D&D 5E Making every point count: Ability Mod Variant

[jsaving]

If you want to make each point matter without fundamentally restructuring the underlying ruleset or the dice you roll, your best bet is to shift some of the benefits of a stat increase from even numbers to odd numbers. For wisdom, perhaps even numbers grant +1 to will saves while odd numbers grant +1 to skills and caster level. For strength, on the other hand, perhaps even numbers grant +1 to-hit while odd numbers grant +1 to skills and melee damage.

The biggest benefit to a system like this is that it doesn't require any changes to other parts of the game (like AC or DCs) nor does it require you to change the dice you roll. All you're doing is saying, look, there's a "rounding" problem here so we want to make odd numbers somewhat more meaningful than they currently are.

 

[Esker]

I would probably just use 2d20

I was mostly joking about using 1d40, but actually 2d20 would change things quite a bit. It's essentially like replacing 1d20 with 2d10: medium values become much more likely, high and low values less. The net effect is it makes easy tasks easier, harder tasks harder, and bonuses overall matter more (because there's a bigger payoff to turning a task from hard to medium or medium to easy).

 

[dave2008]

I was mostly joking about using 1d40, but actually 2d20 would change things quite a bit. It's essentially like replacing 1d20 with 2d10: medium values become much more likely, high and low values less. The net effect is it makes easy tasks easier, harder tasks harder, and bonuses overall matter more (because there's a bigger payoff to turning a task from hard to medium or medium to easy).

Yes, I am aware. I have thought about using 2d10 instead of d20 in my own game.

 

[Horwath]

I would rather go with 1 for 1 point but limit ability scores to 15(+5 modifier) or even just 14(+4) modifier.

+2 from races becomes +1, +1 goes away and you give racial feat without ability boost instead.

ASIs give +1 ability, or a feat or 2 half-feats without ability boosts.

point buy is now:

score 9(-1 mod): 0 pt
score 10(+0): 1 pt
score 11(+1): 2 pts
score 12(+2): 3 pts
score 13(+3): 5 pts

total ability pool: 16pts(or whatever suits your campaign power level)

if you want to roll you can go with 5d2+4, rolls are 9-14 average 11,5.

 

[NotAYakk]

I was mostly joking about using 1d40, but actually 2d20 would change things quite a bit. It's essentially like replacing 1d20 with 2d10: medium values become much more likely, high and low values less. The net effect is it makes easy tasks easier, harder tasks harder, and bonuses overall matter more (because there's a bigger payoff to turning a task from hard to medium or medium to easy).

2d20 has a SD of sqrt(2*399/12) vs 1d20 with sqrt(399/12). The SD is a better measure of the spread than the min/max, so this is roughly the range of a d28 instead of a d40.

To emulate a d40 using added up dice you need a SD of sqrt(1599/12); something like 4d20-21 (SD of sqrt(1596/12)). That'll have a wider range than a d40, but the parts outside of 1 and 40 will have a relatively tiny probability (as most of them are 2+ standard deviations away from the mean).

But that is getting silly.

 

[Esker]

2d20 has a SD of sqrt(2*399/12) vs 1d20 with sqrt(399/12). The SD is a better measure of the spread than the min/max, so this is roughly the range of a d28 instead of a d40.

To emulate a d40 using added up dice you need a SD of sqrt(1599/12); something like 4d20-21 (SD of sqrt(1596/12)). That'll have a wider range than a d40, but the parts outside of 1 and 40 will have a relatively tiny probability (as most of them are 2+ standard deviations away from the mean).

But that is getting silly.

Yup, that would be pretty silly. Fortunately, there's no requirement that all rolls result from adding dice, so if you wanted a d40 mechanic you can just create one from a d4 and a d10, much as you can create a d100 from two d10s.