D&D General Order of ability scores

[Panda-s1]

Partly it's an issue of how they are positioned on a character sheet.

If they're listed vertically with the modern order, then STR is "on top" and Charisma is "on the bottom", and I think that has some bearing on how people view things and how they interact with the character sheet and therefore the character.

I think a horiztonal arrangement is better because it puts all the abilities at the "same level". You still have the reading left-to-right issue, but I think it's less of an issue than the vertical option.

I mean, physical stats are way more tangible than the other three, and even intelligence has some level of tangibility in game mechanics. it seems like being confused about wisdom and calling charisma a dump stat were popular jokes for a while, but I feel that's changed since 3rd edition added sorcerer as a class and ability based skills for everyone. actually come to think of it, intelligence has even less going on in 5e, but Int being useless isn't a meme or joke so much as just a common criticism.