This is it, really. You indeed did create a schmoe off the street who would likely die from a 10 foot fall or a single wound from a weapon, but over time you could become an epic hero, even without that 18 statistic.
D&D was structured so your legendary heroicness (coined a term!) was based primarily on level and gear. Character stats were a minor attribute compared to the other factors. Just owning a +3 or higher piece of gear mitigates almost any modifier loss you’d otherwise have.
E.g. a 6th level fighter with STR 10 and CON 10 is going to effortlessly pummel a 1st level fighter with STR 18/00 and CON 18.
This I agree with fully. After all, would we ding Hawking because he might not have an in-depth knowledge of rose horticulture? I don’t think so. On the other hand, just because Mrs. Puckett down the street is the foremost mind on rose horticulture in her region doesn’t mean she would rate as high or higher than Hawking. For all we know, Mrs. Puckett can’t figure out how to program her VCR, DVR, or GPS, and she has trouble doubling or halving recipes with fractions. Or she’s a (democrat, republican, libertarian, socialist - pick whichever you think is the least intelligent :D). Does a championship FPS gamer who can’t balance himself on a tricycle have an 18 dex because he can beat an Olympic medalist gymnast at Quake?
Yes, but we are in IMHO.
I was in the top 15% of my high school class, generally scored mid 90th percentile on standardized tests, and then got out into larger society and realized I wasn’t even 1/4 as bright as I thought I was (though recognize that I’m smarter than the average bear, and even many above-average bears).
This may have been part of the first edition D&D design, but it didn’t play well at all. Even a 13 STR fighter never feels heroic, especially when every NPC fighter you ever met had better stats and equivalent equipment. It wasn’t fun for the majority of gamers (though I think every DM at one point tried the ‘play them as you rolled them’ party).
Well, this thread turned out to be a bit of an intelligence test in itself, didn’t it?
The 3-18 range determined by rolling three six-sided dice and adding them together was the range for all humans. That means the percentile stats given above showing what percentile you are in and compared to others are exactly right.
The people complaining that D&D represented heroic ideals forget that those ideals were only attained by: 1) fudging their dice rolls quite dramatically so that the characters ended up getting scores at the top range for most stats (generally most players would throw out any character that was lower than 9 on anything and didn’t have at least three 16+ scores), 2) specialized training, 3) expensive equipment, and 4) extensive experience. A zero level person who happens to have an 18 in one or more traits is completely useless for saving princesses and slaying dragons.
The range that the 3-18 scores represented was for average people, and even if we assume that these boards attract statistically average people in all respects, after a modest number of posts 18s would definitely show up.
For example, anyone who qualified for Mensa, which is not all that unusual in the grand scheme of things and certainly not on these boards, is basically at 16 or higher for INT right there.
Rolling three six sided dice gets you a 16 or higher ~98% of the time. To get into Mensa you need to score in the 98th percentile or higher on an accepted IQ test.
The actual numbers that IQ tests give you vary by the type of test. Saying someone has a 140 IQ doesn’t mean a lot other than knowing it’s above average without knowing which IQ test it was. Mensa does not specify a score, it specifies a percentile and then gives the appropriate score for each test it accepts.
Strength: 7. I’m stronger than I look, but only in the sense that the ocean is drier than it looks.
Dexterity: 9 or 10
Intelligence: 14 (roughly 140 IQ, physics degree and M.Ed.)
Constitution: 10 (I take ill easily but recover quickly)
Wisdom: 10 (little to no connection to the divine, but I tend to have good judgement)
Charisma: 11 or 12 (I can get along with most people, and teaching requires solid interpersonal skills, but I’m an introvert by nature)
Alignment: I suppose Neutral Good. I follow the rules when they make sense and benefit people, and encourage others to do so. I’m outspoken about systems that don’t make sense, and encourage others to do so as well.
But those 3d6 weren’t used for the general population. They were used for heroic adventurers with a built-in assumption that they were above average. So that’s 1 in 216 of heroic adventurers, not 1 in 216 of the human population.
