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Are ability scores really needed?
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<blockquote data-quote="Fanaelialae" data-source="post: 5880137" data-attributes="member: 53980"><p>I think you can approach (if not completely attain) this by simply removing attack bonuses from ability scores (which, based on a few of the designer comments, I think is a real possibility for DDN). </p><p></p><p>Attack bonus is (IMO) the make-or-break factor, because it is all-or-nothing. If one fighter deals one more point of damage than another, that's a fairly minor difference. The first fighter is clearly better (from a numeric standpoint) but it's unlikely that the second fighter will ever feel overshadowed by the difference. </p><p></p><p>However, attack rolls are all-or-nothing. Whenever you miss by one point, there's a very significant difference. The first fighter made a difference this round, while the second did not. It might not occur all that often, but from a psychological standpoint, I think there's a very clear distinction. In this situation, while the first fighter might still not be all that much more effective than the second, it's my opinion that he will feel significantly more effective.</p><p></p><p>As such, I think removing attack bonuses from ability scores would be a major step in the right direction in this regard.</p><p></p><p></p><p>While I expect you'll never see this for DDN, something I've been tinkering with for a homebrew system is treating ability scores as a specialized type of feat. You'd have six different groups of attributes. One might give +1 to Str checks, while another grants +1 to initiative checks, and a third doubles your carrying capacity.</p><p></p><p>I find it an interesting alternative, because being menu based, you can build character types not possible under the classical system, such as someone with great reflexes but poor manual dexterity (since those aspects have traditionally been lumped together as Dexterity).</p><p></p><p>My own design has the feats restricted by tiers, meaning you can get bigger bonuses as you advance through the tiers. This also limits the size of the bonus a character can acquire within a given tier.</p><p></p><p>If you want a numeric representation for the sake of comparison, you could simply add up the number of attributes a character has in each category. Hence, someone with 3 Strength attributes is stronger than someone with only 2.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Fanaelialae, post: 5880137, member: 53980"] I think you can approach (if not completely attain) this by simply removing attack bonuses from ability scores (which, based on a few of the designer comments, I think is a real possibility for DDN). Attack bonus is (IMO) the make-or-break factor, because it is all-or-nothing. If one fighter deals one more point of damage than another, that's a fairly minor difference. The first fighter is clearly better (from a numeric standpoint) but it's unlikely that the second fighter will ever feel overshadowed by the difference. However, attack rolls are all-or-nothing. Whenever you miss by one point, there's a very significant difference. The first fighter made a difference this round, while the second did not. It might not occur all that often, but from a psychological standpoint, I think there's a very clear distinction. In this situation, while the first fighter might still not be all that much more effective than the second, it's my opinion that he will feel significantly more effective. As such, I think removing attack bonuses from ability scores would be a major step in the right direction in this regard. While I expect you'll never see this for DDN, something I've been tinkering with for a homebrew system is treating ability scores as a specialized type of feat. You'd have six different groups of attributes. One might give +1 to Str checks, while another grants +1 to initiative checks, and a third doubles your carrying capacity. I find it an interesting alternative, because being menu based, you can build character types not possible under the classical system, such as someone with great reflexes but poor manual dexterity (since those aspects have traditionally been lumped together as Dexterity). My own design has the feats restricted by tiers, meaning you can get bigger bonuses as you advance through the tiers. This also limits the size of the bonus a character can acquire within a given tier. If you want a numeric representation for the sake of comparison, you could simply add up the number of attributes a character has in each category. Hence, someone with 3 Strength attributes is stronger than someone with only 2. [/QUOTE]
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Are ability scores really needed?
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