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Old 09-10-2004, 11:40 PM   #7
SixOfSpades
Dracolisk
 

Join Date: September 16, 2001
Location: Bellingham, WA, USA
Age: 48
Posts: 6,901
The game doesn't actually roll 3D6, it rolls 4D6, and then ignores the lowest die. That's why, when you're rolling stats, you see a lot more 18's go by than you do 3's: The only way you can roll a 3 in a stat is with
1 1 1 1
Whereas any of the following 21 permutations will get you an 18:
1 6 6 6
6 1 6 6
6 6 1 6
6 6 6 1
2 6 6 6
6 2 6 6
6 6 2 6
6 6 6 2
....
5 6 6 6
6 5 6 6
6 6 5 6
6 6 6 5
6 6 6 6.

Although I, too, am not sure what the game does with race & class max & minimums. If, as Hank says, the game rolls a stat that would be illegal for the character, does it simply roll again? Or does it simply impose a bonus/penalty to the stat, such as a Dwarf's +1 CON? Perhaps it does the former process for the class, and the latter process for the race.

Come to think of it, my good-stats brag wasn't all that hot. Rolling nice stats on a Dwarven Fighter/Cleric is nothing compared to doing the same thing with a Human Thief--the only thing you're assured of is at least 9 DEX. Then again, compare that with a Ranger/Cleric: It's almost literally impossible to roll a bad one.
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