2nd Edition had actual statistics you could compare with real life (bench pressing 150 pounds meant you had 14 strength or something). Unfortunately I only have the 3.5 PH handy so I’ll have to ball park it.
Strength 10 (used to lift weights but I’ve become flabby…should really hit the gym)
Dexterity 11 (not particularly agile, but I can sprint…and I’m pretty good with a bo staff.)
Constitution 13 (I’m almost never sick, but CON is also hit points and at 200 lbs. I don’t really have much meat)
Intelligence 13 (I try)
Wisdom 15 (I think I’m incredibly reasonable, but who doesn’t)
Charisma 14 (pretty easy to get along with and I’d put myself at a 6 on a 1 - 10 scale for looks)
I’d pick cleric…too bad I don’t believe in gods, though seeing one casting of Creeping Doom would cure that with a quickness.
Looking at all the other replies I think I rated myself too highly, our DM was brutal and our low stat characters would get massacred before we named them. I’d bump all my stats to the 9-12 range, but what fun is that?
Here’s what I gave myself originally:
Strength: 6 (I have no muscles to speak of.)
Dexterity: 8 (With a bonus when it comes to dancing, maybe - in most aspects of life I am apt to drop it and then step on it, but I’ve always been okay with dancing.)
Constitution: 8 (I don’t necessarily get sick easily, but I have no stamina to speak of.)
Intelligence: 14 (Although it would depend on the area; penalty applies when numbers are involved.)
Wisdom: 10 (Penalty when it comes to something that requires rational thinking. Or would that be more of an Int thing?)
Charisma: 12 (With a big bonus for students - I do pride myself on being a good teacher.)
According to a website, here are my stats:
Str: 7
Int: 15
Wis: 11
Dex: 11
Con: 7
Chr: 17
Pretty similar, except for Charisma. I think my charisma varies hugely depending on what situation I’m in, though.
Using the D_Odds scale of percentiles, my guesses.
Strength - 11 (slightly above average, nothing otherwise special)
Dexterity - 12 (can fence at a “makes the high school team in a single-A school” level, can play trumpet at a “middle ranking at an 11-county regional competition” level)
Constitution - 16 (I can safely say that I use sick days for my own convenience but in ten years I’ve been so sick I couldn’t work exactly two days. I have no allergies. I can teach children’s classes in winter and not get the sniffles.)
Intelligence - 15-16 (I’m right on the ragged edge of Mensa membership…)
Wisdom - 8 (…and I use it to do things like reload model rocket engines and play airsoft)
Charisma - 10 (odd one–given the opportunity to lead, people like me as a leader; however, I rarely win elections. Plus my wife thinks I’m ruggedly handsome)
So I guess my dreams of Paladin-hood are shot. Artificer, here I come.
Dexterity: 8. Kinda clumsy, especially when things are thrown at me.
Constitution: 8. Got sick a lot whne I was a kid, but doing okay now.
Intelligence: 13. Above average, but not greatly so.
Wisdom: Umm… 10? Nothing great, but have lived for a while and learned by experience. On the other hand, I’m out of debt and not an axe murderer or anything.
Charisma: 5. I’ll never be attracting princesses or anything, but I did okay answering questions at a trade show last week.
Someone should gather the worst of us, and try to run a game with these paltry stats. I’d love to know if my character would even manage to survive a few encounters with nearly anything.
Str: 13 (maybe 14) I am much stronger than my size lets on which has taken some by surprise in the past.
Int: 13 (maybe 14) Decently above average but no genius.
Wis: 14 ish
Dex: 14 ish maybe 15 - probably my highest stat.
Con: 7 ish Not the healthiest person around.
Char: 7 ish Would have trouble selling ice cubes to people suffering from heat stroke.
All in all…I would be a sucky D&D character. Not smart enough or wise enough to be a decent magic user or cleric. Not nimble enough to be a good thief.
Fighter might be good but the low Con would kill me.
