Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
GM's Closet for the CONAN RPG
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Water Bob" data-source="post: 6011033" data-attributes="member: 92305"><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>The "Average" Human</strong></span></p><p></p><p></p><p>Too many times I've seen a GM or a player look at a set of character stats and think the character sub-par because the character has some negative modifiers for stats below 10.</p><p></p><p>Let's look into this a little bit closer.</p><p></p><p>I think most gamers would agree that a score of 10-11 is average, representing the average human. No where in the Conan RPG does it say such, but its easy to deduce by looking at the Attribute Modifier Table. Scores below the 10-11 mark have negative modifiers while scores above the 10-11 mark have positive modifiers.</p><p></p><p>So, a strictly average human would have three 10's and three 11's in all six of the game's designated attributes.</p><p></p><p>But, we all know, from real life experience, that people are people, and that although there is an average, we all very widely when we are measured.</p><p></p><p>As far as the game goes, I think it is fair to say that average people vary as much as 10%. Call it one standard deviation where most people fall within that range.</p><p></p><p>If my assumption is true, then the average human falls within a range of stats from 6-15. This range allows for people to be 10% (+2) better in an area than the strict norm, and it allows for people to be 10% less effective in an area from their strictly normal counterparts.</p><p></p><p>I say this because players see a 6 or an 8 in a stat, and they think the penalty is really worse than it is. Someone with an INT 6 is still an average character. He's within the range. He's the C-D and occasional F student. He's 10% less likely to achieve an intelligence based throw than the strictly average person with INT 10.</p><p></p><p>Thus, I submit to you, that the average person in the Conan RPG can have a stat as low as 6 and as high as 15 and still be considered average. Any score 16+ is considered superhuman, which any score 5- is considered sub-average.</p><p></p><p>In other words, it's quite OK for a character to have stats as low as 6. This would not represent a deformed person or a retarded person. What's represented is the natural variance in human beings.</p><p></p><p>We each have our own gifts and weaknesses.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>HUMAN AVERAGE ATTRIBUTE RANGE = 6 TO 15.</strong></span></p><p></p><p>Luckily, the default 4d6, drop lowest, arrange to taste method of generating stats skews characters away from the sub-average, 5- numbers. It's still possible to roll a score of 3, but it's highly unlikely (99%+ chance of rolling higher than a 3).</p><p></p><p>The next time you end up with a 7 in a stat, don't penalize your character in your mind, thinking of him as greatly handicapped. Because, he's not. The character still falls within the average zone, and if you take all of stats together, most likely he's the higher side of average--maybe with one or two superhuman attrbutes.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>How far from average is your character?</p><p></p><p>To answer this, take this test. Add up the character's bonuses and penalties from his six stats. If the sum is 0, then the character is strictly average. If a positive number results, the character is above average. If a negative number results, then the character is below average.</p><p></p><p>Let's apply this test to Morghun Clanson, the NPC I posted above.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Morghun Clanson</strong></span></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>STR: 16 (+3)</strong></span></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>DEX: 14 (+1)</strong></span></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>CON: 8 (-1)</strong></span></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>INT: 11</strong></span></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>WIS: 11</strong></span></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>CHA: 7 (-2)</strong></span></p><p></p><p>Adding up his modifiers: +3 +1 -1 +0 +0 -2 = +3.</p><p></p><p>You can say that this is an above average charater, 15% above the norm.</p><p></p><p>Looking individually at Morhun's stats, we see that his STR score is superhuman while the rest of his scores fall within the average human range.</p><p></p><p>Do this check the next time you end up with some low stats thinking your character is subpar.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Water Bob, post: 6011033, member: 92305"] [COLOR=#0000ff][B]The "Average" Human[/B][/COLOR] Too many times I've seen a GM or a player look at a set of character stats and think the character sub-par because the character has some negative modifiers for stats below 10. Let's look into this a little bit closer. I think most gamers would agree that a score of 10-11 is average, representing the average human. No where in the Conan RPG does it say such, but its easy to deduce by looking at the Attribute Modifier Table. Scores below the 10-11 mark have negative modifiers while scores above the 10-11 mark have positive modifiers. So, a strictly average human would have three 10's and three 11's in all six of the game's designated attributes. But, we all know, from real life experience, that people are people, and that although there is an average, we all very widely when we are measured. As far as the game goes, I think it is fair to say that average people vary as much as 10%. Call it one standard deviation where most people fall within that range. If my assumption is true, then the average human falls within a range of stats from 6-15. This range allows for people to be 10% (+2) better in an area than the strict norm, and it allows for people to be 10% less effective in an area from their strictly normal counterparts. I say this because players see a 6 or an 8 in a stat, and they think the penalty is really worse than it is. Someone with an INT 6 is still an average character. He's within the range. He's the C-D and occasional F student. He's 10% less likely to achieve an intelligence based throw than the strictly average person with INT 10. Thus, I submit to you, that the average person in the Conan RPG can have a stat as low as 6 and as high as 15 and still be considered average. Any score 16+ is considered superhuman, which any score 5- is considered sub-average. In other words, it's quite OK for a character to have stats as low as 6. This would not represent a deformed person or a retarded person. What's represented is the natural variance in human beings. We each have our own gifts and weaknesses. [COLOR=#0000ff][B]HUMAN AVERAGE ATTRIBUTE RANGE = 6 TO 15.[/B][/COLOR] Luckily, the default 4d6, drop lowest, arrange to taste method of generating stats skews characters away from the sub-average, 5- numbers. It's still possible to roll a score of 3, but it's highly unlikely (99%+ chance of rolling higher than a 3). The next time you end up with a 7 in a stat, don't penalize your character in your mind, thinking of him as greatly handicapped. Because, he's not. The character still falls within the average zone, and if you take all of stats together, most likely he's the higher side of average--maybe with one or two superhuman attrbutes. How far from average is your character? To answer this, take this test. Add up the character's bonuses and penalties from his six stats. If the sum is 0, then the character is strictly average. If a positive number results, the character is above average. If a negative number results, then the character is below average. Let's apply this test to Morghun Clanson, the NPC I posted above. [COLOR=#0000ff][B]Morghun Clanson STR: 16 (+3) DEX: 14 (+1) CON: 8 (-1) INT: 11 WIS: 11 CHA: 7 (-2)[/B][/COLOR] Adding up his modifiers: +3 +1 -1 +0 +0 -2 = +3. You can say that this is an above average charater, 15% above the norm. Looking individually at Morhun's stats, we see that his STR score is superhuman while the rest of his scores fall within the average human range. Do this check the next time you end up with some low stats thinking your character is subpar. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
GM's Closet for the CONAN RPG
Top