Ability Scores & Skills - Sordia Vignti

Every character in Dungeons & Dragons is defined by **six ability scores**. These represent what your character is naturally good or bad at. Skills are things your character has **trained in**, and they are always tied to one of these abilities. #### The Six Ability Scores Each ability score measures a different kind of strength. | 💪 Strength (STR) | 🏃 Dexterity (DEX) | ❤️ Constitution (CON) | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Physical power** | **Speed, reflexes, and coordination** | **Health and endurance** | | Used for: - Melee weapon attacks - Lifting, pushing, breaking things - Athletics checks | Used for: - Ranged attacks - Dodging attacks (Armour Class) - Stealth and finesse | Used for: - Hit Points - Resisting poison, disease, exhaustion - Concentration on spells | | Examples: - Kicking down a door - Climbing a cliff - Wrestling an enemy | Examples: - Sneaking past guards - Picking locks - Firing a bow | Examples: - Surviving harsh weather - Holding your breath - Staying standing when wounded | | 🧠 Intelligence (INT) | 🧭 Wisdom (WIS) | 🗣️ Charisma (CHA) | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Reasoning, memory, and knowledge** | **Awareness and intuition** | **Force of personality** | | Used for: - Arcane magic - Recall of lore and facts - Investigation | Used for: - Perception and Insight - Survival instincts - Divine and primal magic | Used for: - Social interaction - Bardic and innate magic - Leadership and presence | | Examples: - Deciphering runes - Remembering history - Solving puzzles | Examples: - Spotting hidden danger - Reading people’s intentions - Tracking creatures | Examples: - Persuading a crowd - Intimidating a foe - Deception and performance | #### ➕ Ability Scores & Modifiers This is how we determine what the Ability Scores are. See below various methods for calculating - **4d6 Drop Lowest (Manual/Rolled)**: Roll four 6-sided dice (4d6) for each score, discard the lowest die, and add the remaining three. Repeat six times to get your scores. - **Standard Array**: Use a fixed set of numbers (typically 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8) and assign them to your abilities as you wish, ensuring balance. - **Point Buy**: You get a pool of **27** points to "buy" ability scores, with higher scores costing more points, allowing for detailed customization. All base stats start on 8 and cannot exceed 15 with point buy. See below chart for costs ######### **Point Buy Cost** |Score|Cost| |---|---| |8|0| |9|1| |10|2| |11|3| |12|4| |13|5| |14|7| |15|9| ##### Modifiers The Modifiers (mod) is determined by the value of the ability score, See table below | Score | Modifier | | ------- | -------- | | 0 - 1 | -5 | | 3 - 2 | -4 | | 4 - 5 | -3 | | 6 - 7 | -2 | | 8 - 9 | -1 | | 10 - 11 | +0 | | 12 - 13 | +1 | | 14 - 15 | +2 | | 16 - 17 | +3 | | 18 - 19 | +4 | | 20 | +5 | Note: **Higher modifier = better chance to succeed** --- #### 🛠️ Skills (What You’re Trained In) A **skill** is a specific application of an ability. Example: - Dexterity is the ability - Stealth is the skill If you are **proficient** in a skill, you add your **Proficiency Bonus** to the roll. --- #### 📋 Skill List by Ability ##### Strength - **Athletics** – climbing, jumping, swimming ##### Dexterity - **Acrobatics** – balance, flips, escaping grapples - **Sleight of Hand** – pickpocketing, tricks - **Stealth** – hiding, sneaking ##### Intelligence - **Arcana** – magic knowledge - **History** – past events - **Investigation** – searching carefully - **Nature** – animals, plants, terrain - **Religion** – gods, cults, undead ##### Wisdom - **Animal Handling** – calming or controlling animals - **Insight** – reading intentions - **Medicine** – stabilising the dying - **Perception** – noticing things - **Survival** – tracking, foraging ##### Charisma - **Deception** – lying convincingly - **Intimidation** – threats and pressure - **Performance** – entertaining - **Persuasion** – honest influence #### 🎯 How a Skill Check Works When the DM asks for a check: **Roll:** `d20 + Ability Modifier + Proficiency (if trained)` Example: - Dexterity + Stealth - Wisdom + Perception - Charisma + Persuasion The result is compared to a **Difficulty Class (DC)**. See [[Difficulty Classes (DC)]] #### 🎲 Advantage & Disadvantage (Quick Reminder) See [[Advantage & Disadvantage]] - **Advantage**: Roll 2d20, take the higher - **Disadvantage**: Roll 2d20, take the lower - They cancel each other out #### 🧠 Passive Skills (Mostly Perception) Some skills work **without rolling**. **Passive Score = 10 + modifiers** Most common: - Passive Perception - Passive Investigation - Passive Insight Used when: - You aren’t actively looking - The DM doesn’t want to slow the game #### One Rule to Remember > **Abilities are what you are naturally good at. > Skills are what you’ve trained to do.**