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<blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 7186621" data-attributes="member: 4937">While I agree that there were differences, most of them only applied to you if you were a class that cared about the ability score.&nbsp; That is you really only cared about chance of clerical spell failure if you were a Cleric, or the maximum knows spells if you were a Wizard, or changes in the thief abilities if you were a thief.&nbsp; For most classes though, if you had 16 in your prime requisite, everything else was basically gravy.&nbsp;&nbsp; And having an 18 was a huge advantage over a 16, but really only if it was your prime requisite.&nbsp;&nbsp; A cleric might love an 18 Str, but it would be largely wasted on a cleric, as the bonuses from 18/XX strength were massive compared to the difference between a 16 and an 18.&nbsp;&nbsp; Unless you were a fighter, 18 Con was about as good as a 16 Con.There are really a short list of 'playable' builds for 1e once you become familiar with it:Qualifies for Paladin.&nbsp; Lucky you.&nbsp; Play a Paladin. Has at least a 17 strength and at least a 17 constitution, and no stat of 5 or less.&nbsp; Play a human, dwarf, or half-orc fighter.&nbsp; This is a power gamer's dream build.&nbsp; You have one of the most powerful characters you can get, and post Unearthed Arcana such a character can be game breaking.Has at least two 16s not in Charisma or Constitution, and no stat of 5 or less.&nbsp; You have a lot of flexibility, and really can make almost anything work.&nbsp; Plan a human dual class build, a cavalier, or play a straight classed human with extra advantages, or play a multi-class humanoid where one of the classes is thief or assassin.&nbsp; Has at least one 16+ not in Charisma or Constitution, and no stat of 5 or less in a conflicting attribute.&nbsp; Play a straight-class with the appropriate Prime Requisite.&nbsp; Has at least a 16+ on Constitution and strength is 9 or higher.&nbsp; Play a Dwarf fighter.Qualifies for Bard.&nbsp; Begin a Bard build.Has at least two 15+ not in Charisma or Constitution.&nbsp; Plan a dual-class human character.Qualifies for Ranger.&nbsp; Play a Ranger.None of the above.&nbsp; Roll up a new character, or commit suicide if you can't.Two or more fives or less.&nbsp; You can't make a character.&nbsp; Roll up a new character.While there is some small granularity between 9-14, unless you qualify for Ranger, there is no point in playing that character even with above average rolls, because the gap between a 17 and an 18 and an 18 and higher than an 18 is just massive.&nbsp; A fighter with 18+ strength, or a dwarf fighter with 19 Con, or a Wizard with 18 intelligence is just massively more potent than anything with no scores above 14, and even multiple 15's is barely playable unless you qualify for a 'prestige' class.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Celebrim, post: 7186621, member: 4937"] While I agree that there were differences, most of them only applied to you if you were a class that cared about the ability score. That is you really only cared about chance of clerical spell failure if you were a Cleric, or the maximum knows spells if you were a Wizard, or changes in the thief abilities if you were a thief. For most classes though, if you had 16 in your prime requisite, everything else was basically gravy. And having an 18 was a huge advantage over a 16, but really only if it was your prime requisite. A cleric might love an 18 Str, but it would be largely wasted on a cleric, as the bonuses from 18/XX strength were massive compared to the difference between a 16 and an 18. Unless you were a fighter, 18 Con was about as good as a 16 Con. There are really a short list of 'playable' builds for 1e once you become familiar with it: Qualifies for Paladin. Lucky you. Play a Paladin. Has at least a 17 strength and at least a 17 constitution, and no stat of 5 or less. Play a human, dwarf, or half-orc fighter. This is a power gamer's dream build. You have one of the most powerful characters you can get, and post Unearthed Arcana such a character can be game breaking. Has at least two 16s not in Charisma or Constitution, and no stat of 5 or less. You have a lot of flexibility, and really can make almost anything work. Plan a human dual class build, a cavalier, or play a straight classed human with extra advantages, or play a multi-class humanoid where one of the classes is thief or assassin. Has at least one 16+ not in Charisma or Constitution, and no stat of 5 or less in a conflicting attribute. Play a straight-class with the appropriate Prime Requisite. Has at least a 16+ on Constitution and strength is 9 or higher. Play a Dwarf fighter. Qualifies for Bard. Begin a Bard build. Has at least two 15+ not in Charisma or Constitution. Plan a dual-class human character. Qualifies for Ranger. Play a Ranger. None of the above. Roll up a new character, or commit suicide if you can't. Two or more fives or less. You can't make a character. Roll up a new character. While there is some small granularity between 9-14, unless you qualify for Ranger, there is no point in playing that character even with above average rolls, because the gap between a 17 and an 18 and an 18 and higher than an 18 is just massive. A fighter with 18+ strength, or a dwarf fighter with 19 Con, or a Wizard with 18 intelligence is just massively more potent than anything with no scores above 14, and even multiple 15's is barely playable unless you qualify for a 'prestige' class. [/QUOTE]

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