Re: The Love Thread (Or Just Warms and Fuzzies)
It's also great when the GM jokingly tells you to get your "3d6's" ready. (The old-schoolers out there will know what I mean. xD )
i'm old school and i don't get what you mean.
Ah. Well, in ye olde days of role-playing, the main game in town was Dungeons and Dragons. (At least it was when I started playing, back in the 80's.) Larry Elmore was totally radical, and Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (1st edition) was the limit. You could play Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (the first edition, with three core source books and all manner of supplements) OR the standard Dungeons and Dragons (which had the red Basic Set (levels 1-3), the blue Expert Set (4-14), the cyan Companion Set (15-25), the black Master Set (26-36, the ultimate in mortal power) or the Immortal Set (the only thing beyond the ultimate in mortal power)).
Regardless of the sets you used, your characters started at first level. The first thing you'd do is roll three six-sided dice, or "3d6." The total (a number from 3 to 18) would comprise one ability score. You'd roll 3d6 six times, giving you six ability scores. You'd then assign those six scores to the six abilities: Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution and Charisma. Based on where you placed your emphasis, you could play such classes as a fighter, a wizard, a thief or cleric, among many others.
So when a GM, or Game Master (or DM, in proper D&D parlance, short for Dungeon Master), would tell you to get ready to roll 3d6's, he'd be in short telling you that your characters haven't long to live. Generally you hope he's joking.