Straight six game

[bjoern]

Have you ever played in a "straight six" game. Roll 3d6, that's your strength. Roll 3d6, that's your dex, etc.

My first ever P&P was that way. It was 2nd Ed AD&D . We were grossly underpowered but so were the enemies. Our guys were basically commoners with a mission. It was a lot of fun though, actually had to use strategy against crappy opponents.

I still remember the fighter in the group rolled terrible on HP and only had 3hp at level 2. The wizard rolled well and had 6hp at level 2. Our wizard was the tank for a while.

[heavyfuel]

Iron Rolls... Yeah, they bring me back somewhat

I distinctly remember rolling something like 14, 7, 12, 8, 4, 12. With these less than awesome stats I decided to run a Warlock. Meanwhile, my friend got like two 18s, a 17, and I think only Int was below a 12... Lucky bastard :smalltongue:

So yeah, I don't advocate this in almost any situation, as it's really bad for those who rolled poorly (like me)

Sidenote: Why did your fighter end up with low HP? The way I've always played is that you first roll, and then you pick the class, not the other way around.

[Fax Celestis]

Sidenote: Why did your fighter end up with low HP? The way I've always played is that you first roll, and then you pick the class, not the other way around.

You kind of have to do that in AD&D, or else you might end up not qualifying for your base class' entry requirements.

[dysprosium]

My group wanted to play a "hard core" mode that was this. Core only, started at first level. We used 4d6 dropping lowest for our ability scores though. But we also kept track of all of minutia that we normally did not keep track of--encumbrance, rations, ammunition.

They got to Level 7 before they took on a routine patrol that was too much for them. There were other in character issues but the TPK was just one domino falling after another.

It was fun though--my group is good like that.

[bjoern]

Iron Rolls... Yeah, they bring me back somewhat
Sidenote: Why did your fighter end up with low HP? The way I've always played is that you first roll, and then you pick the class, not the other way around.

He didn't get a HP bonus from stats and rolled a 2 and then a 1 for his HP.

[nedz]

6 x 3d6, in order. I started out using this system back in the early days of AD&D which led to the mini-game of What can I make with these rolls ?

We gave it up in favour of 4d6b3 and re-arrange: so that we could play the classes we wanted to play instead of having to play another Thief or Fighter etc. Also we never saw some of the classes since they required quite good stats.

I now prefer Elite Array, but do miss the 6's which 4d6b3 always seemed to bestow upon me. A weak stat can be quite character defining.

[NotScaryBats]

In 2e your Con drops every time you're resurrected, too. I had a Fighter at like level 6 or something with Con 4 because she had died and been brought back so many times. She... couldn't tank very well, but I suppose that's why she died so much.

[Gwendol]

Have you ever played in a "straight six" game. Roll 3d6, that's your strength. Roll 3d6, that's your dex, etc.

My first ever P&P was that way. It was 2nd Ed AD&D . We were grossly underpowered but so were the enemies. Our guys were basically commoners with a mission. It was a lot of fun though, actually had to use strategy against crappy opponents.

I still remember the fighter in the group rolled terrible on HP and only had 3hp at level 2. The wizard rolled well and had 6hp at level 2. Our wizard was the tank for a while.

Sure, BECMI games are supposed to be played like that. It makes for creative thinking during character creation, or at least a different kind of optimization.

[Velaryon]

I did play in a game like this once. The DM insisted on it because he wanted to try something different (we usually do 4d6 keep the best 3 and put them wherever you want, and sometimes even allow you to reroll any dice that come up 1). It resulted in my not being able to play the character I wanted. I don't think anybody had fun in that game, and it didn't last more than 2 or 3 sessions tops before we moved on to something else.

[The Insanity]

No and I never would. Rolled stats, of any kind, can die in a fire.

[Chronos]

All the folks I've ever played with have agreed that fully-random stats are a terrible idea, and so no, I've never done that. It kind of eliminates the point of role-playing if you can't choose what you're going to be.

[Slipperychicken]

It kind of eliminates the point of role-playing if you can't choose what you're going to be.

I wouldn't go that far. Some people on here advocate rolled stats as a way to leave one's comfort zone and try something new, or to have less-homogenized characters. It also can help roleplay weakness: that you aren't perfect, and somehow need to deal with that.

[heavyfuel]

No and I never would. Rolled stats, of any kind, can die in a fire.


All the folks I've ever played with have agreed that fully-random stats are a terrible idea, and so no, I've never done that. It kind of eliminates the point of role-playing if you can't choose what you're going to be.

While I agree that rolled stats are a terrible idea in a serious game, mostly because you always have that one character with two 18s and the one with the highest being a single 15, in a (short, probably one-shot) game, it can really be fun. That's the only time our table has played with Iron Rolls.

As for having your stats chosen at random, I think the logic behind it is that it forces you out of your comfort zone. I'm pretty sure everyone knows that player that always plays the same class or some variant every game. For instance, I have a friend that would play a Gish 100% of the time if allowed. During the Iron Rolls mini-campaign, he was pretty much forced to play something else, as he ended up with terrible mental stats. He played a Fighter/Spell-less Ranger focused on archery and he liked it. But he only did that because he was forced out of his comfort zone.

I think a good solution to random stats is that everyone has the same array of stats, this array can be prearranged or rolled, now every player rolls to see which stats go where. Say the array is 8, 14, 12, 6, 7, 16. You roll 1d6 and get 3, so your Str is 12. Then 1d10 and get a 6, so Dex is 6. So on, so forth.

Again, not a good idea in a serious campaign, but if you want to try out unusual classes is a decent way to go about it.

[NichG]

Yeah, played an AD&D (1ed) campaign with this. It was pretty good. Stats don't matter all that much anyhow in older editions.

[Chronos]

Eh, if I want to leave my comfort zone, I'll do it myself. My last four characters were a warlock, a cleric, a druid, and a bard... and my preferred class is rogue. I think I'm getting a pretty good variety, but I'm getting that variety on my terms.

[heavyfuel]

Eh, if I want to leave my comfort zone, I'll do it myself. My last four characters were a warlock, a cleric, a druid, and a bard... and my preferred class is rogue. I think I'm getting a pretty good variety, but I'm getting that variety on my terms.

And I'll be the first one to agree with you. Favorite class Duskblade, last characters have been Rogue, Cleric and Master Thrower. The argument is mostly for people that don't get out by themselves, similarly to the banning of core classes people seem to enjoy