Yaarel
He Mage
I am a fan of reducing the six abilities to four abilities. Each of these four is salient and balances well with each other.
I find the tradition of six abilities problematic, especially how some abilities are more powerful than others, and how it is often blurry which one to apply.
In the process of designing a character sheet that allows the player to choose whether to use four abilities or six abilities. I separated out Athletics and Perception.
Thus the six expand to eight abilities, forming four pairs.
If a player wants to use the traditional six abilities, then place the Strength number in Athletics too, and place the Wisdom number in Perception too.
If a player wants to use four abilities, then the number of the ability on the left in the first column applies to the ability on the right in the second column too. Hence there is one number for each of the four pairs: Strength-Constitution, Dexterity-Athletics, Intelligence-Perception, and Charisma-Wisdom.
I notice, when I separate out Wisdom and Perception, all of the problematics with the traditional six abilities seem to resolve. Each of these two new abilities, Athletics and Perception, stands well on its own. I see the appeal of having eight separate abilities.
For example.
Perception. Perception as an ability represents the five senses, strictly: seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touch. Perception cannot figure things out, it merely detects subtle or obscure sensory information. As a separate ability, it is now possible for certain animals to have a high Perception, without necessarily being "wise". When Perception was a skill it was too powerful compared to the other skills. But now as an ability, it balances well with the other abilities. If someone wants to find something hidden, one makes a Perception (Stealth) ability check. Moreover, Perception can notice an unfamiliar threat coming, thus is now the ability bonus that adds to the Initiative check, replacing Dexterity. Perception is the go-to for the "alert" character.
Wisdom. The Wisdom ability loses its incongruous five senses of Perception. But Wisdom retains its mental aspects of will power and empathy, and better represents someone wise, in the sense of "know thyself" and understand others. Regarding empathy, insight, and will, Wisdom is the go-to for maintaining morale and group wellbeing.
Athletics. Becoming an ability, Athletics is synonymous with mobility: running, jumping, falling, climbing, balancing, tumbling − any kind of physical stunt. In the sense of agility, leaping, and dodging out of the way, Athletics is now the ability bonus that adds to Armor Class and the "Reflex" save, replacing Dexterity. A Multi-Ability-Dependence is no longer necessary to invest in, to awkwardly use both Strength and Dexterity to do physical stunts. The Athletics ability is now the go-to for all "swashbuckling" characters and adventures.
Strength. The Strength ability loses its Athletics. But it remains powerful in melee, hitting hard and dealing heavy damage. It also remains responsible for lifting weights and carrying, correlates with size, and represents brute force generally. A lumbering giant is high Strength and low Athletics. Small animals are often mobile, being low Strength but high Athletics. A hero who has both high Strength and high Athletics can do physical stunts even in heavy armor.
Dexterity. The Dexterity ability loses its Initiative and its AC bonus and Reflex. But it maintains any special uses of a shield. Dexterity remains valuable for missile attacks, finesse attacks, Stealth, and Sleight of Hand. It represents manual dexterity generally, and especially when steadiness and precision are necessary. It is a go-to for rogues and snipers.
Intelligence. The Intelligence ability remains as-is. Its ability check enjoys academic research, memory, analysis, logic, intuition, detecting patterns, and scientific discernment. It puts the pieces together. Meanwhile the knowledge skills tend to belong to Intelligence. Arguably the Deception skill too. In combat, Intelligence is likely to notice strategic or tactical vulnerabilities. There needs to be more combat applications for Intelligence checks. But already, with Dexterity balancing more reasonably compared to the other seven abilities, and Wisdom lacking Perception, Intelligence finds itself more comparable among the eight abilities. It is an appealing go-to for the "smart" and resourceful character.
Constitution. The Constitution ability remains as-is. While it is awkwardly passive for an "ability", its fortitude, toughness, stamina, and concentration remain valuable among the eight abilities.
Charisma. Charisma and Wisdom are the social abilities, somewhat like extrovert and introvert, respectively. Charisma is the charm via fear and fascination and mystery. There is a sense of fate and destiny. One expresses one true self. It masters art, esthetics, style, edginess, popularity, magnetism, and social impact. Charisma is the go-to for the character who is larger than life.
There is more to be said for how the eight abilities pair off into four: Str-Con, Dex-Ath, Int-Per, Cha-Wis. Perhaps the best reason to pair them is, a Wizard can benefit from high Strength while also using Constitution for concentration, and a Fighter can benefit from high Intelligence while also using Perception for alertness.
For now, I am exploring how well the abilities work as eight stand-alone abilities. Each is distinctive and seems to balance well among the eight abilities.
