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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Edena_of_Neith" data-source="post: 2427652" data-attributes="member: 2020">The 6 main stats of Player Characters are still Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma, just as in 1st edition (everyone arranges them in a different order, of course!)  We know that there is a 1 in 256 chance of rolling an 18 with 3d6.  We also known that originally, in 1E, 3d6 is what you always rolled for your stats (unless the DM was kind and allowed something better.)  Then they went to different systems in the 1E Dungeon Master Guide, then 4d6 became popular, then they invented the Point Buy System that is still around today.  We know that in 1E, for Strength, you needed a 16 to obtain a + 1 to hit (nowadays, they'd say + 1 BAB, I guess.)  A 17 Strength gave you + 1 to damage as well (or, + 1 overall ala 3rd edition.)  18 Strength gave + 1 / + 2, and on it went.  In 3rd Edition, I believe (I don't have the PH in front of me) that a general + 1 starts at 13 in the stat, then goes up to + 2 at 15, + 3 at 17, and so on.  But, 1st edition, 2nd edition, or 3rd edition, when did this scene ever happen:  Player:  My fighter has a 13 strength!  Ain't that really something!  Everyone Else:  Yeah!  Wow!  Or, for older players:  Player:  My fighter is extremely unusual, in that he has 13 strength.  It is a rare thing, to see that happen.  The other players:  Agreed.  It really is quite unusual.  Your character is truly quite strong.  I'm willing to bet <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> that these scenes have rarely, if ever, happened.  Why?  13 strength simply doesn't confer much in the way of bonuses.  And bonuses do tend to speak for themselves.  That doesn't mean all players think in terms of bonuses.  But still, one has to admit that bonuses factor into one's thinking on a stat.  What if a 13 in a stat conferred a large bonus, then?  -  Someone once told me you needed a 130 IQ to get into MENSA.  They also said that only the top 1% of people had intelligence that high, and only the bottom 1% of people had IQs of 70 and below.  I'm not in MENSA, would never get into MENSA, and wouldn't want to get into MENSA if I could get into MENSA.  And all that stuff about IQs is nonsense:  the only thing it shows for sure is you're good at taking IQ tests.  However, what the guy told me could be of use in the game.  Here's why:  Gary Gygax did once say, in the 1E Player's Handbook, that an IQ of 100 roughly equalled 10 Intelligence, and an IQ of 140 roughly equalled 14 Intelligence, and so on.  Let's assume, just for the moment, that the person was right about IQ.    If he was right, then 1 in 100 people would have IQs of 130 or higher, or 70 and lower.  Thus, 1 in 100 people in the gaming scenario would have Intelligence scores of 13 or higher, or 7 and lower.  This assumes, obviously, that humans in the game world have intelligence levels equal to intelligence averages for people in the real world.  And obviously, humans in the gaming world - and other races (elves, dwarves, etc.) - might have different averages.  But let's say that we are talking about humans in the gaming world, and they do have intelligence on a par with humans in real life.  1 in 100 such humans would have Intelligence of 13 or higher, or 7 or lower.  If we are going to use such a standard for Intelligence, I see no reason not to use it for all the other primary stats:  Strength, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma.  A 13 indicates you're a 1 in 100 on the high end, in that stat.  A 7 indicates your a 1 in 100 on the low end, in that stat.  A person who is 1 in a 100, is pretty unusual.  And such unusualness should be rewarded with bonuses.  After all, try armwrestling that 1 in 100 armwrestler with the 13 Strength.  Try outrunning that 1 in 100 runner with the 13 Constitution.  Try winning table tennis against that player with the 13 Dexterity (even if he doesn't know the game!)  Consider the leader with 1 in 100 Charisma.  Consider the judgement of the guy with a 13 Wisdom.  Most of us, in real life, are not so blessed, unfortunately.  Certainly I myself do not possess a 13 wisdom (if I did, I'd be a lot better off than I am ...) nor a 13 Charisma (chuckles) nor a 13 strength.  Then again, I am not blighted with a 7 Charisma (or, maybe I am, considering things ...) or a 7 Constitution or a 7 Dexterity (if I had a 7 Dexterity, I would have wrecked trying to drive to Gen Con ...)  Likewise, most other people are not benighted with 7s in their real world ability scores, or in only one (but that one 7, affects their entire life profoundly.)  See where I am going?  13 is special.  13 is outstanding.  13 puts you in the elite group.  7 is disastrous.  7 is life altering.  7 can take away countless opportunities that you should have had.  Real life aside, if 13s and 7s are so dramatic, then they should have dramatic bonuses or penalties to suit.  Again, the Why of the matter is that bonuses talk, and players listen.  Some players don't bother with bonuses or care for such things, but they appreciate the roleplaying aspects of high or low ability scores.  Those roleplaying aspects can be enormous.  A character's career can hinge on them.  All manner of things spectacular or disastrous happen because of them.  So here is a chart of bonuses, that reflect this:  10 (average)  No bonus  11:  Above average:  + 2  12:  Way above average:  + 4  13:  1 in 100:  + 6  14:  1 in 1,000:  + 7  15:  1 in 10,000:  + 8  16:  1 in 100,000:  + 9  17:  1 in 1,000,000:  + 10  18:  1 in 10,000,000:  + 11  9:  Below average:  - 2  8:  Way below average:  - 4  7:  1 in 100:  - 6  6:  1 in 1,000:  - 7  5:  1 in 10,000:  - 8  4:  1 in 100,000:  - 9  3:  1 in 1,000,000:  - 10  Every point above 18:  + 1  Every point below 3:  - 1  Note that above 13 or below 7 a much slower increase takes precedence, as the law of diminishing returns kicks in.  Since 3rd edition assumes a linear increase in the stat, the bonus increases on a linear basis.  Ok, ok, so you will say:  characters with stats of 15 and above are very unbalanced.  This is quite true, but then again it is quite rare that anyone should have such stats.  But, you will say, every character has such stats.  True enough.  They have them, because they want to be outstanding in at least one stat, and the bonuses currently say they must have a 15 or higher to be even slightly outstanding!  With the above chart, they would be outstanding even with a 13 in a stat.  If a player was required to roll the standard 3d6 - and only 3d6 - for each stat, and be stuck with the result, the player might not be so unhappy with the result, given the chart above and the background behind it.  If his fighter's strength is 13, he can boast his fighter is one of the strongest guys around (being in the top 1%, he is one of the strongest guys around.)  Or if her mage has a 13 intelligence, she can reasonably say that her mage is one of the smartest people around (and be right, since the mage is in the top 1%.)  The bonus is + 6.  That's more than half the bonus for an 18 in the stat, which is + 11 ... and of course a tremendous effort is going to be needed to reach 18, through magic and level advancement and otherwise.  So the bonus is rewarding, and in roleplaying terms the player can play his or her character as one of the very best, with that 13.  So the player of the fighter can boast of (or, discuss the unusualness of) his fighter's strength of 13.  Thoughts?</blockquote>

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