Interest check - D&D 2e

No no, I specifically meant the "in order" part. You didn't get to pick where you put your stats. (It really impacted class choices.)

Method one is specifically 3d6 in order for each. I dread to imagine my cute mage/thief being a bodybuilder with 3 intelligence and 5 charisma. I suppose that was why they added alternative methods.

We always did a set of 6 array and you could use any array rolled by anyone. Of course our theory was that the story can only continue with characters who were alive.

Edit: By we I mean my group that has been meeting nearly every sunday for 23 years.

Must have just been previously that 3d6 in order was like, the only way.

You have to remember, back then it was the opposite of how people make characters now. Back then, you rolled stats and picked a build that worked with what you had. We didn't make our concept and then build it so it worked. You could want to be a Cleric all you wanted, but roll a 5 in the wrong spot and you scrapped the entire Cleric idea. Or... just played Cleric who wasn't good at their job. (That could be a lot more fun, but I digress.)

AD&D 1e used 4d6h3 down the line as its primary stat generation. And Garbanzo Gygax himself used 4d6h3 in any order as one of his houserules. Every table played differently. There wasn't really a "The One True Way".

OK
I'm thrilled to see this much interest.

First, let me say that I've been playing D&D since the 70's, I have some experience with play by post on other sites, but I'm kinda new to Gamer's Plane. It might take me a bit of time to et fammiliar.

But the game is now open to applications. I'm looking for 4-6 players, and I usually tell players the theme of the story first, so they can make characters that fit. But this game is "a study of the PHB" so any character type allowed is fine with me. Lets see how much of the book we can cover.

Personally, I have made so many characters over the years. that I like the old 4d6 method for each ability. And then I make a character based on what the dice say. But if you have a character type in mind we can make it work.

with CHA-17 and DEX-19 I'm thinking... fast talking thief? Maybe an adorable halfling pick-pocket?

But I digress......

As promised anything in the PHB is allowed. So, we can choose a method together and stick to it, if that seems the most fair. Or, you can each use any of the methods available. But show us your rolls!!! That's half the fun.

We'll have a "session zero" as soon as the applications come in.

Nostalgia kicking in - started 2E in the 80ies, many fond memories of the stories we played, less so of the system. ;-)

As I still have the old books, especially the 'Complete book of...'-series, I'd love to use them again. So, if you still have a place open, I'd like to get one for myself!

Method I: Roll three six-sided dice (3d6); the total shown on the dice is your character's Strength ability score. Repeat this for Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma, in that order. This method gives a range of scores from 3 to 18, with most results in the 9 to 12 range. Only a few characters have high scores (15 and above), so you should treasure these characters.

Method II: Roll 3d6 twice, noting the total of each roll. Use whichever result you prefer for your character's Strength score. Repeat this for Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. This allows you to pick the best score from each pair, generally ensuring that your character does not have any really low ability scores (but low ability scores are not all that bad any way!).

Method III: Roll 3d6 six times and jot down the total for each roll. Assign the scores to your character's six abilities however you want. This gives you the chance to custom-tailor your character, although you are not guaranteed high scores.

Method IV: Roll 3d6 twelve times and jot down all twelve totals. Choose six of these rolls (generally the six best rolls) and assign them to your character's abilities however you want. This combines the best of methods II and III, but takes somewhat longer.

As an example, Joan rolls 3d6 twelve times and gets results of 12, 5, 6, 8, 10, 15, 9, 12, 6, 11, 10, and 7. She chooses the six best rolls (15, 12, 12, 11, 10, and 10) and then assigns them to her character's abilities so as to create the strengths and weaknesses that she wants her character to have (see the ability descriptions following this section for explanations of the abilities).

Method V: Roll four six-sided dice (4d6). Discard the lowest die and total the remaining three. Repeat this five more times, then assign the six numbers to the character's abilities however you want. This is a fast method that gives you a good character, but you can still get low scores (after all, you could roll 1s on all four dice!).

Method VI: This method can be used if you want to create a specific type of character. It does not guarantee that you will get the character you want, but it will improve your chances. Each ability starts with a score of 8. Then roll seven dice. These dice can be added to your character's abilities as you wish. All the points on a die must be added to the same ability score. For example, if a 6 is rolled on one die, all 6 points must be assigned to one ability. You can add as many dice as you want to any ability, but no ability score can exceed 18 points. If you cannot make an 18 by exact count on the dice, you cannot have an 18 score.

I've just spent the morning reading the Complete Book of Dwarves.

This will be a PHB only game, but you are welcome here my friend.

There are surely worse fates than not using them. So, count me in. ;-)

If we make this level 1-4 adventure work, Faerûn will be our oyster

If you leave the method up to us, I'm running with Method IV.

Mostly because thendice roller here hates me and I regularly roll well below average. I'm hoping with 12 rolls, something will turn out as a decent score.

But it's your call what's allowed.

ahhh those damn dice!

my table group has a house rule - LUCK

everyone starts with LUCK=10
and every time you roll for luck, if it's successful your LUCK=11 if it fails your LUCK=9

as much as my ASD1 brain hates it, some people do seem to be extremely lucky. And some... not so much.

The Thief goes into the trapped room first, right?

Ooh, way below average. We do have max HP per level though, right?

So what do you guys think about the town we'll start in? My Luskan suggestion has been largely left unanswered so far. I think Luskan is fun because it was just rebuilt and hasn't been claimed by pirates yet. It's a very fortunate 8 years to visit it, since we play in 1306 anyway.

What the hell. A bit weird doing it in the recruitment thread, but I wanna see how screwed I am. Lol

Rerolling 3 because I guess I can't type.

Yep, that's... not great. So much for a good roll. Looks like: 14, 13, 13, 12, 12, 12. Damn.

Rolling!
lol Good grief.

So wait, rolling characters? I didn't think the game had started yet.

We have our tank. Everyone, hide behind the dwarf, he's lucky! (jk)