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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sword of Spirit" data-source="post: 9829776" data-attributes="member: 6677017">This is where I interpret ability scores a lot different than most people do. I spent a little bit of time a few years ago clearly defining what the numbers mean. Here's how I do it:8-13 = Average range. People won't notice the difference with casual contact. If you spend a lot of time with someone, you'll be able to tell the difference between your friend with an 8 and your friend with a 13, but you likely won't notice the difference between you friend with a 10 and your friend with a 13, or your friend with an 8 and your friend with an 11 unless you are really into assessing people.6-7 and 14-15 = Below/Above average. Observant people will notice that you are clearly bright, strong, agile, personable/charming (or the opposite), etc with a bit of interaction, but you won't stand out in a room of people.4-5 and 16-17 = Exceptional. You will stand out with any interaction. Everyone will notice.3 and 18+ = Radiant. You will stand out from across the room. If you walk down the street with that 19 Charisma you can't hide it. That 18 Intelligence will be seen just in your gaze, etc. Constitution and Wisdom are the two that aren't as easily noticeable as the others.8 is technically below average, but not meaningfully so. You can lift a few less pounds, or your IQ is 97, etc. I think the main reason we've come to see 8 as actually being bad in that area is because you aren't allowed to go lower than that with point buy, and it seems weird for the game to say "unless you use point buy, your character can't have any innate weaknesses in their ability scores"...but, I mean, the way I see it that is what they are saying.In older editions 3 was a valid score you could have. It was the lowest you could have for a playable character, but it was enough for you to lift your own weight, move across a battlefield without tripping, not pick up a disease and die in your first week adventuring, be able to process information in a manner to allow meaningful moral judgment (ie, alignment), not get lost trying to cross a battlefield, and not immediately be chased away by any NPC you ran into. Yeah, 3 is as low as you can go, and you can really play it up, but you can play it. And everything between 3 and 8 is a range of low scores you could role-play differently.</blockquote>

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