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lowkey13
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Since we're quoting the books:
Even as early as the 1e DMG, they are noting that people basically cheated when they rolled 3d6 in order. "extended periods of attempts at finding a suitable one" indeed. IOW, since many people already cheat when they roll 3d6 in order, you might as well use these systems which will give you better results without having to roll and reroll over and over until you get a character you want to play.
I started playing in 1980, so, I can't speak to before that, but, I'm thinking that 1979 is far enough back to pretty much count as pretty much always. And, I certainly am not going to begin to attempt to claim to know how much "most people" were or were not aware of rolling rules. I know our group, in the very first session, rolled 4d6 drop lowest, so, it mustn't have been too hard to find the rules.
So, basically, we're talking about the 2 years from the 1e PHB to the DMG being released where 3d6 may have been the default. But, since that point, unless you were playing Holmes or Mentzer Basic, there is actually no listing for 3d6 in order in AD&D.
Since we're playing duelling anecdotes, I never saw a single group play 3d6 in order. Ever. I'm sure that some did though, I've certainly heard about this mythical beast, but, every where I went, every group I played with, 4d6 drop lowest was always the standard.
???
I've just checked the Basic Rules, and the 4d6 method is presented first with the standard array following. (Point Buy is called out as a Variant Rule.)
Though I'm not sure I'd necessarily describe either as the default method - the Basic Rules make it clear that you can choose to roll or use the array; obviously, one of them had to be presented first.
Woah. Which printing?