The Joy of Rolling Up Characters; Or, I'd RATHer Be Doing it the Old School Way

Does the name Rath ring any bells with you?

If it does, welcome to the club, one of the most exclusive of all: those who actually read the 2nd edition AD&D Player's Handbook and took it seriously enough to have remembered its contents. For those not in the know, Rath was an example of a PC with mediocre stats (implicitly generated in the traditional 'roll 3d6 in order' iron man fashion), provided by the authors as an illustration of how it was possible to get good roleplaying opportunities out of a set of not-very-good dice rolls.

Rath's stats were as follows:

STR 8

DEX 14

CON 13

INT 13

WIS 7

CHA 6

'It is possible,' the authors declared, 'to turn these "disappointing" stats into a character who is both interesting and fun to play.' There was no need to become 'obsessed' with good stats. Rather, it was better to embrace mediocrity. 'View it as an opportunity to role-play, to create a unique and entertaining personality in the game,' they concluded.

And they gave two different iterations of Rath to show what they meant: 

1) Although Rath is in good health (Con 13), he’s not very strong (Str 8) because he‘s just plain lazy - he never wanted to exercise as a youth and now it’s too late. His low Wisdom and Charisma scores (7, 6) show that he lacks the common sense to apply himself properly and projects a slothful “I’m not going to bother” attitude (which tends to irritate others). Fortunately, Rath's natural wit (Int 13)and Dexterity (14) keep him from being a total loss. 

Thus you might play Rath as an irritating, smart-alecky twerp forever ducking just out of range of those who want to squash him. 

2) Rath has several good points-he has studied hard (Int 13) and practiced his manual skills (Dex 14). Unfortunately, his Strength is low (8) from a lack of exercise (all those hours spent reading books). Despite that, Raths health is still good (Con 13). His low Wisdom and Charisma (7, 6) are a result of his lack of contact and involvement with people outside the realm of academics. 

Looking at the scores this way, you could play Rath as a kindly, naive, and shy professorial type who’s a good tinkerer, always fiddling with new ideas and inventions.

I remember taking this advice very seriously as a kid, even while in practice my friends and I tended to implement a de facto 'roll the dice as many times as it takes to get what you want' method of character gen. I liked what the PHB authors were driving at. And I still do - to my eye it is a fun and interesting exercise to approach character generation in this way, even while recognising that there are some occasions when it is genuinely better to let a player re-roll his or her stats. (There was a time when I would insist on an absolutely ironclad basis that the only method I allowed was to roll 3d6, in order. I still require this, but I do allow optional re-rolls when a PC is produced who is self-evidently terrible, for instance because he has no stats above 8, or because he has a 3 for STR or CON and will therefore struggle to meaningfully contribute.) 

The proof of course is in the pudding, so let's give it a whirl and see what we come up with, rolling 3d6 in order the way God intended it (i.e., STR, INT, WIS, DEX, CON, CHA), and deploying the fantasy name generator to come up with a name. Toss a coin for sex, M/F. Choose whatever edition you like, though I'll go with BECMI. 

Character One: Harlex the Red

STR 6

INT 10

WIS 10

DEX 14

CON 7

CHA 8

Harlex is a magic-user who is unusually lithe and whippet-like in his frame, but diminutive and bookish - a feather-weight with little physical fitness. He never excelled at his studies and, while he would like to think that he has gained what little success he has obtained in life through bloody-mindedness and mental toughness, the truth is that he has rather coasted along. He appears introverted but the truth is he simply doesn't like people very much. He is hoping that adventure will redeem him.

Character Two: Cyna of Gawold

STR 8

INT 12

WIS 11

DEX 5

CON 8

CHA 10

Plump, squat and ungainly, Cyna is hamster-like in appearance and hopelessly clumsy. But she is clever enough to have mastered the elementary skills required for magic use, and is above all good-hearted and reliable. What she lacks in ability she makes up for with perseverance and motivation. She does nothing spectacularly well. But at least she is game for doing whatever needs doing in the first place.

Character Three: Ealkmulf, Priest of Nocri

STR 13

INT 11

WIS 15

DEX 10

CON 10

CHA 12

Ealkmulf knows that it would be churlish to complain about the curse of being above average, so he does his best not to dwell on the matter. But the truth is that, while he tends to be more intelligent, more physically capable, and better looking than is ordinary, in every respect he falls short of exceptional. He is too able to be satisfied with a low station in life, but not able enough for a high one. His main virtue is that he knows this to be the case, and this helps him not to dwell on his frustrated ambition. He is as a consequence an exceptional second-in-command or deputy in almost any setting.

Character Four: Perva Boffin, Halfling 

STR 11

INT 10

WIS 8

DEX 11

CON 11

CHA 14

Perva Boffin is a halfling of a long line of Boffins and has all the traits of her father's clan. In no respect remarkable, and rather foolish and dreamy to boot, she has one virtue: she is exceptionally cute, and has learned how to deploy her big brown eyes as a powerful weapon to melt hearts.

Character Five: Iffip, Burglar

STR 12

INT 11

WIS 12

DEX 13

CON 13

CHA 11

Iffip is quick, tough, athletic, and clever. This provides him with a solid foundation for his thieving skills. Though he comes from the kind of rural background that produces chiefly slack-jawed labourers and mulish, incurious dullards, he was blessed with qualities that in that context stood out like miraculous gifts. This provide enough to motivate him to leave his dead-end village and attempt to make it in the big bad world. But he has also never lost his sense that life is unfair and injust, and that the job of those who succeed is to help those less fortunate. He is, then, something of a putative Robin Hood.

Character Six: Nellotie Ipromiseididgenuinelyrollthesestats

STR 11

INT 16

WIS 14

DEX 15

CON 9

CHA 18

Nellotie is a stunningly beautiful elf maiden, charismatic and graceful, a born leader who women want to be and men want to be with (and sometimes vice versa). Though she is capable with the sword, her emphasis is on the power of her magic; if she has one weakness, it is that she is not even arrogant enough to inspire bitterness or envy, and as a consequence simply has too many friends and followers to be able to keep them all pleased. 

What do we learn from all of this? I'm not sure - I actually enjoyed the exercise, and it reminded me that one of 'old school' D&D's unsuing virtues is that random character generation is genuinely fun in itself. The worst type of character, in a sense, is the one who only has stats in the 9-12 range, as this on its face always appears bland. There, a little bit of creativity is needed. But I think the AD&D 2nd edition authors were hitting on a truth - it is actually more interesting to have a stab at fleshing out a group of 3d6-in-order stats than it is to spend hours carefully crafting a pre-invented character concept. 

Have a go in the comments!