----Ability Scores Characters in Iron Marches have six abilities - Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. Ability scores are the foundation of your character’s talents and capabilities. The higher an ability score, the better your character is at performing tasks which rely on that ability. Monsters and other creatures share the same six abilities and follow the same rules for the use of their abilities, but a monster often relies on its abilities less than an adventurer does. A score of 10 or 11 in an ability is average for a human adult. As a rule of thumb, 50 percent of humans have a score of 10 or 11 in a given score, 25 percent have lower scores, and 25 percent have higher ones. A score of 18 is the highest that a normal person is likely to ever have. Adventurers, however, are a cut above the rest, and can often have scores as high as 20. Certain monsters and divine beings can have scores that reach 30 or higher. ----Ability Modifiers Each ability has a modifier - a bonus or penalty, based on your ability score. The modifier applies to all d20 checks made with that ability. A positive modifier is called a bonus, and a negative modifier is called a penalty. This distinction is important, because in some cases you might be asked to ignore a bonus that an ability score provides, but not ignore a penalty. If an opponent catches you by surprise, for instance, you might lose your Dexterity bonus to defense, however, in such a situation, you would not ignore a Dexterity penalty to defense if you suffered from one. Your ability score modifier equals your ability score less 10, divided by 2. Round down if the result is positive. If the result is negative, round it away from zero. The following table computes the modifiers for you: [ABILITY SCORE TABLE] ----Ability Checks An ability check is a roll to see if your character accomplishes something challenging or dangerous. In most cases, you must make an ability check because the DM has determined that an action you want to attempt has a chance of failure. For example, you don't need a die roll to check if you can walk across a room, but you might need to make an ability check to traverse a slippery room with a floor covered in ice. When you need to make an ability check, your DM will ask you to make it using an ability that applies best to the task at hand. To make an ability check, roll a d20 and add the relevant ability’s modifier, then add or subtract any bonuses or penalties that might apply from a class feature, a spell, a proficiency, etc. The total is your result, which you should announce to the DM. When you make an ability check, your DM picks a target number, called a Difficulty Class (DC), for the check. The more difficult a task, the higher its DC. If your check result is equal to or greater than the DC, you succeed. Otherwise, you fail. When you succeed, your action works as intended. When you fail, you either make no progress or perhaps suffer a setback. For example, to push a heavy rock up a hill, you need to make a successful Strength check. In this case, you would roll a d20 and add your Strength score’s modifier to the result. If your total is greater than or equal to the DC assigned by the DM, you push the rock up the hill successfully. If your result is lower than the DC, you fail to get the rock up the hill and may suffer a setback (such as the rock rolling further down the hill than it already was, the rock cracking and becoming useless for it's intended task, etc.). Your DM has guidelines on how to determine DCs for a given situation, but the following chart should give you a fair expectation of what range a DC will fall for a specific task: [CHART] -Trivial (DC 5). Barring extraordinary circumstances, a DC of 5 or lower represents a task that is so easy that it doesn't require a check. -Simple (DC 10). Simple tasks are those that usually require a minimum level of competence to get right the first time, but almost any one could complete, given a couple of attempts. -Challenging (DC 15). A challenging task usually requires a higher level of competence to accomplish. For the average person, it would require many attempts, and would be relying mostly on luck. However, with a combination of natural aptitude and specialized training, a character can accomplish a challenging task more often than not. -Difficult (DC 20). A difficult tasks is beyond the capabilities of most people without aid or exceptional ability. Even with aptitude and training, a character needs some amount of luck and/or help to accomplish a difficult task. -Very Hard (DC 25). Only especially talented individuals need even try their hand at very hard tasks. -Formidable (DC 30). Only the most highly trained, experienced, and talented individuals have a chance at success at a formidable task, and even they probably need specialized equipment or magic items to aid them. -Nearly Impossible (DC 35). Tasks of this difficulty are so challenging that only demigods and their peers can succeed without assistance. [/CHART] ----Strength Strength measures bodily power, athletic training, and the extent to which you can exert raw physical force. Your DM will usually call for a strength check whenever the task you're attempting relies on athleticism or physical might. Examples of actions which might involve a strength check include: Bashing down a door Climbing up a cliffside Jumping across a chasm Swimming across a raging river Tackling an opponent and dragging them to the ground In addition, you may apply your strength modifier to the following situations: Melee Attack Rolls Melee Damage Rolls Thrown Weapon Damage Rolls Your strength also affects the amount of gear you can carry (See [CARRYING CAPACITY] Carrying Capacity for more information). ----Dexterity Dexterity measures hand-eye coordination, physical agility, reflexes, and balance. Your DM will usually call for a dexterity check whenever the task you're attempting relies on agility or speed. Examples of actions which might involve a dexterity check include: Balancing on a ledge Concealing an object via sleight of hand Driving a cart Riding a horse Sneaking past a guard Tumbling through a giants legs In addition, you may apply your dexterity modifier to the following situations: Melee Attack Rolls with Finesse Weapons Melee Damage Rolls with Finesse Weapons Ranged Attack Rolls Ranged Damage Rolls (other than thrown weapons) Defense Initiative ----Constitution