Or not.
In B/X Essentials, the referee may allow to discard the character if very poor ability scores were rolled, for example an 8 or less in every score or an extremely low rating in one ability.
Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox allows some flexibility, according to the Referee's preferences, such as rolling 3d6 six times and arranging in any order.
Swords & Wizardry Core allows also to shift scores around, according to the Referee's preferences, for long-term games.
Labyrinth Lord allows, at the Referee's discretion, to roll 4d6 for each ability, discarding the lowest roll and adding up the three remaining dice normally. Alternatively, roll five separate sets of abilities as if rolling up five separate characters, and then choose the preferred set of abilities.
Lamentations of the Flame Princess proposes 3d6 in order for each ability score, then the player can decide to swap one ability score with another.
If anyone starts to write house-rules, they're most likely to start changing the 3d6-in-order rule.
Before you do that, though, consider why 3d6 might make sense and what other adjustments you may do in order to keep this rule, instead of changing it.
3d6, in order
by Norman Harman
After using it on both sides of the screen I've become a serious fan of rolling up characters using 3d6 and assigning the rolls in order. That is no rearranging of scores. Even in games where the DM doesn't require it I sometimes assign ability scores in order. This morning, in the shower, I was thinking about 3d6, in order, what was lost when game rules moved away from that. [...]
Before you do that, though, consider why 3d6 might make sense and what other adjustments you may do in order to keep this rule, instead of changing it.
3d6, in order
by Norman Harman
After using it on both sides of the screen I've become a serious fan of rolling up characters using 3d6 and assigning the rolls in order. That is no rearranging of scores. Even in games where the DM doesn't require it I sometimes assign ability scores in order. This morning, in the shower, I was thinking about 3d6, in order, what was lost when game rules moved away from that. [...]
We need feats and doo dads and more rules to differentiate characters!
I'm sure you've heard that. I hear it from friends and read it online. Where I don't often hear it is from people playing "3d6, in order" games. [...]
But if we want to talk about alternatives, let's look at what Rafu - a fellow Italian - has to suggest. His matrix combines some player's agency (the first roll is random but in the order you want), some average but with control (the second roll is not random, it's 1 2 3 4 5 6 but in the order you want), some (finally) completely random generation (the third roll is totally random and in order as rolled).
This combines well a bit of randomness with some control, without resorting to the simple "roll 3d6 and then assign to the abilities in the order you prefer".
Ability scores: roll #d6, some of them in order
by Rafu
That which follows is a method of Ability scores determination for use – during character creation – with any role-playing game employing six Abilities with scores in the 3-18 range. This includes all iterations of D&D I know about, retro-clones or other immediate derivatives of them, as well as Dungeon World and some others. The method can also be altered for a different number of Abilities or scores in a different range, of course.
My aim with this is to marry the “organic” feel of the roll-3d6-in-order method with some of the most desirable qualities of roll-and-arrange and fixed-set methods (namely, the ability to play the class you desire, to always have a character you can make sense of in your mind’s eye, and less power-disparity within the party). [...]
The last article for this topic is an alternative designed closely to LotFP, but which is easy to adapt to other systems as well. The key concept is that different classes (determined randomly in the author's rules, but which could be perhaps also chosen by the players) have a slightly different starting scores.
So for example a Hedge Knight starts with better strength and constitution (both 2d6+6) while a Cutpurse with better dexterity.
There is more in this process than simple ability scores - the chargen procedure includes Hit Points, Skills (as in LotFP, but with a d8), starting Equipment, Saves and Levelling; a complete tuning of the entire set of classes available in the game.
The ability scores are usually 3d6 or 2d6+6 (for better scores) or 2d6+1 (for worst scores), but of course you may adapt this to your game with all the tuning you need.
by Sam Morris
[...] Often TTRPGs worry a lot about balance between classes and will try to make them all pretty evenly matched at level 1, but I thought it might be cool to have classes that are less balanced for more variety of play experience.
The 'balance', or probably better called 'fairness', comes from classes being randomly selected instead of chosen by the player. I've written up d10 classes, which I've decided to call 'backgrounds', along with rules for character creation and advancement. As you'll see, ability scores are sometimes rolled with a different formula to 3d6 depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the background. I have roughly based this off of LotFP but with the key difference that I'm using d8 skills instead of d6. This is because skills are improved each level in a similar way to the CoC/Runequest roll-over mechanic, and using a d8 will make skill progression a bit slower.
