True20 racial ability modifiers

[gnfnrf]

So, I just picked up True20 in my quest to find a quick, broad system to run modern and scifi material in. And I like what I've read so far.

However, there seems to be a major flaw in the racial ability modifiers as written. As far as I can tell, unless you want a +6 (or a -5), an individual bonus has NO effect. And unless you want a -6 (or a +5) a penalty has no effect.

So in fact, for 99% of characters, the racial ability modifiers will not affect them in the slightest.

This is because, unlike SRD d20, abilities are purely linear, and a +1 offset by a -1 in a point buy always exactly cancels out.

So, first: Am I right? Am I misreading the rules?

Second: Is there a way to fix this? Should I even try to fix it?

Third: Unrelated True20 question. Do you only have one "wounded" condition, or multiple? It's got a tickbox, like you only check it once. But the rules say "mark down a wounded condition" not "check off the wounded box", and recovery refers to "all wounded conditions" in some places but like theres only one in others.

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gnfnrf

 

[ValhallaGH]

First: Yes, you are correct.

Second: Not an issue. Build the character the way it is supposed to be built, race is just race. It takes the power-gaming out of race choice and puts it back in the realm of role-playing, where it belongs.

Third: Multiple wounds. Note that each Wounded imposes a -1 to Toughness Saves, though the -2 to attacks and skills from Shaken only occurs the one time.
Also note that two Shakens do not make a character Frightened. Lots of similar, small changes fill True20. TWF does not take a full-round, for example.

 

[Akrasia]

Here is a nice summary of how damage works in True20 that I found on the GR boards a while back:

- A character who takes a Hurt also takes a Bruised, but not vice-versa (-1 to future Toughness checks, Bruised only applies to non-lethal damage).

- A character can take multiple Hurt and Bruised without succumbing to the next wound level (the Toughness penalty is cumulative).

- A character who takes a Wounded also takes a Dazed, but not vice-versa (-1 to future Toughness checks, Dazed only applies to non-lethal damage).

- A Wounded condition also inflicts a -2 penalty to all rolls except for Toughness until all Wounded conditions are eliminated.

- A Dazed condition also leaves a character Stunned for one round.

- A character can take multiple Wounded and Dazed without succumbing to the next wound level (the Toughness penalty is cumulative, but not the -2 penalty and the stunned happens for each Dazed condition - and by extension each Wounded condition).

- A character who is Wounded or Dazed does not become Hurt or Bruised (unless already injured at those levels, but does not gain additional Hurt or Bruised conditions).

- A character who is Disabled also becomes Staggered, but not vice-versa.

- A character who is Disabled or Staggered does not become Wounded, Dazed, Hurt or Bruised (unless already injured at those levels, but does not gain additional injuries at those levels).

- A character cannot take a second occurrence of the Disabled or Staggered injury levels, but instead automatically take the next level of injury (Unconscious for Staggered and Dying + Unconscious for Disabled).

- Successful recovery checks only remove one occurrence of the highest injury level (lethal first, then non-lethal).

 

[iwatt]

First: Yes, you are correct.

Second: Not an issue. Build the character the way it is supposed to be built, race is just race. It takes the power-gaming out of race choice and puts it back in the realm of role-playing, where it belongs.

Not exactly true, mind you.

Note that these ability adjustments are to the baseline or starting ability
scores. The player can spend the hero’s ability points normally to raise
the scores. However, the adjustment also affects the maximum score
the hero can have, since players cannot put more than 5 of the hero’s
starting ability points into any one ability score.

Now, sinking 5 points into one ability is not a good idea unless your dealing with higher than normal starting abilities.

 

[Ruland]

Not exactly true, mind you.



Now, sinking 5 points into one ability is not a good idea unless your dealing with higher than normal starting abilities.

And that means, if a race has a -1 mod, the relevant ability cannot be raised to more than +4 while (instead of +5) generating a character. So there is an effect of ability mods.

 

[ValhallaGH]

So in fact, for 99% of characters, the racial ability modifiers will not affect them in the slightest.

That's the important part of the analysis to keep in mind. What applies to the majority of characters.

There are extreme cases where the ability modifiers will matter but unless someone is sinking five points into an altered ability score (a fairly rare occurance, even in a game with 10 points), the modifiers don't really matter.

 

[EditorBFG]

I know that, for me personally, I have been using point-buy of one kind or another in other d20 games for so long that the effect of racial modifiers in True20 does not represent much of a difference from D&D. I have always felt that PC ability scores had too much of a long-ranging effect to be left to random chance. Randomization is for game play, not for determining which character gets to be tougher.

And I have always taken it that, as stated above, a score in which you have +1 can go as high as +6, but a score in which you have a -1 can only go up to +4. But I don't recall if that is the actual RAW or if it just became a house rule right when True20 first came out.

 

[ValhallaGH]

And I have always taken it that, as stated above, a score in which you have +1 can go as high as +6, but a score in which you have a -1 can only go up to +4. But I don't recall if that is the actual RAW or if it just became a house rule right when True20 first came out.

That's RAW.

 

[gnfnrf]

I know that, for me personally, I have been using point-buy of one kind or another in other d20 games for so long that the effect of racial modifiers in True20 does not represent much of a difference from D&D. I have always felt that PC ability scores had too much of a long-ranging effect to be left to random chance. Randomization is for game play, not for determining which character gets to be tougher.

I agree, and in my normal d20 games, we always play point buy.

But using the dnd point buy tables, racial ability scores DO matter, because the tables are non-linear. The +2 dex (from a 16 to an 18) is worth a lot more in final apparent points than the -2 con (from a 12 to a 10) removes.

So, if I want to make a character with a 16 or an 18 dex, I have a strong incentive to make it a race with a dex bonus. No similar incentive exists in True20 until +6, in which case it is absolute.

--
gnfnrf

 

[EditorBFG]

Well, if it makes other races rarer than humans (only play one if you really want a 6), isn't that kind of a good thing in most games? Usually, the other races aren't as mysterious or rare as they are in most of fantasy's source material, because there are as many elves or whatever in adventuring parties as there are humans. I think this is an issue that balances itself. And really, everybody gets the same stuff at 1st level in True20-- in that system, the races are just there for flavor. As a result, no "killer race" can emerge that is overly powerful.

I say don't fix it; just because it is different from regular D&D doesn't mean it is broken.