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Message: <blockquote data-quote="clearstream" data-source="post: 8019988" data-attributes="member: 71699">I see them as reducing complexity, helping the learning curve, and improving balance.The learning curve is helped by clearly signalling to players what they are likely to be good at. I observe it as being the first thing that many players really understand - "Oh, I have a high strength number, I guess my character is strong" - and the associated mechanics on the whole deliver on that understanding.Balance is improved by first understanding what balance even is in a multiplayer game. Good balance is usually discussed in terms of ensuring multiple strategies are viable. Making different scores valuable in different ways leads to multiple viable strategies.Complexity is reduced because a small collection of variables contain and cohere parameters across a wide range of mechanics. The extreme alternative - containing the variables inside each mechanic - would be horribly complex. Not to mention really hard for new players to understand, as they could not conclude that because they are good at Dexterity-based things, they are good at Dexterity-based things: they'd have to read every mechanic individually.D&D ability scores have survived decades and editions because they do a good job at low cost along those sorts of dimensions: they sustain better playability.</blockquote>