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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Li Shenron" data-source="post: 5829088" data-attributes="member: 1465">This question is way too hard...Of course all abilities should be useful to everyone, but that's not the point here.IIUC the point is if the class set of signature features/abilities should be designed so that one ability score takes care of everything specific to that class and the other abilities are just good for your character in general but not fueling/boosting your own class-specific features. Or alternatively if each class should be designed so that some class-specific features are based on one ability, and others on another. Or more than two. Or all six.However there is a fine line between a truly class-specific feature and something that it's technically not but it is almost must-have, or something else which is nice-to-have but applies also to a couple of other classes.Let's check some 3ed class for instance:Wizard: Intelligence takes care of everything wiz-specific, such as spells DC and number of spells known. Then there are some skills which technically aren't class-specific, but for a Wizard are almost must-have, such as Spellcraft and Knowledge Arcana (again, both based on Int). Then there is Concentration which may or may not be a must-have depending on how you plan to play such Wizard, and is again not unique to the Wiz class... but normally Constitution is not seen as a primary ability for the Wiz class, despite IMXP being the second-most wanted one. Dexterity is definitely not primary, even tho it's very much nice-to-have. This is almost a single-ability based class.Fighter: Strength is primary because melee largely depends on it. But what if you build a pure archer? Dexterity is primary or not? I cannot answer because you can make a full-melee heavy-armor Fighter who just doesn't bother with bows and be super-effective, but if you do want to keep decent at bows or mobility then Dexterity becomes primary. And is Constitution primary or secondary? This could be a single-ability based class as much as a multi-ability based class.Paladin: Strength, Wisdom and Charisma are all considered primary. Without Str you're not much of a melee warrior (although technically you could be a Paladin archer...), without Wis you throw away a chunk of your class features such as spells, without Cha you throw away a different chunk including turn undead, lay on hands and divine grace. This is clearly a multi-ability based class.Really... I don't know what to answer about "should". All those classes above worked perfectly fine for me.The only problems I have (and only online IMXP) come from rules that allow to easily substitute one ability for another to "fuel" your class feature: gamers always ask for them with the excuse of creativity but end up using them for score-dumping mostly.</blockquote>

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