Most game designs will have ability scores in some form. They could be called: attributes, base skills, talents, or something even stranger. Some game designs don’t have any form of ability scores whatsoever. I commend whoever is writing such game designs. However, it is good to be warned that most players will expect ability scores to be in the game. Why this is so is a mystery. Many players will cry if you don’t offer them ability scores in some form.
Many game designs have ability scores built into them by default. It’s likely you’ll be working them into game designs without thinking about it. I’d always advise questioning why you’re putting anything into a game. Regardless, ability scores tend to make their way into a high percentage of games. How they are implemented varies widely.
Ability score generation can take many forms. Often there is a point-buy method of generation. Occasionally, the results will be rolled randomly by a single die or multiple dice for a curved result. Often, players will cry if you don’t allow them to re-roll low scores so some procedure for that should be considered. With random generation, the results are often highly unpredictable. You can get monstrously powerful characters and those who are pitiful in almost all regards. It’s a natural fate that one or more ability scores will be almost useless and two or three others will be better than all the rest. A character with high rolls in all the right scores can wreak havoc compared to one with high scores in the wrong abilities. Using a point-buy method you’re guaranteeing everyone a level playing field but taking away any variance in character design. A player with a favorite character type will likely be able to choose the same ability score set over and over. A player who knows the strongest and weakest ability scores will be able to pick and choose all the best ones. If you use a single die for generation, the results will be highly randomized. This can make for some pretty crazy characters.
Type and number of ability scores is another crucial decision. Do you want many ability scores to cover all aspects of a character, or only a few to cover key mechanics in the game or wide areas of expertise? Do ability scores represent raw natural ability, predisposition, or trained ability and skill? Can you lower an ability score to increase another? Is an ability score a requirement to take a certain profession, or does a profession add to a certain ability score? Are ability scores crucial to a character or almost irrelevant? I think it’s a good plan to aim for a lower number of ability scores. This is simply because if you can cut out extraneous rules in a game design you make it faster and more playable. Also, if possible, I’d try to balance the ability scores as much as is possible. Even if true balance is impossible, you can make each single ability score crucial to one aspect of gameplay. Most players will pick ‘the best’ ability score and dump all their points into that score choosing to max it out and neglect everything else. This is a wise strategy in most games and allows people to make killer characters. As a game designer, it’s usually your job to make them regret that decision. If dumping all your points into combat results in no ability to perceive any traps, offending anyone you meet, and destroying all your non-combat skills and powers—most players will think twice. If there is no drawback to having low scores in everything but one ability score, why do you have the other ability scores? Often, I’ll design a lot of ability scores or attributes to start with and weed them out later on. Usually, it seems pretty cool to have an ability score for presence, another for aura of command, and a third for impression. In actual gameplay it usually results in a lot of relatively useless ability scores which no one wants because all the skill trees based on them are too fragmented.
Another thing I like to do is break down the ability scores into derived pools. For example, toughness might have a derived pool of endurance skills and hp modification. Might could have a derived pool of physical skills and melee attack and damage. Speed could have a derived pool of initiative modification and overland movement. Really, you could call ability scores just about anything you want, but what it affects is what’s important to the player. If intelligence affects dodging ability, melee combat, and ranged combat—most players will want a high score in it.
By now you probably have a pretty good idea of what you want to use for ability score generation, if you’ll be using ability scores at all, and of how many and what types of ability scores you’ll be using. However, what exactly do all these numbers mean? Floating numbers don’t usually impress playtesters much. There’s often a temptation to use high numbers for ability scores. It sounds pretty cool to have an 89 strength. I’m personally in favor of using lower numbers wherever possible for the same reason I like to use less ability scores where possible. Extra numbers and rules which don’t add value to a game usually detract from it. In fact, if you ever find yourself using factors of ten or five instead of one, you can often divide them out and improve your game no ends in the process. I’ve created dozens of games where characters and monsters had 1,000’s of hit points or other scores only to later find that I could easily divide everything in the game by 100 and improve it in the process. So now we come down to the nitty gritty of ability scores. What do these scores actually do in your game? Can you improve them? Are they a mechanic on their own, modify only other mechanics, or both? Does a 20 strength score give you +20, +10, +2, or allow you to do something involving strength when you roll a 20 or under on 1d20? This is another area where I like to have the derived statistics written right out beside the ability scores themselves. It might seem great to have 6 or 7 ability scores affecting all kinds of things, but when you break it down you can see which ones are clearly most important. Be especially careful of ability scores which affect things relating to combat. Skills and social ability might be just as important in your game, but most players like to role-play social encounters and ‘roll-play’ combat encounters. This will usually result in combat based abilities being more important, relatively, than their counterparts. It’s also good to consider if anyone can seriously cripple or overpower their character by getting too high or too low scores in crucial abilities. A player who winds up with a low toughness and 1 hp every level forever can cripple a game design just as easily as a guy who starts out with ten times the expected combat abilities of a tenth level warrior. The more complicated secondary mechanics are, the harder it will be to balance your ability scores effectively. In a simple game design, points can be compared relatively easily. In a game with hundreds of powers, options, and an elaborate magic system; it can become a lot harder. How can you compare a magic ability score with a strength ability score when you must compare dozens of levels of magical powers against escalating combat powers stacking in odd formations? Playtesting can help a lot here. Players are one of the best ability score diagnostic tools around. They intrinsically know which ability scores will make them the kings of the universe and which ones are for the birds. Simply asking the players or watching where they dump their points can be very illuminating. While you might be crunching hard numbers, they can often point out simple rationales for what they’re doing. Occasionally, players will just pick certain scores out of preference. That’s a fine thing as well. Players complaining that a certain score doesn’t do something is another clue that it might be underpowered. If you assigned all combat to a single ability score, some players may object that another no longer covers their favorite fighting style, magic, or what have you.