I find the tradition of six abilities problematic, especially how some abilities are more powerful than others, and how it is often blurry which one to apply.
In the process of designing a character sheet that allows the player to choose whether to use four abilities or six abilities. I separated out Athletics and Perception.
Thus the six expand to eight abilities, forming four pairs.
| STRENGTH | CONSTITUTION |
| DEXTERITY | ATHLETICS |
| INTELLIGENCE | PERCEPTION |
| CHARISMA | WISDOM |
If a player wants to use the traditional six abilities, then place the Strength number in Athletics too, and place the Wisdom number in Perception too.
If a player wants to use four abilities, then the number of the ability on the left in the first column applies to the ability on the right in the second column too. Hence there is one number for each of the four pairs: Strength-Constitution, Dexterity-Athletics, Intelligence-Perception, and Charisma-Wisdom.
I notice, when I separate out Wisdom and Perception, all of the problematics with the traditional six abilities seem to resolve. Each of these two new abilities, Athletics and Perception, stands well on its own. I see the appeal of having eight separate abilities.
For example.
Perception. Perception as an ability represents the five senses, strictly: seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touch. Perception cannot figure things out, it merely detects subtle or obscure sensory information. As a separate ability, it is now possible for certain animals to have a high Perception, without necessarily being "wise". When Perception was a skill it was too powerful compared to the other skills. But now as an ability, it balances well with the other abilities. If someone wants to find something hidden, one makes a Perception (Stealth) ability check. Moreover, Perception can notice an unfamiliar threat coming, thus is now the ability bonus that adds to the Initiative check, replacing Dexterity. Perception is the go-to for the "alert" character.
Wisdom. The Wisdom ability loses its incongruous five senses of Perception. But Wisdom retains its mental aspects of will power and empathy, and better represents someone wise, in the sense of "know thyself" and understand others. Regarding empathy, insight, and will, Wisdom is the go-to for maintaining morale and group wellbeing.
Athletics. Becoming an ability, Athletics is synonymous with mobility: running, jumping, falling, climbing, balancing, tumbling − any kind of physical stunt. In the sense of agility, leaping, and dodging out of the way, Athletics is now the ability bonus that adds to Armor Class and the "Reflex" save, replacing Dexterity. A Multi-Ability-Dependence is no longer necessary to invest in, to awkwardly use both Strength and Dexterity to do physical stunts. The Athletics ability is now the go-to for all "swashbuckling" characters and adventures.
Strength. The Strength ability loses its Athletics. But it remains powerful in melee, hitting hard and dealing heavy damage. It also remains responsible for lifting weights and carrying, correlates with size, and represents brute force generally. A lumbering giant is high Strength and low Athletics. Small animals are often mobile, being low Strength but high Athletics. A hero who has both high Strength and high Athletics can do physical stunts even in heavy armor.
Dexterity. The Dexterity ability loses its Initiative and its AC bonus and Reflex. But it maintains any special uses of a shield. Dexterity remains valuable for missile attacks, finesse attacks, Stealth, and Sleight of Hand. It represents manual dexterity generally, and especially when steadiness and precision are necessary. It is a go-to for rogues and snipers.
Intelligence. The Intelligence ability remains as-is. Its ability check enjoys academic research, memory, analysis, logic, intuition, detecting patterns, and scientific discernment. It puts the pieces together. Meanwhile the knowledge skills tend to belong to Intelligence. Arguably the Deception skill too. In combat, Intelligence is likely to notice strategic or tactical vulnerabilities. There needs to be more combat applications for Intelligence checks. But already, with Dexterity balancing more reasonably compared to the other seven abilities, and Wisdom lacking Perception, Intelligence finds itself more comparable among the eight abilities. It is an appealing go-to for the "smart" and resourceful character.
Constitution. The Constitution ability remains as-is. While it is awkwardly passive for an "ability", its fortitude, toughness, stamina, and concentration remain valuable among the eight abilities.
Charisma. Charisma and Wisdom are the social abilities, somewhat like extrovert and introvert, respectively. Charisma is the charm via fear and fascination and mystery. There is a sense of fate and destiny. One expresses one true self. It masters art, esthetics, style, edginess, popularity, magnetism, and social impact. Charisma is the go-to for the character who is larger than life.
There is more to be said for how the eight abilities pair off into four: Str-Con, Dex-Ath, Int-Per, Cha-Wis. Perhaps the best reason to pair them is, a Wizard can benefit from high Strength while also using Constitution for concentration, and a Fighter can benefit from high Intelligence while also using Perception for alertness.
For now, I am exploring how well the abilities work as eight stand-alone abilities. Each is distinctive and seems to balance well among the eight abilities.
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