Constitution represents your character’s health, stamina, and durability. Your DM will usually call for a constitution check whenever the task you're attempting relies on endurance or physical resiliency. Examples of actions which might involve a constitution check include: Functioning without sleep Holding your breath for an extended period of time Traveling for extended periods without rest Surviving without food or water Your constitution also contributes to your hit point total, which measures your physical condition in combat (see [HIT POINTS] hit points for more information). ----Intelligence Intelligence measures mental acuity, the ability to recall information, and the ability to reason. Your DM will usually call for a intelligence check whenever the task you're attempting needs to draws on logic, education, memory, or deductive reasoning. Examples of actions which might involve a intelligence check include: Appraise the value of a precious item Determine what type of weapon caused an injury Identify a monster Put together a disguise Recall a specific bit of lore Search a room for a hidden object (like a secret door) If you possess the ability to cast spells, your intelligence may affect your spellcasting (see [SPELLCASTING] spellcasting for more info). Your intelligence also determines the number of languages you are fluent in at the start of the game (see [LANGUAGES] languages for more info). Generally, an animal has an Intelligence score of 1 or 2. A creature of humanlike intelligence has a score of at least 3. ----Wisdom Wisdom describes a character’s insight, common sense, perception, and intuition. Your DM will usually call for a wisdom check whenever the task you're attempting involves intuition, gut feelings, empathy, or sensitivity to the surrounding environment. Examples of actions which might involve a wisdom check include: Approaching a wild animal Determining the true intentions of another character Detect the presence of a hidden person Identify the direction of fresh air underground Listening at a door for the sound of an ambush Mending a wound Predict the weather Survive in the wilderness If you possess the ability to cast spells, your wisdom may affect your spellcasting (see [SPELLCASTING] spellcasting for more info). ----Charisma Charisma measures a character’s force of personality, persuasiveness, magnetism, leadership, and physical attractiveness. Note, this ability represents actual strength of personality, not merely how others perceive you in a social setting. Your DM will usually call for a charisma check whenever the task you're attempting involves social interaction, commanding the attention of others, influencing or entertaining someone, or simply sheer force of personality. Examples of actions which might involve a charisma check include: Blend into a crowd Getting information from someone without their knowledge Hiding your true intentions Intimidate someone Persuading someone to help you Telling a lie If you possess the ability to cast spells, your charisma may affect your spellcasting (see [SPELLCASTING] spellcasting for more info). ----Generating Ability Scores Iron Marches characters are heroic figures. They are stronger, tougher, and faster than normal people. They may develop these talents through hard work, a demanding life, or natural ability. In any case, player characters have higher than normal ability scores. Your base ability scores are determined by your race (see [RACES] Races for more info). You have a pool of additional points that you may spend to improve your scores. Each point you spend increases a single ability by 1 point until that score reaches a maximum of 18. In addition, you can pick one of your scores as a weakness. In such a case, you drop that score by 2 and cannot spend points to improve it. In return, you gain 2 additional points to spend on your other abilities. Player characters start with 9 points to spend on their ability scores. You cannot purchase a score higher than 18. Of course, your DM may change these values to reflect the campaign’s particular tone and focus. Tougher campaigns have lower point values, while heroic ones offer more points to spend and allow one to purchase scores of 20 or above. Villains, powerful enemies, and other important NPC's that characters might face also have 9 points to spend, while the average person has none. Characters with no point to spend on abilities can only adjust their starting scores by declaring one score a weakness as described above. Thugs, soldiers, and other common warriors usually generate their ability scores in this manner. --Quick Stats If you don’t want to go to the trouble of spending points to create your character, you can use the following standard point distribution. Simply assign the following scores to your abilities as normal. Standard Ability Scores: 16, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8 The standard spread above provides a balanced set of abilities and talents. It allows a character to be above average in several areas. --Ability Score Damage During the game, a character's ability scores may undergo temporary or permanent change. For example, as a character gains levels, she may earn a boost to one or more ability scores. Conversely, an evil sorcerer might curse a character, robbing her of her Strength until she fulfills a certain task. Similarly, a monstrous spider’s venom could reduce a character's Constitution score until the character rests or is healed. In most cases, when an ability score changes, you update your character’s sheet immediately. Therefore, if the change results in a new modifier for that ability, it takes immediate effect. If a character's ability score — other than Constitution — drops to 0, the character is in dire peril. She becomes immediately incapacitated, unable to take actions. Any additional ability score damage to a score already at 0 reduces the character's Constitution score. If a character’s Constitution drops to 0, she is immediately drops unconscious, regardless of her hit point total, and must begin making death saving throws (see [DYING] death & dying for more info). Temporary damage to ability scores can be healed by spending 1 hit die per point of ability damage (see [HEALING] healing for more info). Permanent ability score drain does not heal naturally. Instead, drained characters must find a skilled healer, or powerful magic to tend them back to health.