Ability scores as a role-playing tool is another area deserving attention. So far we’ve mostly been talking about numbers which are quite important, but not the be-all and end-all of good game design. From a statistical standpoint you could argue, “Why bother with ability scores at all?” It seems as if they only add a clutter of modifiers and weird rules to a game system. However, they also serve the key role of telling the player something about their character. Ability scores can be an inspirational tool. A character with a super high Might ability score would be envisioned much differently than one with a huge score in social. Players love to imagine their character as being the most epic bad-ass to ever walk the earth. If they have the ability scores to prove it, they’re often happy to live it up. This is an area where random generation might have a secret value. If any character can achieve 20 strength by proper allocation of points, it’s not terribly extraordinary. If you only have a 1% chance to roll up that strength score you can rightfully proclaim yourself the only guy on earth stronger than Conan. However it pans out, most good game designs have a certain stage of character creation where the player suddenly realizes their creating a fictional hero and not just a set of numbers to whack monsters with. Sometimes this is a certain set of ability scores inspiring an image in the mind, sometimes its key things in your background or in actual gameplay, it could be the acquisition of a certain magic item which defines your character. Whatever it is, it’s usually a key element to game design. When the players start to envision unique characters and not bland statistics you’re well on your way to creating a memorable game. Good game masters can inspire this kind of things in the players no matter what game they run. Good game designs can inspire the players all on their own.
Many game designs have ability scores built into them by default. It’s likely you’ll be working them into game designs without thinking about it. I’d always advise questioning why you’re putting anything into a game. Regardless, ability scores tend to make their way into a high percentage of games. How they are implemented varies widely.
Ability score generation can take many forms. Often there is a point-buy method of generation. Occasionally, the results will be rolled randomly by a single die or multiple dice for a curved result. Often, players will cry if you don’t allow them to re-roll low scores so some procedure for that should be considered. With random generation, the results are often highly unpredictable. You can get monstrously powerful characters and those who are pitiful in almost all regards. It’s a natural fate that one or more ability scores will be almost useless and two or three others will be better than all the rest. A character with high rolls in all the right scores can wreak havoc compared to one with high scores in the wrong abilities. Using a point-buy method you’re guaranteeing everyone a level playing field but taking away any variance in character design. A player with a favorite character type will likely be able to choose the same ability score set over and over. A player who knows the strongest and weakest ability scores will be able to pick and choose all the best ones. If you use a single die for generation, the results will be highly randomized. This can make for some pretty crazy characters.
Type and number of ability scores is another crucial decision. Do you want many ability scores to cover all aspects of a character, or only a few to cover key mechanics in the game or wide areas of expertise? Do ability scores represent raw natural ability, predisposition, or trained ability and skill? Can you lower an ability score to increase another? Is an ability score a requirement to take a certain profession, or does a profession add to a certain ability score? Are ability scores crucial to a character or almost irrelevant? I think it’s a good plan to aim for a lower number of ability scores. This is simply because if you can cut out extraneous rules in a game design you make it faster and more playable. Also, if possible, I’d try to balance the ability scores as much as is possible. Even if true balance is impossible, you can make each single ability score crucial to one aspect of gameplay. Most players will pick ‘the best’ ability score and dump all their points into that score choosing to max it out and neglect everything else. This is a wise strategy in most games and allows people to make killer characters. As a game designer, it’s usually your job to make them regret that decision. If dumping all your points into combat results in no ability to perceive any traps, offending anyone you meet, and destroying all your non-combat skills and powers—most players will think twice. If there is no drawback to having low scores in everything but one ability score, why do you have the other ability scores? Often, I’ll design a lot of ability scores or attributes to start with and weed them out later on. Usually, it seems pretty cool to have an ability score for presence, another for aura of command, and a third for impression. In actual gameplay it usually results in a lot of relatively useless ability scores which no one wants because all the skill trees based on them are too fragmented.
