Campaigns for the Beginner: A Dungeons and Dragons QnA Series
There are six Abilities. Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom, Intelligence, and Charisma (Str, Dex, Con, Wis, Int, and Cha). Str is applied to dmg rolls after a successful attack. Dex is used in ranged attack rolls. Con is used to add to hp rolls. Wis is used in some classes for spells, same with Cha and Int. Int gives you more skill points. Cha is used mainly like Wis for different classes.
All these abilities also tie into skills; Climb (str) Stealth (Dex) Perception (wis) Linguistics (Int) Handle Animal (cha). I can't think of a skill that uses Con, though. Pretty sure Heal uses Wis. hrm. *shrug* Every ability has an ability modifier, and you add the mod to your skill rank. (Skills will be another post.) So, we'll leave this here and pick up skills later.
Now, how do you find out your Ability score? By rolling of course! You have to roll 3d6, add the numbers, and that's a score! DMs sometimes make "house rules" for how to roll your dice so you don't end up with a number too low/lower than 10. Anything under 10 gets a negative modifier, and that basically sucks balls. Here are three house rules that my different DMs have used.
a) Roll 4d6, take out the smallest number.
b) Roll 3d6 7 times, take out the smallest number.
c) Roll 3d6, re-roll any die that lands on 1 or 2.
Or any combination of the three. My first rp group combined a & b.
Now, how do you choose what score goes into what Ability?
This depends VERY much on your class and how you want to rp your character. I will show you how I plan out my typical ranger. Keep in mind, I'm probably not the best ranger-maker ever. I make choices that are probably stupid based on HOW I want to play her and who she is as a person. Most people tend to keep personality out of the mix. I will use rule c.
2 + 4 + 6 > 6 + 4 + 6 = 16
4 + 6 + 2 > 4 + 6 + 3 = 13
5 + 5 + 3 = 13
4 + 6 + 2 > 4 + 6 + 3 = 13
4 + 1 + 6 > 4 + 3 + 6 = 13
5 + 3 + 1> 5 + 3 + 4 = 12
Okay, my phone's dice app is stupid and I hate it. *grumbles* wtf is with 13? Anyway. Now, I have to put a score into each ability. Because I'm playing a ranger, my most IMPORTANT skills are Dex, Con, and Wis. Depending on how I play her, Str could be important, too.
See, rangers have two basic ways that they go. Two-weapon fighting, or archery. I normally go archery (though I had a two-weap ranger named Sikanda who was friggin' bamf). So, going with archery: Dex, Con, Wis, and maybe Int or Str. Cha for my Ranger is useless. She's terse and quiet. She doesn't bluff, she's terrible at diplomacy, and she's neutral towards animals. I see no reason for her to have high Cha. So,I'm probably going to put my 12 there. Dex is my most important because I'm using a bow. To HIT my target, I need a high Dex. So, my 16 will go there. As for the rest- well, I only rolled 13s. This is the easiest time I've ever had divvying up my abil. scores. Wow. So, this is my stat list.
Str-13
Dex- 16
Con- 13
Wis- 13
Int- 13
Cha- 12
I'm going to be using this score list whenever I need to use Abil scores later on. So, don't forget it.
Based on the race you choose, you get extra or negative points to certain abilities, but we'll talk about races later and change the list then. Moving on to modifiers.
Modifiers tie into the number of your ability. Starting at 10, which the mod is +0, at every even number, the modifier goes up by 1. 10 +0, 11 +0, 12 +1, 13 +1, etc. So, let's see what my mods are?
Str-13 +1
Dex- 16 +3
Con- 13 +1
Wis- 13 +1
Int- 13 +1
Cha- 12 +1
Anything lower than 10 gets a negative. So, 9 -1, 8 -1, 7 -2... it looks like it goes to every odd number... I MAY be wrong on going down every odd, usually your DM will work with you so you don't get a negative unless 1) they're dicks, 2) you're veteran players so you get a laugh outta fucking yourself over, or 3) there's a specific reason you actually want a low score (yes, there are reasons for low scores, but I've never had them).
Every odd level, you get a free ability point and you can put it into any score you want. Level 1 is odd, so freebie point at the gate. I have a shit ton of 13s, so I'll choose one of them. Usually, I'd put it in Dex, but it's a solid score right now and those 13s are pissing me off. I'm going to choose.... Con. I'm choosing Con because I can add the modifier to every hp roll and get MORE hp. Hp is a good thing, so I tend to beef Con up as much as I can. This is my new score list.
Str-13 +1
Dex- 16 +3
Con- 13 +1> 14 +2
Wis- 13 +1
Int- 13 +1
Cha- 12 +1
All right! So now you know abilities and modifiers. I was going to do another question, but I can't remember what. Maybe I'll do Races today as well. That's easy enough, but I'll have to research them. That's the end of this lesson, however. Tell me if you have questions!
