Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Why Skew?
Arranging a probability distribution this way allows for very expressive character-
istics. As I mentioned, in the original D&D, the prescribed method for generating
the six character stats was 3d6. That created the bell curve that we saw in Figure
11.6. However, if the definition of the numbers 10 and 11 for traits was “average,�
then we were generally creating average characters. In a game such as D&D, playing
an average character is hardly the point. In fact, it is rather unlikely that the average
peasant would be the type to foray out into the wilderness to dispatch all sorts of
baddies and perform the requisite “noble deeds.� That sort of adventure was more
the purview of people who were inherently
above average.
But how could a D&D
player create an above-average character worthy of such mighty endeavors?
One method, of course, is the tried and true “brute force� method. Roll up a
character. If you don't like it, discard it and try again (or just give it to your little
brother). However, many house rules started cropping up that made for slightly
better than average character generation but still kept the spirit of randomness.
Similar to our solution above, rather than roll 3d6, players would roll 4d6 and drop
the lowest one. (Around
our
house, we rolled 5d6 and dropped two!) Just as we saw
above, doing this skews the curve to the right (Figure 11.12). In the context of the
game, this curve made for slightly above-average characters while still allowing for
the occasional abysmal score on one attribute.
FIGURE 11.12
By rolling 4d6 and dropping the lowest die, we skew the curve
to the right. The stats of our D&D character will
generally
be better but still allow
for the occasional low score. The original 3d6 roll is shown by the dashed line.
