D&D General I can't understand why Gygax split a given stat into Str and Con

[MarkB]

ok ok, so Elves have good fitness but low endurance; do they get good strength ? ( perhaps Wood Elves ? )

How are you defining "fitness"? How does it compare to strength, constitution or dexterity?

 

[le Redoutable]

well, fitness clubs are good for abs;
( perhaps the main confusion comes from ) Ad&d 2 Player's Option, they split Con into fitness and health
and ( again from 2E PO ) Str was split into stamina and muscle

what if, Str was Nerves ??

 

[le Redoutable]

Oh yes there are. Tons of them actually. For instance some the youtuberatti of body builders, strength competitors and powerlifters that I watch have had little bits of D&D show up in their videos. From Jon Call, to Martins Licis (who actually played one or two sessions of D&D on his channel), to Omar Isuf (who's shirts are very cool), to Dr. Mike Israetel.

And others that, due to oblique references in their content, I suspect they play or used to, like Gregg Knuckols.

When I recently changed gyms a trainer asked about my lifting belt with the words "Bend Bars Lift Gates" embroidered on it. Turns out he's a huge fan of the Adventure Zone.

And I think many of them, me included, understand the difference between str and con.

hey! I'm not talking about players, I'm talking about characters ( lol )

 

[loverdrive]

He was pondering his orb, saw 5E in the future and was like "yeah, let's screw STR-based fighters over just for lulz!"

 

[le Redoutable]

Technically true, but they are extremely closely related though. It's an outlier when they don't go hand in hand.

well, I must admit that there would be strongmen in circus;

 

[le Redoutable]

How are you defining "fitness"? How does it compare to strength, constitution or dexterity?

to me, fitness should pertain to Dex, 'cause it's a tool for Acrobats !

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

to me, fitness should pertain to Dex, 'cause it's a tool for Acrobats !

Acrobats are generally exceptionally strong for their size.

If you want to represent literally musclebound people like some bodybuilders, strongmen etc, giving them a lower Str stat and the Powerful Build trait might be a better representation.

 

[HammerMan]

You can combine all 6 into “Awesomeness”. Or split them into a thousand very specific categories. 6 abilities is as good a number as any.

yup, and if you read enough RPGs you can probably at least name 2 dozen possible stats

 

[Tonguez]

if anything Strength should be combined with Dexterity in an Atheletics stat that covers the bodies ability to do stuff - dexterity/agility requires as much muscle control as strength does

and constitution doesnt require a person to be particulary adept at hitting things

 

[Mannahnin]

I like how The Nightmares Underneath re-casts the ability scores to represent slightly different things. Cribbing from @Libertad 's excellent and detailed review (linked below):

There’s no Strength score; instead there’s Ferocity which measures your overall capacity to inflict violence and adds to your to-hit rolls for melee and to all physical damage roll both ranged and melee.

Health, which is akin to Constitution, determines your carrying capacity on top of how many Wounds you can suffer before death.

Dexterity does not add to your Armour Rating but adds to your initiative modifier, surprise rolls, to-hit with missile weapons, and one’s Speed rating (how many squares you can move per round) plus everything else said score usually does.

Intelligence also covers perception and surprise rolls as well as general knowledge and “dungeon navigation” stuff.

Instead of Wisdom we have Willpower which is more or less your mental fortitude in trying times.

Charisma functions more or less the same, but can be used to reduce a community’s Resentment and people with high scores are often believed to be blessed by magic and/or the divine.

OSR - [Let's Read] The Nightmares Underneath: 2nd Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to my next Let’s Read! I realize it’s been a long time coming, but a lot of stuff’s been going on in life that disrupted my regular schedule. However, now that I have more time to devote to writing, I’m fulfilling my promise to those who voted for this book way back in...

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