[SWSE] Observation about ability scores...

[Asmor]

I'm working on a one-shot for Star Wars Saga Edition, and right now I'm working on 16 different characters.

I started out by assigning them all to 4 different factions (corportation, government, crime and jedi council) and assigning each a species, class and role. I tried to keep it fairly balanced... There's 4 humans, 2 twi'leks and 1 of each of 10 other races. 4 jedis and 3 of every other class. There's a good mix of melee, ranged, social and other roles (only 1 pilot, though, but I'm not sure if I'm going to use space combat in the one-shot... I'll probably try to anyways).

Anyways, after I got all that done in a spread sheet, I went through and assigned stats to all of them (using the elite array, 15 14 13 12 10 8). I noticed something... Probably just my own bias, but dexterity seems to be the most important stat. At the very least, it's the most universally useful, and I ended up sticking a lot of high scores in there.

Strength and Charisma were the main dump stats, depending on the role. Intelligence is the only stat I never stuck an 8 in.

I decided to add them all up... Here's the total points assigned to each stat:

Str: 180 Dex: 213 Con: 193 Int: 196 Wis: 196 Cha: 174

If you're interested, here's the raw stats I used (these are all before racial ability adjustments):

[sblock=stats!]

Species		Class		Affiliation	Role		Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
Bothan		Scoundrel	Corp		Spy		8	15	10	14	13	12
Gamorrean	Soldier		Corp		Bruiser		15	13	14	10	12	8
Human		Scout		Corp		Shooter		8	15	13	14	12	10
Sullustan	Noble		Corp		Social		10	8	12	13	14	15
Human		Scoundrel	Crime		Skirmisher	14	15	13	10	12	8
Rodian		Scout		Crime		Hunter		13	15	14	12	10	8
Trandoshan	Soldier		Crime		Bruiser		15	12	14	10	13	8
Twi'lek		Scoundrel	Crime		Shooter		8	15	13	14	12	10
Gungan		Scout		Gov't		Skirmisher	14	15	13	10	12	8
Human		Noble		Gov't		Social		8	13	10	14	12	15
Mon Calamari	Noble		Gov't		Pilot		10	15	12	14	13	8
Wookie		Soldier		Gov't		Bruiser		15	13	14	12	10	8
Cerean		Jedi		Jedi		Social		8	10	12	13	14	15
Human		Jedi		Jedi		Force		10	12	8	13	15	14
Kel Dor		Jedi		Jedi		Skirmisher	14	15	13	10	8	12
Twi'lek		Jedi		Jedi		Deceiver	10	12	8	13	14	15

[/sblock]

So has anyone else noticed similar patterns?

 

[billd91]

Sure, I've noticed it. But I think it goes with the relative sophistication of science fiction compared to fantasy. Under most circumstances, ranged attacks are more important than physical attacks... with the singular exception of the Jedi who do so much damage anyway that they're well advised to take Weapon Finesse rather than bulk up on strength.

 

[Particle_Man]

If you are a Jedi, Charisma is not a dump stat.

 

[drothgery]

If you are a Jedi, Charisma is not a dump stat.

Or a noble, or anyone else who's going to use Deception, Gather Information, and/or Persuasion for that matter.

Sure, I've noticed it. But I think it goes with the relative sophistication of science fiction compared to fantasy. Under most circumstances, ranged attacks are more important than physical attacks... with the singular exception of the Jedi who do so much damage anyway that they're well advised to take Weapon Finesse rather than bulk up on strength.

Eh. A high-Str character with a vibro weapon can usually out-damage a blaster guy. And it's probably also worth noting that, like in most versions of the Star Wars RPG, a melee Wookie can be truly scary.

 

[Asmor]

If you are a Jedi, Charisma is not a dump stat.

It's worth noting the lowest I assigned any of the jedis' charisma was 12. Of course, not everyone can be a jedi... and if you're a gamorrean then... Yeah, charisma makes a damn fine dump stat.

 

[jonathan swift]

Yeah, melee Wookies are dangerous. I've got one I'm playing tomorrow that when raging at lvl 2 is attacking at +8 for 2d10+13 damage with devastating attack that lowers an enemies damage threshold by 5. But for the most part, Dex is more important than Str in this game. Though there are exceptions.

 

[Stalker0]

What I'm curious to see is con will become more of a dump stat. It still an important stat, but at first glance doesn't seem as critical. We will see if the damage threshold still makes it an important stat to keep high.

But once again, charisma is one of those stats that's only useful if your character uses it. No system ever seems to put in a basic use for charisma that effects everyoen, like encumberance and strength, etc.

 

[Asmor]

What I'm curious to see is con will become more of a dump stat. It still an important stat, but at first glance doesn't seem as critical. We will see if the damage threshold still makes it an important stat to keep high.

But once again, charisma is one of those stats that's only useful if your character uses it. No system ever seems to put in a basic use for charisma that effects everyoen, like encumberance and strength, etc.

I don't think it will ever be a dump stat, but con's definitely not as vital as it once was. It's really not so debilitating anymore to play a race with -2 con in SWSE, because of the huge amount of HP you get at 1st level. I don't know if I'd want to play with a 6 in Con, but I definitely wouldn't mind playing with an 8 in it.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

What I'm curious to see is con will become more of a dump stat. It still an important stat, but at first glance doesn't seem as critical. We will see if the damage threshold still makes it an important stat to keep high.

But once again, charisma is one of those stats that's only useful if your character uses it. No system ever seems to put in a basic use for charisma that effects everyoen, like encumberance and strength, etc.

Yes, that might indeed be one of the problems.

In D20 Modern, Eberron and now Starwars, I always tinkered with the idea of regaining action/force points by day or session or some similar value, and base this regeneration somehow on Charisma.
Possible approaches:
- Regenerate 1+Charisma (minimum 1) per day.
- Regenerate 1 per day, to up to 1/2 level + Charisma (minimum 1).

I prefer the latter. I don't want force points to regenerate too quickly, and it also ensures that a low charisma will hurt more in the long run...

 

[Asmor]

That's a good idea, actually.

Personally, I'm a fan of the points per adventure/session paradigm, so I'd probably go with something like 2+1/2 level (rounded down)+cha bonus, minimum 1, every session.

Actually, I think that is how I'll do it.