D&D General Friday Nonsense: Add One Stat To D&D (For PCs)

[Reynard]

Difficulty: it can't be anything that has already appeared in an official version of D&D or adjacent game (like D20 Modern or Star Wars d20 or whatever).

If you were to add one stat to D&D intended to be for player characters, what would it be? It can be an ability score, of course, but could also be a different stat -- from Psionic Armor Class to Stamina (but neither of those since they have already existed).

Why this stat? What would its purpose be?

I would add a Heroism stat. This number is intended to be used to define the tone of the campaign as a whole and does not change over time. It would modify certain kinds of rolls and other elements. It would work as impassable DR, and it would be a flat bonus to death saves. I imagine it ranging from 0 (grim and gritty) to 10 (superheroic) with your typical 5E game being at 4 probably.

 

[Charlaquin]

Ja Ne Sais Quois: a new ability score used only for unspecified rolls. It has no associated skills, but gets added to things like death saves, or any roll where the DM isn’t quite sure what stat, if any, is appropriate to add.

 

[J-H]

I really like the SPECIAL system from Fallout. I like the idea of a Luck stat, but I have never figured out how to make it apply to a TTRPG in a way that doesn't make it the ur-stat like Dexterity is often claimed to be.

If WOTC put me in charge of 6e and said to shake things up, I'd probably be pairing stats for most effects so characters can combine Str + Dex for to hit and damage with melee weapons, Clerics with Wis+Cha, Wizards with Int+Cha (understanding magic and also having the force of will to bend it to their will), etc.
Based on that, I would probably try to split Charisma into Willpower and Presence. The absent-minded wizard who can summon meteors but doesn't have the social skills to ask a lady to dance at a ball without tripping over his own words would have high Willpower but low Presence.

 

[Reynard]

I really like the SPECIAL system from Fallout. I like the idea of a Luck stat, but I have never figured out how to make it apply to a TTRPG in a way that doesn't make it the ur-stat like Dexterity is often claimed to be.

If WOTC put me in charge of 6e and said to shake things up, I'd probably be pairing stats for most effects so characters can combine Str + Dex for to hit and damage with melee weapons, Clerics with Wis+Cha, Wizards with Int+Cha (understanding magic and also having the force of will to bend it to their will), etc.
Based on that, I would probably try to split Charisma into Willpower and Presence. The absent-minded wizard who can summon meteors but doesn't have the social skills to ask a lady to dance at a ball without tripping over his own words would have high Willpower but low Presence.

I think the 2E Player's Option books split stats like this, but I can't remember exactly how each one was split up.

 

[payn]

Im a political intrigue junky and social is my favorite pillar. I'd love to see a some type of social stat. I'd like something more unique than "social" but I think of things like station or echelon and it seems too formal. For lack of a better term at the moment, I suppose social will do.

Traveller, for example has a social stat. It denotes rank and characters upbringing and customs. I dont use it like a typical mod in that high and positive are better. I view it more like a spectrum. The higher the number, the more upscale your customs are. You can wear a uniform or formal wear proficiently and conduct yourself in an acceptable manner. On the other end, you know your way around blue collar and lower customs places. Each has a benefit depending on where the story takes you. A high character will stick out like a sore thumb in a back alley thieves den, but a low score is going to be spotted as a fraud from a mile away at a swanky party of high society socialites.

 

[Tonguez]

I've always wanted to separate Dexterity (fine motor control, precision, timing) and Agility (balance, flexibility, motion)

Dexterity gets Sleight of hand, tool use, picklocks, medicine, ranged combat, initiative and AC
Agility gets Acrobatics/Athletics (climbing, swimming, jumping), Stealth, dodging (Agility save)

Finesse Weapons use Dexterity for attack and Agility for Damage
Other weapons use Str
Ranged weapons use Dex

 

[Yaarel]

Strength-Constitution
Dexterity-Athletics
Intelligence-Perception
Charisma-Wisdom

 

[EzekielRaiden]

If I had to make D&D have 7 stats, I think I'd either split Wisdom into Perception and Understanding (or Insight, renaming the skill), or I'd split Dexterity into Quickness and Precision.

And, for fun, I'd probably merge Str and Con into "Might" if I had to compress it down to five. Wis and Dex don't need to become even more god stats than they already are, so that knocks out four out of six possibilities, leaving only Charisma and Intelligence. I think those are clearly distinct enough to not be merged together, so nothing's left. Alternatively, I could see killing Wisdom entirely and splitting its powerful functions between Int and Cha (favoring Int 'cause it's kinda weak in 5th edition.)

 

[aco175]

We seem to have already forced most things into fitting on the other 6 abilities it makes it hard to pick something and make it feel new.

I think something that lets you fit in or mimic other cultures. If you travel from Waterdeep to Chult and want to not be seen as an outsider. Maybe it has something dealing with other checks if you can pass off as from the location. It does not come up much and is handwaved a lot in most games.

 

[TiQuinn]

Well I can’t speak to every other d20 game out there and whether this exists or not, but Grit would be a cool attribute. It represents the character’s ability to pull from somewhere deep inside of them to do something that their other attributes maybe suggest they can’t. It’s that thing that won’t let a character stay down even after he should be exhausted. It represents the ability to tough through a problem.