The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[Necron 99]

I was reflecting on discussions, arguments, the one true way, etc. as it pertains to (A)D&D, while reading through some threads on DF, earlier. In the 1st Edition section, TheDungeonDelver made a post about 4d6 drop lowest as the method of stat generation that his group used for their adventure, at the time. This was posted in February of 2003 and there was a lot of back and forth, that method is bad, 3d6 is better, and banter between members on the forum about the pros and cons of using such a method.

The thread had posts through 2004, then was quiet until someone replied to it in 2014. More posts throughout 2014 then quiet again, until this month, 2023 and it's back again.

Reading through the thread, though, it's amusing to see how much people argued over something as simple as stat generation, and how even today, we still gripe and argue over old-school vs new school, changes to mechanics, etc. I still don't like 5e or WotC, but at least I can see and admit that these sort of gripes and arguments have been going on for nigh over 20 years at this point.

And who from that era, can ever forget TETSNBN and the Great Edition Wars. Ah, the good ole days of Dragonsfoot, when it was THE place to be online, for (A)D&D chatter.

Good times.

[Ancalagon]

The TETSNBN thing was always amusing. For several years I had a good time posting on DF. I used to hit DF every day. I've not logged on in years due to too many assholes looking for pissing-contest-arguments and being rude with moderators doing nothing about it. I just got fed up with d-bags and rather than get into a no-win keyboard battle with assholes, I just disengaged and went elsewhere.

[Necron 99]

It's is definitely a shadow of those days, the threads I come across aren't terribly motivating to make one want to post. I tend to get better use out of it when I'm reading older threads. These days, AD&D locales on the interwebs aren't hard to come across. Social media and similar sites have somewhat made a larger impact for those wanting to discuss AD&D and TSR related topics.

[Ancalagon]

I was reflecting on discussions, arguments, the one true way, etc. as it pertains to (A)D&D, while reading through some threads on DF, earlier. In the 1st Edition section, TheDungeonDelver made a post about 4d6 drop lowest as the method of stat generation that his group used for their adventure, at the time. This was posted in February of 2003 and there was a lot of back and forth, that method is bad, 3d6 is better, and banter between members on the forum about the pros and cons of using such a method.
<snip>
Good times.

I've been thinking... the next in-person OSR-style campaign (C&C, most likely) I run will use 3d6 for attribute values. But me being me, there will probably be a house rule or two for some minor tweaking of the end results.

[Necron 99]

I've been thinking... the next in-person OSR-style campaign (C&C, most likely) I run will use 3d6 for attribute values. But me being me, there will probably be a house rule or two for some minor tweaking of the end results.

Arise thread of old!

3d6 isn't really a big deal in systems where characters can die, somewhat easily, yet can be rolled up new in less than 5 minutes, i.e. Original and Basic D&D. Maybe AD&D takes a bit longer, but still not nearly has complex as later editions. And there's less attachment to the characters until they've survived the first 3-4 levels.

Even C&C would be simple enough to easily manage 3d6 attributes for character generation. Sounds good to me!