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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Crazy Jerome" data-source="post: 5964958" data-attributes="member: 54877">I'm all for an optional ability damage module, if it has the following characteristics:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Meaningful, but slow to accumulate, slow to heal (otherwise, it's just another form of hit points).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Does not readily affect derived values.</li> </ul>A key change in a game to evaluate in this regard is the Power (POW) ability in RuneQuest. For those that don't know it, in early RQ, POW is basically a combination Will/Presence (but not charisma) stat used to power magic attacks as well as resist them. So every time you cast certain spells, your POW went down (temporarily), making it more difficult to resist hostile magic. This was a key balance point for early RQ's otherwise more open system of magic than the D&D of its day. It was always wonky, though, not only in the magic, but because the more "impressive" you were in POW, the harder it was to sneak! (So the more magically exhausted you are, the sneakier you become?) Later, this was changed to POW/Derived POW--or POW --> Magic Points. Now, your POW stat doesn't change much, but your Magic Points get used to power spells. You lose the flavor and limit of "casting spells makes you magically vulnerable" but you also drop a lot of annoying side effects. On the whole, I'd say it is a good trade. So the kind of system that I wouldn't mind seeing for D&D ability score damage is that optional wound module where certain situations (e.g. injuries) or magic--relatively rare but there--can do trace damage to a derived track from each stat, but not affect the derived values per normal. For example, you've got Str 12. You also start with a Str Damage Track of 12. If you take ability damage, it goes to that track, representing a wound. It doesn't affect you until you hit somewhere relevant on the track--say at the halfway mark and at zero. There, it has defined effects. Hit the halfway mark, suffer -2 to all Str checks and melee damage rolls, or something similar. (This is worse than straight Str damage for those with low Str, better for those with high Str.) I'd have damage effects rarely do more than 1 point of damage, with the worst one doing 1d2, 1d3, or 1d4--and each one would randomly affect several possible ability tracks. A level drain from a wight might do 1d2, and you'd roll 1d6 for each such point done, to determine which stat. Falling damage might do 1 point per 30 feet falling (up to some limit), affecting Str, Dex, Con, or Cha. Yep, you can fall into that spiked pit, come out feeling ok (minor hit point damage), but mess up your face a little. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f60e.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":cool:" title="Cool    :cool:"  data-smilie="6"data-shortname=":cool:" /> Technically, I suppose a cleaner way to implement such a system is to make the ability score tracks "core" but make the penalty nature and frequency the options, including an option of "no penalties but whatever flavor the DM cares to impose, including nothing." So then if you want a penalty system that mirrors what a more involved, derived value system would do, that's easy--make your penalties be -1 to all relevant checks and modifiers for every two points of ability damage.</blockquote>

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