When did 4d6-drop-lowest first appear?

[justanobody]

And so many recollections were wrong :-D

That's irrelevant. Whether this was an open-book or closed-book test, many people got it wrong.

I'm just saying folks should keep this in mind when they read a "fact" about old D&D rules/books thrown out around here.

Bullgrit

You are so full of BULL!

They may have more easily remember the newer because that is what was played most recent, and a simple change in # for the method may have caused the problem. Do you roll character by method number or by the method itself.

Unimportant minutia, aka trivia is irrelevant to gameplay.

Also it has not been checked to see if a magazine contained it prior to 1E, so even your correct reference of its appearance there could be wrong as well and not the first appearance of it.

 

[Delta]

Also it has not been checked to see if a magazine contained it prior to 1E, so even your correct reference of its appearance there could be wrong as well and not the first appearance of it.

Note the OP: "To your recollection, when did that rule first appear in the D&D core rulebooks?"

 

[justanobody]

So errata is discounted? Ok then. I am just curious when it DID first appear in a D&D something.

 

[Delta]

So errata is discounted? Ok then. I am just curious when it DID first appear in a D&D something.

Some data: Computer search of my Dragon Magazine Archive, issues 1-250. The first appearance of "4d6" with regards to character creation is in issue #39, p. 20, "Leomund's Tiny Hut" column, where it's referring back to the already-published Dungeon Master's Guide.

Tell me if you can think of any way to present better evidence.

 

[justanobody]

I was just reading themn all as I no longer have the search tool, and found it lacking. Hadn't gotten there yet. Got side tracked with some of the older articles... Doesn't matter really, just my curiosity now as to where it first appeared.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Unfortunately I no longer have my AD&D books to reference, but I remember that was the method we used (per DM direction) in 1981 when I started playing. So it was either around then [as clearly noted by Plane Sailing] or my DM was ahead of the curve.

Although my main point still stands that although it first appeared in the DMG in 1e, it first appeared in a TSR *product* in Gamma World 1e, which is an interesting consideration. It was tested in another product before they introduced it to D&D.

Cheers

 

[Greylock]

It's interesting to note that so many (around half) of the voters are wrong. If so many people can be wrong about something so easily checked about older editions of D&D, how much else are they wrong about?

Remember this the next time some "old schooler" tells you a "fact" about old D&D. There's a good chance they are flat-out wrong. (Ask for quotes and page references.

Bullgrit

As I said in my post, I "flat-out" know 4d6-lowest was around in the old days. And I played in the old days, starting around 1981. But....[big but] I never HEARD of it until 3rd Edition. So, as I said, there for a while I actually thought that Alsih2o invented the method. [I've checked my "records" now. Alsih2o introduced me to 4d6-lowest, Beale Knight introduced 4d6-lowest reroll 1st 1].

The poll asked for best recollections, not how well read I was when I was 16 years old.

hth

 

[cougent]

Although my main point still stands that although it first appeared in the DMG in 1e, it first appeared in a TSR *product* in Gamma World 1e, which is an interesting consideration. It was tested in another product before they introduced it to D&D.

Cheers

Interesting, perhaps on purpose to judge reaction and decide whether to make it official or not? I love a good mystery!

 

[MerricB]

Interesting, perhaps on purpose to judge reaction and decide whether to make it official or not? I love a good mystery!

Judge reaction from who? At that point in the game's history, there really wasn't much outside input from massed fans. No, I dare say the Gamma World method was already in full usage within Gygax's games and the other games of early TSR employees, and it was merely because Gamma World came out slightly before AD&D that it appeared there first.

Cheers!

 

[Tewligan]

WSo... for me, in my little gaming universe, 4d6 drop the lowest was introduced to me via 3rd Edition, either by Beale Knight or Alsih20.

OT for a minute, but how is Alsih2o these days? I always did enjoy his posts before he left ENWorld. I always meant to order one of his big, awesome dice rollers, too. I don't suppose he has a public website for checking his wares that you can give out, does he?