Okay. There are 6 different ability scores, each rated from 3 to 18.
One of my biggest priorities designing these rules was that I wanted all six abilities to be useful and meaningful to all characters, regardless of their species or class. In most class-based games, each class has prescribed ability scores that you need to focus on. So a fighter’s highest score should always be Strength, maybe Dexterity if they’re an archer. Similarly, there are usually “dump stats” — abilities that are just not useful for certain classes, or sometimes not useful to anyone.
So I started over and tried to reframe the function of ability scores in the game. No dump stats. Every ability is good. You want to play a very smart warrior? Do it! It’s not just a quirky choice. It’s useful and different from playing a strong character or a tough character.
Every ability is rated from 3 to 18, always. Ability ratings of 8 to 11 are considered average, and they provide no special benefits. Ratings of 12 or more grant you a special bonus, while ratings of 7 or less give special restrictions or penalties.
This applies to all creatures. 10 is considered an average rating for an ettin or a gnome; an elephant or a mouse. Your ratings aren’t shifted based on species, because it’s all relative. For example, Ettins are naturally very big and tough. So, an ettin with Constitution 5 is frail for an ettin. They still pretty tough compared to most humans.
Importantly, each ability provides you with a singular, meaningful effect — not a bunch of things that you need to keep looking up, and not some vague, abstract “ability modifier”.
Here are the abilities:
Strength — High strength grants you a bonus to damage rolls — all damage rolls. Swords, bows, magic spells, traps that you set, whatever. Strong characters are good at efficiently exerting force. So strong warriors are probably exactly like you think, but you could also imagine a strong magician channeling their magic through their body to boost its power. Having a low strength doesn’t give you a penalty to damage, but it restricts the kinds of weapons you can use.
Agility — High agility makes you hard to hit, improving your Armor Class. Functionally, this is a penalty to enemy attack rolls. You get your agility bonus even when wearing armor, because quick reflexes are still helpful to turn to the side and make attacks glance off. Low agility penalizes your AC, making you easier to hit.
Constitution — High constitution increases the number of hit points you gain, of course, but it also increases the amount of armor you can wear. Armor is acquired in pieces, and characters can by default wear two armor pieces. High constitution can let you wear as many as four. Low constitution reduces your access to armor and shields.
Intellect — Intellect represents your talent for learning. Characters with high intellect get to select extra options from their character class(es). For example, an intellectual magician studies additional magical sciences, letting them use different kinds of spells, while a warrior would get to master additional weapons, gaining bonuses when using each weapon under the right conditions. Low intellect just means your character takes a bit longer to learn, so it gives you an extra cost to pay when hiring a trainer to level up.
Wisdom — Luck, instinct, alertness or faith, whatever it is, it keeps you safe. Wisdom is a bonus to all saving rolls. So when a trap triggers, you get poisoned, a spell is cast at you or whatever else, a high wisdom gives you a bonus to your saving roll to reduce the effect. Low wisdom means you’re a little too reckless or unlucky, and you get a penalty to those rolls.
Charisma — The most famous dump stat! Well, not here. In this game, charisma is good for everyone. If you have a high charisma, you get a number of free followers (“henchmen”, if you’re old school). And if they die or leave your service, a new follower will join. Everyone can hire followers for an upfront cost, but charismatic characters get a few without that cost. Your followers are your responsibility, though, and you’ll have to pay for it if you want to level them up. Low charisma, on the other hand, means that folks are a little less eager to join you, and you have to pay an extra fee to hire followers.
One last thing, and I think this is probably the most controversial thing in this post: I’m going with random rolls for stats. The way we’re doing it is this: Roll 3D6 for each ability and note the results. (None of that 4D6-drop-the-lowest stuff; it’s more fun if people have low stats sometimes.) If you don’t roll at least two values of 12 or more, reroll everything until you do. (I’m not going to make you play without some bonuses.) You can then rearrange your results if you want. Or leave the rolls straight! I’m not your dad.
I don’t plan to have a point-buy option at all; I know that this is something that some people insist on, but I really don’t feel that it fits the game. I’m considering creating a standard array for folks who really can’t get with rolling the dice. The standard array (if I decide to have it) would ensure that you have two low stats with penalties, two high stats with bonuses, and two average stats.