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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Li Shenron" data-source="post: 6070483" data-attributes="member: 1465">I don't understand why it would make things better... All that really matters in the game is the modifier, because that's what applies to rolls. There might be some instances where the score is applied instead, but AFAIK they are always rare and not really different from using modifiers.Linear or non-linear is a design choice that is related to (a) creating a certain wanted distribution of that score over the population of player characters and (b) setting a certain wanted rate of improvement by level, or temporary boost by spells and items.For (a) it doesn't really matter whether you design the distribution in the score or in the modifier. With 3d6 rolled for the score and then linear relationship between scores and modifiers you get a certain distribution, but you could get substantially the same with flat score distribution (e.g. 1d16+2) and then some non-linear relationship between scores and modifiers that yields the same result. Therefore having 2 non-linearities here hardly helps.For (b) you can always control the resulting modifiers directly, e.g. when designing spells and items. Anyway also when choosing the ability score increase by levels, the designers should always first think in terms of modifiers and then figure out how often those ability boosts should be granted.Perhaps one indeed interesting utility of such non-linear, progressively slower relationship between scores and bonuses, could be that of making spells (and items) progressively less useful for characters with higher scores, and by consequence of higher levels. Thus, a +4 strength belt would be very useful to a weak PC, fairly nice to a strong PC at low level, and totally useless for a strong PC at high level (if the bonus to score doesn't trigger any bonus to modifier). It would make design much complicated tho, with possibly some weird side-effects that not every gaming group would be comfortable with...</blockquote>

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