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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 8486603" data-attributes="member: 42582">From p 35 of the Basic PDF:Give your character two personality traits. Personality traits are small, simple ways to help you set your character apart from every other character. . . . A useful place to start thinking about personality traits is to look at your highest and lowest ability scores and define one trait related to each. Either one could be positive or negative: you might work hard to overcome a low score, for example, or be cocky about your high score.This is the latest in a long line of such remarks in D&amp;D rulebooks. The 2nd ed AD&amp;D PHB suggests building a PC's personality/character out of the ability scores. And the 4e PHB says (pp 16) that &quot;Six abilities provide a quick description of your character’s physical and mental characteristics. Are you muscle-bound and insightful? Brilliant and charming? Nimble and hardy? Your ability scores define these qualities - your strengths as well as your weaknesses.&quot; The stats are clearly intended to operate as a constraint on imagination.If your PC has STR 8 and CON 10, it's not appropriate to imagine them as having the mighty thews and physical prowess of REH's Conan!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 8486603, member: 42582"] From p 35 of the Basic PDF: [indent]Give your character two personality traits. Personality traits are small, simple ways to help you set your character apart from every other character. . . . A useful place to start thinking about personality traits is to look at your highest and lowest ability scores and define one trait related to each. Either one could be positive or negative: you might work hard to overcome a low score, for example, or be cocky about your high score.[/indent] This is the latest in a long line of such remarks in D&D rulebooks. The 2nd ed AD&D PHB suggests building a PC's personality/character out of the ability scores. And the 4e PHB says (pp 16) that "Six abilities provide a quick description of your character’s physical and mental characteristics. Are you muscle-bound and insightful? Brilliant and charming? Nimble and hardy? Your ability scores define these qualities - your strengths as well as your weaknesses." The stats are clearly intended to operate as a constraint on imagination. If your PC has STR 8 and CON 10, it's not appropriate to imagine them as having the mighty thews and physical prowess of REH's Conan! [/QUOTE]

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