Another thing I like to do is break down the ability scores into derived pools. For example, toughness might have a derived pool of endurance skills and hp modification. Might could have a derived pool of physical skills and melee attack and damage. Speed could have a derived pool of initiative modification and overland movement. Really, you could call ability scores just about anything you want, but what it affects is what’s important to the player. If intelligence affects dodging ability, melee combat, and ranged combat—most players will want a high score in it.
By now you probably have a pretty good idea of what you want to use for ability score generation, if you’ll be using ability scores at all, and of how many and what types of ability scores you’ll be using. However, what exactly do all these numbers mean? Floating numbers don’t usually impress playtesters much. There’s often a temptation to use high numbers for ability scores. It sounds pretty cool to have an 89 strength. I’m personally in favor of using lower numbers wherever possible for the same reason I like to use less ability scores where possible. Extra numbers and rules which don’t add value to a game usually detract from it. In fact, if you ever find yourself using factors of ten or five instead of one, you can often divide them out and improve your game no ends in the process. I’ve created dozens of games where characters and monsters had 1,000’s of hit points or other scores only to later find that I could easily divide everything in the game by 100 and improve it in the process. So now we come down to the nitty gritty of ability scores. What do these scores actually do in your game? Can you improve them? Are they a mechanic on their own, modify only other mechanics, or both? Does a 20 strength score give you +20, +10, +2, or allow you to do something involving strength when you roll a 20 or under on 1d20? This is another area where I like to have the derived statistics written right out beside the ability scores themselves. It might seem great to have 6 or 7 ability scores affecting all kinds of things, but when you break it down you can see which ones are clearly most important. Be especially careful of ability scores which affect things relating to combat. Skills and social ability might be just as important in your game, but most players like to role-play social encounters and ‘roll-play’ combat encounters. This will usually result in combat based abilities being more important, relatively, than their counterparts. It’s also good to consider if anyone can seriously cripple or overpower their character by getting too high or too low scores in crucial abilities. A player who winds up with a low toughness and 1 hp every level forever can cripple a game design just as easily as a guy who starts out with ten times the expected combat abilities of a tenth level warrior. The more complicated secondary mechanics are, the harder it will be to balance your ability scores effectively. In a simple game design, points can be compared relatively easily. In a game with hundreds of powers, options, and an elaborate magic system; it can become a lot harder. How can you compare a magic ability score with a strength ability score when you must compare dozens of levels of magical powers against escalating combat powers stacking in odd formations? Playtesting can help a lot here. Players are one of the best ability score diagnostic tools around. They intrinsically know which ability scores will make them the kings of the universe and which ones are for the birds. Simply asking the players or watching where they dump their points can be very illuminating. While you might be crunching hard numbers, they can often point out simple rationales for what they’re doing. Occasionally, players will just pick certain scores out of preference. That’s a fine thing as well. Players complaining that a certain score doesn’t do something is another clue that it might be underpowered. If you assigned all combat to a single ability score, some players may object that another no longer covers their favorite fighting style, magic, or what have you.
Ability scores as a role-playing tool is another area deserving attention. So far we’ve mostly been talking about numbers which are quite important, but not the be-all and end-all of good game design. From a statistical standpoint you could argue, “Why bother with ability scores at all?” It seems as if they only add a clutter of modifiers and weird rules to a game system. However, they also serve the key role of telling the player something about their character. Ability scores can be an inspirational tool. A character with a super high Might ability score would be envisioned much differently than one with a huge score in social. Players love to imagine their character as being the most epic bad-ass to ever walk the earth. If they have the ability scores to prove it, they’re often happy to live it up. This is an area where random generation might have a secret value. If any character can achieve 20 strength by proper allocation of points, it’s not terribly extraordinary. If you only have a 1% chance to roll up that strength score you can rightfully proclaim yourself the only guy on earth stronger than Conan. However it pans out, most good game designs have a certain stage of character creation where the player suddenly realizes their creating a fictional hero and not just a set of numbers to whack monsters with. Sometimes this is a certain set of ability scores inspiring an image in the mind, sometimes its key things in your background or in actual gameplay, it could be the acquisition of a certain magic item which defines your character. Whatever it is, it’s usually a key element to game design. When the players start to envision unique characters and not bland statistics you’re well on your way to creating a memorable game. Good game masters can inspire this kind of things in the players no matter what game they run. Good game designs can inspire the players all on their own.
