Calculation of probability of 6 x 18s.

We know (or I believe) the dices are 3D6. So for 6 starts you roll

6 x 3D6 = 18D6.

The probability of all 18 dice to come 6 is

(1/6)^18 = 1 / 101.559.956.668.416

So dont give up :))

First, you don't roll, you glitch/cheat. Second, you don't even play the game.

[Yes, I know this is in jest, as is my reply.]

A friend of mine rolled 213 once.

I did too… with a single D6 ;-P

Damn. You must be a TRUE master of Baldur's Gate. I have never heard of such tremendous skills before.

I rolled a 256 once, but because only an 8-bit integer was used to store the result, the roll was treated as a 0. As a result, I couldn't create my character, and the DM wouldn't let me re-roll, so the game could not continue.

(On a serious note: In the table top RPG on which Baldur's Gate is based, has anyone actually encountered the situation of not qualifying for any class? (Of course, a reasonable DM would allow a re-roll in this case.))

You can't. The game adjusts the stats on the rolls so that you meet the minimum stat requirements. Might be the reason why it is easier to get higher rolls when creating a Ranger - which has several minimum requirements on stats.

My parenthetical question wasn't about Baldur's Gate; it was about the tabletop role playing game that Baldur's Gate is based on (AD&D) which doesn't have any rule about adjusting the stats to meet the minimum requirements.

My bad. I misunderstood your post.

The 102 I thought I seen is apparently true. Today I rolled a 100, so I guess 108 is achievable!

Actually, I wouldn't be so sure, at least not without figuring out what PRNG the game uses and analyzing it carefully.

Probability of rolling an 18 in a stat is 1 / 256.

Probability of rolling 6 18s is one in
101559956668416

Number of values that can be stored in a 32-bit integer is
4294967296

(Values put at the start of the line to make comparisons easier.)

Hence, if the PRNG has a 32-bit seed, then there is only something like a 1 in 23646 or so chance that are PRNG would have a random number sequence that would result in rolling 6 18s in a row. In other words, there *might not exist* a possible seed that would lead to rolling 6 18s in a row.

Of course, if the game's PRNG is better, then the situation might be different. However, this just goes to show that you can't always assume that the "random" numbers generated by a computer are truly random; extremely unlikely results might actually be impossible!

(Has anyone actually done any research on what PRNG the game actually uses? My best guess would be the one used in the Microsoft C standard library around the time of the game's release.)

Interesting theory, I'm 99% sure I seen the 102.

Actually, there is one thing I forgot to mention. I was assuming that the game simply rolls 3d6 for all stats.

According to a thread elsewhere on the internet, the game actually rolls 4d6 and drops the lowest. This makes rolling 18 considerably more likely, increasing the chance of rolling 108. (I still don't know if the PRNG can generate the required sequence of dice rolls, however.) On the other hand, it also makes it less likely for a 3 to be rolled for a stat. As a result, the minimum possible roll (one 9 and 5 3s) might be less likely (or even impossible, given the RNG).

Of note, this 4d6 drop lowest is a common house rule for the pencil and paper game, and is actually the default in 3rd edition rules. Of course, you couldn't redistribute stat points as easily, but I believe you could arrange the stats as you like instead of having to put them in order.

I love reading mathematics comments from people who dont know it. Especially people who claim to have masters in maths but cant handle a simple If x=3 or else statement. Ofcourse everything he said is wrong except the all 18 probability which I had written already above. I wont spoil the correct answers yet but to actually think that the probabilities depending on former rolls is just plain ignorance.

I'm pretty sure the game rolls 3d6, but it rerolls if you get less than 75. Then it adjust stats to meet racial and class requirements. This means races and classes with high minimums will generally get better stats while a Human Fighter (or rogue, wizard, sorcerer or cleric) will generally have poor stats.