D&D General I can't understand why Gygax split a given stat into Str and Con

[jayoungr]

STR is primarily for offense and CON is primarily for defense?

 

[pming]

Hiya!

All of my friends except for 1 are over 6', ranging from 6'1" to about 6'5" (I'm towering at 5'5" myself ). Each one of them is pretty strong based simply on their sheer muscle mass. However, I wouldn't consider them "healthy", per se. So it makes sense to break up STR and CON in my mind. Likewise, the 'short' friend I have (he's about 5'7") isn't very strong, probably average, but he is relatively healthy (into hiking and jogging). So, again, STR and CON being different makes sense.

A guy who has a STR 16 and a CON 8...yeah, sounds like most of my friends...except for the outlier who's probably STR 12, CON 15. Me? I don't even want to think about it...probably STR 10, CON 7 at this point!

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[le Redoutable]

Hiya!

All of my friends except for 1 are over 6', ranging from 6'1" to about 6'5" (I'm towering at 5'5" myself ). Each one of them is pretty strong based simply on their sheer muscle mass. However, I wouldn't consider them "healthy", per se. So it makes sense to break up STR and CON in my mind. Likewise, the 'short' friend I have (he's about 5'7") isn't very strong, probably average, but he is relatively healthy (into hiking and jogging). So, again, STR and CON being different makes sense.

A guy who has a STR 16 and a CON 8...yeah, sounds like most of my friends...except for the outlier who's probably STR 12, CON 15. Me? I don't even want to think about it...probably STR 10, CON 7 at this point!

^_^

Paul L. Ming

just one point :
you're talking about real people, in the 21st century;
violence still exists, but ( laugh ) apart from Wolverine, people tend not to use Animal Instinct ( am I wrong ? )

 

[Oofta]

if anything Strength should be combined with Dexterity in an Atheletics stat that covers the bodies ability to do stuff - dexterity/agility requires as much muscle control as strength does

and constitution doesnt require a person to be particulary adept at hitting things

There are plenty of people that are strong but clumsy, dextrous but not muscular. In the real world acrobatics requires both good dexterity and above average strength but D&D over-simplifies just about everything.

 

[Tonguez]

There are plenty of people that are strong but clumsy, dextrous but not muscular. In the real world acrobatics requires both good dexterity and above average strength but D&D over-simplifies just about everything.

sure but a strong but clumsy person doesnt tend to effective in combat or the other athletics tasks (climbing, jumping, swimming) which is why the combination makes better sense.
Beyond that the Strong element is pretty meaningless in DnD (how many times does bend bars or lift portuculis actually come up?).

 

[Michael Linke]

Woah, this is still happening?

 

[Michael Linke]

so, you're a veteran and don't come to my help

Your original post wonders why they were split. The answer is that they were never split.

Strength was added to the game solely for the purpose of deciding how fast Fighters would level up.

Later on, Constitution was added to the game solely for the purpose of deciding how many hit points you gained when leveling up.

Any overlap between the two was added later, and Gygax and his successor game developers chose not to go back and reimagine the ability scores, and instead did their best with the scores they had.

 

[Oofta]

sure but a strong but clumsy person doesnt tend to effective in combat or the other athletics tasks (climbing, jumping, swimming) which is why the combination makes better sense.
Beyond that the Strong element is pretty meaningless in DnD (how many times does bend bars or lift portuculis actually come up?).

Meh. I think there's a place for "Hulk smash" versus Hawkeye. Strength matters for carrying capacity and the ability to wear armor; I think strength should be more important but it is what it is. On the other hand if you ever watch anyone juggle the people are quite dextrous. Are they strong? No correlation.

 

[le Redoutable]

The reason why I said " you're veterans unhelpful " nowadays means you/they were just uncaring ( level 5 ) , while I was asking for overriding so as to unveil an altruist flag.
So judgement is : unbelievers !

 

[Daraniya]

I wonder if , in a fantasy setting , there are lots of Body-Builders ( joke )

every hero in RP has a vicious V and a 12 pack of abs... you know that... For once, I'd love to see someone play 'themselves' in an RP role...