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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DammitVictor" data-source="post: 7641255" data-attributes="member: 6750908">Well, all Ability Scores are going to make some assumptions about clusters of qualities that don't track reality... but they make some kind of sense. Like carrying capacity has more to do with endurance than it does with striking power... and if we're talking a normal healthy human adult, there's never going to be more than a 3-4 point difference between STR and CON, and things like that.Strength and Constitution are actually my go-to examples for good ability scores in D&D, even though my go-to for good ability design, the wholly underrated Barbarians of Lemuria just combines them. D&D gameplay benefits from dividing them, even though it doesn't make much sense.You know how Dexterity's the stat that does everything? Saving Throw (before 5e), Armor Class, ranged attacks, melee attacks (starting with 3e) and either #1 or #2 (behind INT) most skills? Dexterity is grossly overpowered. STR and CON separate things that are tightly linked, but DEX combines things with zero connection whatsoever. There's no correlation between reaction time and marksmanship; there's no correlation between acrobatics and stealth; and so on and so on.Dexterity needs to be two or even three scores. Rolemaster does this well.Intelligence is mostly good except in Third when a Fighter has to put points in it to be able to Climb, Jump, and Swim. And whenever you're trying to articulate the difference between INT/WIS skills and saves.In addition to touching INT's spaghetti, Wisdom also covers willpower and overall perception (wut.) including getting a read on people. Which of those things explains Wisdom's connection to divine magic? Or, for that matter, the Profession skill in Third.Charisma is also willpower and social skills. Okay, that makes sense. It's self-confidence and motivation... but Dwarves get a penalty to it because it's also appearance and likeability, and it doesn't have any effect on Will Saves because that's Wisdom. Tieflings had a CHA bonus in AD&D, a penalty in Third, and a bonus again in Fourth and Fifth because seriously, nobody knows what this does.It's garbletrash, man. D&D has to do it because D&D has always done it, but noone else should ever do it.HARP's got a good handle on it: STR and CON exist, DEX is split into Agility and Quickness, and INT/WIS are split into Reason, Insight, and Self-Discipline. The parts of CHA that didn't go to Self Discipline are Presence. It's a little complicated because everything adds two stats to the roll, but the delineations are clear and sensible.</blockquote>

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