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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mannahnin" data-source="post: 9752484" data-attributes="member: 7026594">Three other DMG methods, which I think is part of why others got overlooked, since they didn't put any method in the PH! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f606.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":LOL:" title="Laugh    :LOL:"  data-smilie="17"data-shortname=":LOL:" />  Method V I feel more sympathy for nowadays, given how powerful demi-humans are, especially the new ones in UA.I've ranted repeatedly about basically everything you wrote there. Yup.  The B/X and BECMI system and bonus distribution also made a score of 13+ more accessible thanks to the point-swap rule to increase your prime requisite.There are no high scores required to qualify for classes in B/X. Just min Con of 9 to be a Dwarf, Int 9 or better to be an Elf, and both Con and Dex of 9 or better for a Halfling.The pluses and minuses aren't quite identical across all six - Charisma is the odd one out, only giving a +1 for 13-17 or -1 for 4-8, and needing a 3 or 18 for a -2 or +2, because of course those bonuses are being applied to 2d6 rolls for NPC/monster reactions and for henchman loyalty and morale, so a smaller bonus is a much bigger deal than it is on a d20 attack roll or saving throw.Yeah, if a 15 or better is around 10%, and you need two of them, you're usually going to wind up rolling up a LOT of sets using 3d6.No wonder Gary wrote in the DMG "While it is possible to generate some fairly playable characters by rolling 3d6, there is often an extended period of attempts at finding a suitable one due to quirks of the dice*. Furthermore these rather marginal characters tend to have short life expectancy -which tends to discourage new players, as does having to make do with some character of a race and/or class which he or she really can't or won't identify with. Character generation, then, is a serious matter, and it is recommended that the following systems be used. Four alternatives are offered for player characters."I like that fairness doctrine rule as well and I've used it once so far.I don't like the huge numbers of re-rolls necessitated by setting two 15s or better as the required floor, even using Method I the number of re-rolls usually needed seems annoying.  Employing the Fairness Doctrine seems like a pretty good help, though.  Across your whole group SOMEONE should get a set which clears the bar.  And if no one does, I'm sure that would be kind of a fun group experience too-  "Ok, no one hit the numbers, so everyone gets to re-roll!"When I'm running B/X or another game on that scale my usual mitigation against re-rolls and hopeless characters is just to allow "flipping" the set.  Roll 3d6 down the line but then you may optionally subtract every score, in order, from 21.  This means you never have to take a below-average set.But Method I or Method III (which has an average value of about 14.2 compared to Method I's 12.2) plus Fairness Doctrine seems like it should cut down a lot on a need for re-tries in AD&D.*(Gary, on the previous page you just showed us a bell curve; you know it's not "quirks" of the dice, right?)</blockquote>

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