D&D General do we need Character Abilities ?

[TaranTheWanderer]

Proficiency+skills.

Make combat based on skill: Fight, Magic, Shoot.

Have damage scale based on proficiency.

That's all you need. The game works fine just like that.

 

[Baron Opal II]

Need? Probably not.

If they were removed I would put them back as I use them and they're foundational for me.

 

[delericho]

There's no reason an RPG needs ability scores, no. However, I suspect they're one of the genuinely sacred cows of D&D - not just keeping ability scores in general, but those six particular scores. (The others being classes and levels. I suspect just about everything else is negotiable, but not those three.)