Roll Factory Podcast

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Intelligence Check

Today, our series on Ability Scores shifts focus away from the physical and toward the mental, starting with Intelligence. When it comes to mental acumen, Dungeons & Dragons embraces a distinctio...

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Constitution Check

Our look at the ability scores continues with Constitution. The music in this episode is by Arcane Anthems. https://www.patreon.com/arcaneanthems Constitution represents your character's physi...

Our review of the Ability Scores and Checks continues with a surprisingly steamy Constitution check. Listen and subscribe wherever you get podcasts!

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Dexterity Check

This time on Roll Factory, we're looking at Dexterity. It’s the ability you'll rely on for sick flips, sneaky stabs, and long-distance arrow delivery. The music in this episode is by Arcane Ant...

This time on Roll Factory, we're looking at Dexterity. It’s the ability you'll rely on for sick flips, sneaky stabs, and long-distance arrow delivery.

The music in this episode is by Arcane Anthems.  https://www.patreon.com/arcaneanthems

Dexterity represents physical agility. It's the modifier for the skills Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth. It encompasses overall nimbleness, hand-eye coordination, and how deft your character is with however many hands they have.

Dexterity helps you hit with weapons that require skill rather than power. Aiming a bow, throwing a dagger, and stabbing with a rapier all use dexterity as a modifier for attack and damage rolls.

Your DM can call for a DEX check whenever you try to move silently, make an unobserved motion, or manipulate a small object. Tying a knot, disarming a tripwire, or steering a speeding cart through a narrow tunnel could all trigger a DEX check.

Next time on Roll Factory we’ll continue our tour of the ability scores with Constitution.

For our past adventures, or to join the campaign, search and subscribe to Roll Factory wherever you get podcasts.

If you enjoyed this episode, please help us grow our audience. Tell a friend, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, or tag the show in a post: we’re on social at RPGRollFactory, and our website is rpgrollfactory.com.

Send your questions, concerns, corrections, disputations, guest suggestions, and errant crossbow bolts by email to [email protected].

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Strength Check

This time on Roll Factory, our look at the six ability scores begins with the beefy barbarian’s best friend, the Strength score. We're joined by freelance science writer and journalist Bethany...

This time on Roll Factory, our look at the six ability scores begins with the beefy barbarian’s best friend, the Strength score.

We're joined by freelance science writer and journalist Bethany Brookshire. She's on Twitter as @beebrookshire.

The music in this episode is by Arcane Anthems.  https://www.patreon.com/arcaneanthems

Strength measures your ability to exert physical force, and is the basis for the Athletics skill. It encompasses your character’s innate muscleboundedness, as well as any physical training or magical enhancement they’ve used to bulk up.

Strength is the ability that powers a lot of physical combat. You'll add your strength modifier to the attack and damage rolls when you swing a sword, an axe, or a fist. You'll also use it when you try to control an enemy with a Grapple or Shove.

Your DM can ask you to make a strength check whenever you take a brute force approach. You might make a strength check to break the grip of a crushing tentacle, hang on to a runaway hippogriff, or plug a leaky dam by shoving a large rock into a small hole.

Next time on Roll Factory we’ll continue our tour of the ability scores with Dexterity.

For our past adventures, or to join the campaign, search and subscribe to Roll Factory wherever you get podcasts.

If you enjoyed this episode, please help us grow our audience. Tell a friend, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, or tag the show in a post: we’re on social at RPGRollFactory, and our website is rpgrollfactory.com.

Send your questions, concerns, corrections, disputations, guest suggestions, and vicious mockery by email to [email protected].

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Ability Score Intro

This time, we’re talking about Ability Scores: how they work, why they matter, and why you only need to think about them around every four levels. The music in this episode is by Arcane Anthems...

This time, we’re talking about Ability Scores: how they work, why they matter, and why you only need to think about them around every four levels.

The music in this episode is by Arcane Anthems.  https://www.patreon.com/arcaneanthems

The 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons character sheet uses the same six abilities the game has used since the earliest editions: Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution represent your character’s physical capacities. Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma represent mental acuity. Kind of.

We’ll explain what each of those abilities is used for in a future episode. For now, you just need to know these six numbers lay the groundwork for determining what your character is great at, and what tasks they’re better off leaving to an ally.

The scores generally range from 3 to 18, with 10 representing the average for an adventurer. There are several methods for determining them; your DM will tell you which one to use when you’re rolling up your character.

However, it’s not the ability score itself that we use when rolling for an action. Instead, the ability score total determines a modifier. At the average score of 10, your modifier is 0 (what some players call “flat”). Every two points up or down from 10 means an increase or decrease of 1 to the modifer. So at 12 your modifier is +1, at 14 it’s +2, and on up. At 8 your modifier is -1, at 6 it’s -2, and on down. You’ll add or subtract that modifier when you make an ability or skill check which relies on that ability.

Most of the time you don’t need to remember if your Strength is 16 or 17, as long as you know that you get a +2 to melee weapon attacks and strength-based skill checks. The only time you want to pay attention to the raw score is when your character levels up. For most classes, every fourth level gives you the opportunity to improve one or two ability scores. If your Charisma is a 13, you’ll only need 1 point to get up to 14 and an additional +1 to your modifier. If it’s a 12, you’ll need 2 more points to get that same increase.

Next time on Roll Factory we’ll begin our tour of the ability scores, starting with Strength.

For our past adventures, or to join the campaign, search and subscribe to Roll Factory wherever you get podcasts.

If you enjoyed this episode, please help us grow our audience. Tell a friend, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, or tag the show in a post: we’re on social at RPGRollFactory, and our website is rpgrollfactory.com.

Send your questions, concerns, corrections, disputations, guest suggestions, and soulful laments by email to [email protected].

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Attack, Check, Saving Throw

On this episode, we demonstrate the core mechanic of Dungeons & Dragons: the roll of the 20-sided dice. You and your DM will use it to d

On this episode, we demonstrate the core mechanic of Dungeons & Dragons: the roll of the 20-sided dice. You and your DM will use it to determine the success or failure of practically every action your character takes.

These rolls fall into three categories: Attacks, Checks, and Saving Throws. In each case, you roll a d20, then add or subtract the relevant modifier that appears on your character sheet. If you roll high enough, congratulations! You achieve your goal. If you roll too low, you don't, and the story proceeds from there.

To demonstrate each of these rolls I'm joined by my first Dungeon Manager, and a character he's been playing from the very beginning.

The music in this episode is by Arcane Anthems. https://www.patreon.com/arcaneanthems

Sound Effects:

Table crash: https://freesound.org/people/pauliep83/sounds/33675/

Stone break: https://freesound.org/people/WIM/sounds/25064/

Water drips: https://freesound.org/people/tosha73/sounds/546359/

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Roll Factory is a podcast for new and returning tabletop roleplayers. In each bite-sized episode, we'll explain one number on the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition character sheet, and demonstrate it with a live roll! We're in pre-production now. Like and follow so you don't miss our launch!