Hedge Knight
You were once a knight but fortune has left you without a lord to serve or lands to protect. You wander the land subsisting with little more than your martial skills.
Abilities
Str: 2d6+6
Con: 2d6+6
Dex: 3d6
Int: 3d6
Wis: 3d6
Cha: 3d6 [...]
Cutpurse
You were probably born on the streets. You have survived this long only by pilfering the valuables of wealthier folk.
[...] Often TTRPGs worry a lot about balance between classes and will try to make them all pretty evenly matched at level 1, but I thought it might be cool to have classes that are less balanced for more variety of play experience.
The 'balance', or probably better called 'fairness', comes from classes being randomly selected instead of chosen by the player. I've written up d10 classes, which I've decided to call 'backgrounds', along with rules for character creation and advancement. As you'll see, ability scores are sometimes rolled with a different formula to 3d6 depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the background. I have roughly based this off of LotFP but with the key difference that I'm using d8 skills instead of d6. This is because skills are improved each level in a similar way to the CoC/Runequest roll-over mechanic, and using a d8 will make skill progression a bit slower.
Hedge Knight
You were once a knight but fortune has left you without a lord to serve or lands to protect. You wander the land subsisting with little more than your martial skills.
Abilities
Str: 2d6+6
Con: 2d6+6
Dex: 3d6
Int: 3d6
Wis: 3d6
Cha: 3d6 [...]
Cutpurse
You were probably born on the streets. You have survived this long only by pilfering the valuables of wealthier folk.
Abilities
Str: 2d6+1
Con: 3d6
Dex: 2d6+6
Int: 3d6
Wis: 3d6
Cha: 3d6 [...]
https://monstromanualis.blogspot.com/2018/10/alternative-character-creation-and.html
But yeah, of course I did the same when it came to writing my own OSR games (or heart-breaker).
Below you can see that I went a little further though - perhaps too much. What I did in the Crying Blades, for example, was 3d6-in-order and swap-one (as in LotFP)... but I also kept a separate note of that the lowest of the 3d6, for each ability.
This would be the Gift score, for each ability (named Attribute, in the Crying Blades).
This Gift score is used later in the game for various purposes: determining the number of starting talents for a character, the max level for multiclassing,, the maximum increment to the attribute score, and allowing a certain number of re-rolls. These options would "burn" points so taking a re-roll early in the game to allow the character to survive would for example impact later choices in multiclassing.
Design notes:
- 3d6 in order
- Discard characters with very low scores?
- Assign in the order that you prefer? Maybe only for long-term campaigns?
- 4d6 for each ability, discarding the lowest?
- 3d6 in order, swap one score with another if you want?
But also:
- A matrix with fixed scores
- Different rolls or some fixed scores for different classes
- Track the lowest d6 (or the highest) for each ability, write the score as "Gift", or "Talent", or "Luck" or whatever
- Track each single roll for different purposes, for each ability
But yeah, of course I did the same when it came to writing my own OSR games (or heart-breaker).
Below you can see that I went a little further though - perhaps too much. What I did in the Crying Blades, for example, was 3d6-in-order and swap-one (as in LotFP)... but I also kept a separate note of that the lowest of the 3d6, for each ability.
This would be the Gift score, for each ability (named Attribute, in the Crying Blades).
The above are just some examples, if you want to track a single die of the 3d6. But what if we recorded each single roll of the 3d6 for each ability? This is what I proposed in the Black Dogs fanzine. This is made possible by having three additional scores for each ability:
- Luck (burn points for re-rolls)
- Talent (burn points to increase the ability score or the save score)
- Save (which works as an x-in-6 chance - see also d6 Saving Throws for LotFP for a similar approach)
Design notes:
- 3d6 in order
- Discard characters with very low scores?
- Assign in the order that you prefer? Maybe only for long-term campaigns?
- 4d6 for each ability, discarding the lowest?
- 3d6 in order, swap one score with another if you want?
But also:
- A matrix with fixed scores
- Different rolls or some fixed scores for different classes
- Track the lowest d6 (or the highest) for each ability, write the score as "Gift", or "Talent", or "Luck" or whatever
- Track each single roll for different purposes, for each ability
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