Stat: 12</p><p></p><p><em>Bigby</em> </p><p>Magic-User 13 (Gary Gygax)</p><p></p><p>Point Buy: 52</p><p>Stats of 18: 1</p><p>Stats of 17: 1</p><p>Stats under 10: 0</p><p>Lowest Stat: 10</p><p></p><p><em>Ceatitle Trodar Northman</em> </p><p>Magic-User 10 (Jean Wells)</p><p></p><p>Point Buy: 34</p><p>Stats of 18: 0</p><p>Stats of 17: 0</p><p>Stats under 10: 0</p><p>Lowest Stat: 11</p><p></p><p><em>Fletcher Dandiria</em> </p><p>Fighter 5/Thief 7/Bard 8 (Bob Waldbauer)</p><p></p><p>Point Buy: 68</p><p>Stats of 18: 1</p><p>Stats of 17: 2</p><p>Stats under 10: 0</p><p>Lowest Stat: 14</p><p></p><p><em>Erac's Cousin</em> </p><p>Fighter 7/Magic-User 14 (Ernie Gygax)</p><p></p><p>Point Buy: 52</p><p>Stats of 18: 1</p><p>Stats of 17: 1</p><p>Stats under 10: 1</p><p>Lowest Stat: 8</p><p></p><p><em>Grimslade</em> </p><p>Magic-User 5 (Harold Johnson)</p><p></p><p>Point Buy: 20</p><p>Stats of 18: 0</p><p>Stats of 17: 0</p><p>Stats under 10: 2</p><p>Lowest Stat: 2</p><p></p><p><em>Gormadoc</em> </p><p>Thief 5 (Greg Fleming)</p><p></p><p>Point Buy: 29</p><p>Stats of 18: 0</p><p>Stats of 17: 1</p><p>Stats under 10: 1</p><p>Lowest Stat: 9</p><p></p><p><em>Lanolin</em> </p><p>Fighter 7/Magic-User 11 (Lawrence Schick)</p><p></p><p>Point Buy: 32</p><p>Stats of 18: 1</p><p>Stats of 17: 0</p><p>Stats under 10: 3</p><p>Lowest Stat: 8</p><p></p><p><em>Lassiviren the Dark</em> </p><p>Assassin 8 (Al Hammack)</p><p></p><p>Point Buy: 23</p><p>Stats of 18: 0</p><p>Stats of 17: 0</p><p>Stats under 10: 2</p><p>Lowest Stat: 5</p><p></p><p><em>Luther</em> </p><p>Monk 6 (Helen Cook)</p><p></p><p>Point Buy: 63</p><p>Stats of 18: 1</p><p>Stats of 17: 1</p><p>Stats under 10: 0</p><p>Lowest Stat: 15</p><p></p><p><em>Mordenkainen</em> </p><p>Magic-User 16 (Gary Gygax)</p><p></p><p>Point Buy: 64</p><p>Stats of 18: 2</p><p>Stats of 17: 2</p><p>Stats under 10: 0</p><p>Lowest Stat: 10</p><p></p><p><em>Phoebus</em> </p><p>Fighter (Lizardman) 10 (Jeff R. Leason)</p><p></p><p>Point Buy: 60*</p><p>Stats of 18: 2</p><p>Stats of 17: 1</p><p>Stats under 10: 1</p><p>Lowest Stat: 9</p><p></p><p>* includes 18/00 Str, which I didn't give any additional value to in point buy</p><p></p><p><em>Riggby</em> </p><p>Cleric 9 (Gary Gygax)</p><p></p><p>Point Buy: 46</p><p>Stats of 18: 0</p><p>Stats of 17: 1</p><p>Stats under 10: 0</p><p>Lowest Stat: 11</p><p></p><p><em>Robilar</em> </p><p>Fighter 15 (Rob Kuntz)</p><p></p><p>Point Buy: 65*</p><p>Stats of 18: 2</p><p>Stats of 17: 0</p><p>Stats under 10: 0</p><p>Lowest Stat: 11</p><p></p><p>*includes 18/78 Strength, Str, which I didn't give any additional value to in point buy</p><p></p><p><em>Serten</em> </p><p>Cleric 10 (Ernie Gygax)</p><p></p><p>Point Buy: 47</p><p>Stats of 18: 1</p><p>Stats of 17: 1</p><p>Stats under 10: 1</p><p>Lowest Stat: 7</p><p></p><p><em>Talbot</em> </p><p>Fighter (Centaur) 7 (David Cook)</p><p></p><p>Point Buy: 35</p><p>Stats of 18: 0</p><p>Stats of 17: 1</p><p>Stats under 10: 1</p><p>Lowest Stat: 9</p><p></p><p><em>Tenser</em> </p><p>Magic-User 14 (Ernie Gygax)</p><p></p><p>Point Buy: 51</p><p>Stats of 18: 1</p><p>Stats of 17: 0</p><p>Stats under 10: 0</p><p>Lowest Stat: 10</p><p></p><p><em>Valerius</em> </p><p>Fighter 12 (Erol Otus)</p><p></p><p>Point Buy: 53</p><p>Stats of 18: 1</p><p>Stats of 17: 1</p><p>Stats under 10: 1</p><p>Lowest Stat: 9</p><p></p><p>Next up: The convention PCs from <em>Against the Giants</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Glyfair, post: 2915873, member: 53"] Occasionally discussion will come up about stats and power level of characters. I noted a long time ago that 18's seem a lot more common