D&D 5E Odd-numbered ability scores

[totesmagotes]

I like your idea of having odd numbered scores give + to skills, and evens do everything else.

Another way for odds to matter: In an opposed roll, do it like an AD&D style ability check, where you both try to roll under your ability, and the one with the worse score gets a penalty based on the ability score difference (e.g: The char with an 12 str gets a +1 penalty (that's right, +1 is a penalty in this case).

After all these editions, I don't know why they didn't make scores just go from 1-9. If you still wanted to generate them by rolling, you could easily just roll them the usual way you do, look at the +/- you would get, and translate the resulting number from that. Your dies add up to 14? That's a +2, so your score translates to a 7. It would have made the act of rolling for stats a little more complicated, but that's about it. They could also have a system where you don't roll your stats.

 

[Bill Zebub]

Interesting.

Maybe put saving throws with ability checks together in the odds column, just to give it a little extra oomph?

 

[Bill Zebub]

To those of us who started out in AD&D, homogenizing 14 and 15 Int feels like a loss of fidelity. That's why.

I did. It doesn’t.

Or, at least, “fidelity” to AD&D isn’t something I care about.

 

[Lanefan]

Roll-under mechanics are the answer here a la 1e and 2e.

Also, if for some reason you're not using level-based ASIs and your stats are therefore locked in it'd be nice if odd-numbered stats did something useful.

 

[DND_Reborn]

So, the post yesterday raised this thread from 2015 obscurity! Impressive--most impressive...

However, I am glad it did because I like the concept in the OP. The only issue I see is CON 17, for example, wouldn't benefit since there aren't skills linked to CON (although you can link some when appropriate). Still it is an idea that might be worked on.

 

[DND_Reborn]

After all these editions, I don't know why they didn't make scores just go from 1-9

Welcome to the forum! Have a like.

There is definitely merit to such ideas. I like systems where each number has more distinct impact.

For example, with D&D you could have ability scores range from -3 to +5, which would give you nine scores/modifiers (with higher for the 20+ scores):

-3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2, +3, +4, +5

The standard array would be +2, +2, +1, +1, 0, -1 instead of 15,14,13,12,10,8.

Point-buy (12 points) could start at -1 for each ability score, and then spend 1 point per increase to +1 and then 2 points for +2.

You could have +2,+2,+2,-1,-1,-1 (equal to 15,15,15,8,8,8) or +1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1 (equal to 13,13,13,12,12,12), etc.

I doubt D&D would ever get rid of the ability scores as they are, but other systems use such scores well IMO.

 

[jmartkdr2]

Welcome to the forum! Have a like.

There is definitely merit to such ideas. I like systems where each number has more distinct impact.

For example, with D&D you could have ability scores range from -3 to +5, which would give you nine scores/modifiers (with higher for the 20+ scores):

-3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2, +3, +4, +5

The standard array would be +2, +2, +1, +1, 0, -1 instead of 15,14,13,12,10,8.

Point-buy (12 points) could start at -1 for each ability score, and then spend 1 point per increase to +1 and then 2 points for +2.

You could have +2,+2,+2,-1,-1,-1 (equal to 15,15,15,8,8,8) or +1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1 (equal to 13,13,13,12,12,12), etc.

I doubt D&D would ever get rid of the ability scores as they are, but other systems use such scores well IMO.

Make it even easier and add 4 to everything, so the stat range is all positive intergers.

You'd need to adjust monster stat blocks, but by +4 to everything. This would do funky things to hp/damage ratios but I'm sure the game will still work.

 

[Krachek]

you change the bonus progression.
Start at 15 with +1 and gain one + at each increase.

15 : +1
16 : +2
20 : +6
30 : +16
and so on.
it will make high score monsters more powerful, and pc less powerful.
Just need to rewrite all stats for monsters.

 

[Plaguescarred]

It's not a suggestion i dislike

 

[DND_Reborn]

Make it even easier and add 4 to everything, so the stat range is all positive intergers.

Sure. I was just trying to keep the modifiers the same.

The only other systems I've played a lot are Shadowrun and Vampire.

Shadowrun has base score from 1-6, with a high of around 9 (depending on race and game style), with 3 being "average". So, this would translate closely to the 9-point spread.

Vampires "dot" system typically is 1-5 (or 0-5 for KST), although scores above 5 are possible. 2 is "average".

you change the bonus progression.
Start at 15 with +1 and gain one + at each increase.

15 : +1
16 : +2
20 : +6
30 : +16
and so on.
it will make high score monsters more powerful, and pc less powerful.
Just need to rewrite all stats for monsters.

I always liked the idea of each change in ability score being more meaningful than linear increases.

Doing arithmetic increases would give you.

12-13: +1
14-15: +3
16-17: +6
18-19: +10
20-21+ 15
etc.

But on a d20 scale it gets too big, obviously.

Even with your suggestion, +16 on the d20 is too large when you consider adding proficiency bonus it could be +25 or so. For attack rolls, saves, etc. this would make things fairly automatic.