than they should be if people actually rolled the dice. So, I decided to pulll out a few sources with PC stats. It's interesting to see what the staff at TSR was suggesting to players should be expected PC stats. I'm going to go through a few things and note some statistics. Note that these are just for discussion, and entertainment. No wagering ;) The first book I'm going to look at is the AD&D [I]Rogue's Gallery[/I]. One section of the book contains stats for various player characters, including many whose names are quite well known. I'm going to note the noted player of the character, since some might find it interesting (and it's listed). Note that these aren't necessarily the actual stats from play. That's not important for this, just what TSR presented as their stats. Also, for point values I'm going to count stats below 8 as 0. It doesn't come up very often, and probably never twice in the same character. I'm going to treat exceptional strength just as 18s. Also, I'm not taking into account racial stat adjustments (I don't have my 1st edition books handy right now). [I]Arrarat[/i] Fighter 8 (Tim Jiardini) Point Buy: 54 Stats of 18: 1 Stats of 17: 1 Stats under 10: 0 Lowest Stat: 12 [I]Bigby[/I] Magic-User 13 (Gary Gygax) Point Buy: 52 Stats of 18: 1 Stats of 17: 1 Stats under 10: 0 Lowest Stat: 10 [I]Ceatitle Trodar Northman[/i] Magic-User 10 (Jean Wells) Point Buy: 34 Stats of 18: 0 Stats of 17: 0 Stats under 10: 0 Lowest Stat: 11 [I]Fletcher Dandiria[/I] Fighter 5/Thief 7/Bard 8 (Bob Waldbauer) Point Buy: 68 Stats of 18: 1 Stats of 17: 2 Stats under 10: 0 Lowest Stat: 14 [I]Erac's Cousin[/I] Fighter 7/Magic-User 14 (Ernie Gygax) Point Buy: 52 Stats of 18: 1 Stats of 17: 1 Stats under 10: 1 Lowest Stat: 8 [I]Grimslade[/I] Magic-User 5 (Harold Johnson) Point Buy: 20 Stats of 18: 0 Stats of 17: 0 Stats under 10: 2 Lowest Stat: 2 [I]Gormadoc[/I] Thief 5 (Greg Fleming) Point Buy: 29 Stats of 18: 0 Stats of 17: 1 Stats under 10: 1 Lowest Stat: 9 [I]Lanolin[/I] Fighter 7/Magic-User 11 (Lawrence Schick) Point Buy: 32 Stats of 18: 1 Stats of 17: 0 Stats under 10: 3 Lowest Stat: 8 [I]Lassiviren the Dark[/I] Assassin 8 (Al Hammack) Point Buy: 23 Stats of 18: 0 Stats of 17: 0 Stats under 10: 2 Lowest Stat: 5 [i]Luther[/I] Monk 6 (Helen Cook) Point Buy: 63 Stats of 18: 1 Stats of 17: 1 Stats under 10: 0 Lowest Stat: 15 [I]Mordenkainen[/I] Magic-User 16 (Gary Gygax) Point Buy: 64 Stats of 18: 2 Stats of 17: 2 Stats under 10: 0 Lowest Stat: 10 [I]Phoebus[/I] Fighter (Lizardman) 10 (Jeff R. Leason) Point Buy: 60* Stats of 18: 2 Stats of 17: 1 Stats under 10: 1 Lowest Stat: 9 * includes 18/00 Str, which I didn't give any additional value to in point buy [I]Riggby[/I] Cleric 9 (Gary Gygax) Point Buy: 46 Stats of 18: 0 Stats of 17: 1 Stats under 10: 0 Lowest Stat: 11 [I]Robilar[/i] Fighter 15 (Rob Kuntz) Point Buy: 65* Stats of 18: 2 Stats of 17: 0 Stats under 10: 0 Lowest Stat: 11 *includes 18/78 Strength, Str, which I didn't give any additional value to in point buy [I]Serten[/I] Cleric 10 (Ernie Gygax) Point Buy: 47 Stats of 18: 1 Stats of 17: 1 Stats under 10: 1 Lowest Stat: 7 [I]Talbot[/i] Fighter (Centaur) 7 (David Cook) Point Buy: 35 Stats of 18: 0 Stats of 17: 1 Stats under 10: 1 Lowest Stat: 9 [I]Tenser[/I] Magic-User 14 (Ernie Gygax) Point Buy: 51 Stats of 18: 1 Stats of 17: 0 Stats under 10: 0 Lowest Stat: 10 [I]Valerius[/i] Fighter 12 (Erol Otus) Point Buy: 53 Stats of 18: 1 Stats of 17: 1 Stats under 10: 1 Lowest Stat: 9 Next up: The convention PCs from [I]Against the Giants[/I] [/QUOTE]
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