⚙️5e - Ability Scores⚙️

Every creature has six ability scores to describe their physical attributes and mental characteristics: Strength for physical power and prowess, Dexterity for agility and reflexes, Constitution for health and hardiness, Intelligence for memory and wits, Wisdom for awareness and intuition, and Charisma for force of personality.

Ability scores define some of a creature’s qualities, assets, and weaknesses. The numbers in each of a creature’s ability scores measure a mixture of innate capability, training, and competence in activities related to that ability.

A score of +0 is the human average, and a truly exceptional person might have a +4 in an ability score. Adventurers often start their journeys with above average scores in some of their abilities, and through hardship and experience can reach scores as high as +5. Likewise, many monsters have above average ability scores, and the most powerful — such as ancient dragons and divine beings — can have scores as high as +10.

Using Each Ability

Strength (STR)

Strength measures the power of the physical body and the extent to which you can use your body to exert physical force.

Strength Checks

Strength is used for any attempt to lift, push, pull, or break something, to force yourself through tight spaces, to jump, climb, or swim beyond your usual physical limits, and to otherwise apply brute force to a situation:

• Forcing a stuck or locked door.
• Bursting out of bonds.
• Tearing a thick book in half.
• Squeezing into a tunnel that is too small.
• Hanging onto a moving wagon while being dragged along.
• Tipping over a statue.
• Holding up a collapsing mine shaft.
• Stopping a rolling boulder.

Attack Rolls and Damage

Strength is one of the default abilities when making melee attacks in hand-to-hand combat. When you make an attack roll using a weapon such as a mace, a battleaxe, or a javelin, you add your Strength to the attack roll and the damage roll.

Some weapons, such as the javelin, can also be thrown to make a ranged attack using Strength.

Speed

Your Strength score alters your walking speed. The following table shows you the changes.

Equip Load

You can carry a number of days’ Supply equal to your Strength score, in addition to your equipment, weapons, and armor.

Jumping

The distance a creature can jump is determined both by the method attempted and their Strength score.

A long jump requires a creature to move at least 10 feet by foot immediately before making its jump and the distance covered is a number of feet up to its Strength score. Each foot covered by a jump costs the same in movement.

A Game Master can also request a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check to clear low obstacles, which must be no taller than a quarter of the jump’s distance. A failure indicates that instead of jumping over such an obstacle, a creature crashes into it.

Landing is also a fair challenge. Should a creature land in difficult terrain, perhaps jumping over a table in the kitchen only to land on a freshly mopped floor on the other side, the creature must make an additional DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) to actually land on its feet. Should it fail, it instead falls prone.

A high jump is a bit more complex. To make a running high jump, a creature must move 10 feet on foot immediately before the jump, leaping up into the air a number of feet equal to 3 + its Strength modifier (minimum of 0 feet). To make a standing high jump, a creature need not move beforehand, but only jumps half the distance it would have doing a running high jump.

When a creature’s jumping distance exceeds its Speed, it can jump up to a distance equal to twice its Speed in a single leap so long as it takes no other movement on that turn other than to jump. In either case, a creature uses up a foot of movement for every foot it covers jumping.

There are a few special scenarios for high jumping though.

First, a creature can extend its arms up to half its height during a jump. Thus a creature can reach above itself equal to the height of a jump plus 1.5 times its height. In addition, the Game Master may allow a creature to make a Strength (Athletics) check to jump higher than it could otherwise.

Dexterity (DEX)

Dexterity measures your physical grace, balance, agility, and reflexes.

Dexterity Checks

Dexterity is used for any attempt to move nimbly, quickly, or quietly, to keep from falling on tricky footing, or to perform physical tasks focused on deft-fingered movements rather than force:

• Sneaking behind a distracted guard.
• Staying on your feet on slick ice.
• Concealing a playing card up your sleeve.
• Steering a chariot around a tight turn.
• Tinkering with a mechanical device.
• Securely tying a prisoner.
• Wriggling free of bonds.
• Crafting a Tiny detailed object.

Attack Rolls and Damage

Dexterity is the default ability when making some melee attacks and most ranged weapon attacks.

When you make an attack roll using a ranged weapon like a crossbow, longbow, or sling, you add your Dexterity to the attack roll and the damage roll. When using a melee weapon with the finesse property (such as a rapier or whip), you can choose to use your Dexterity instead of your Strength.

Armor Class

The armor you wear determines whether you add any, some, or all of your Dexterity to your Armor Class

Constitution (CON)

Constitution measures your physical health, stamina, and vitality.

Constitution Checks

Constitution checks are uncommon because the endurance this ability represents is largely passive rather than involving a specific effort. Constitution is used for any attempt to physically push beyond normal limits over a period of time:

• Remaining perfectly still for over an hour.
• Staying awake for several days.
• Winning a pie eating competition.

Hit Points

A terrible blow from a giant’s axe may only leave a bruise beneath an adventurer’s armor, but it takes a greater toll on their ability to continue fighting. Hit points are more than flesh and blood — they are also sweat, migraines, wherewithal, composure, and more besides. Players and game master alike should view hit points as an abstraction and not the number of pints of blood in a creature’s body.

Your Constitution contributes to your hit points. Whenever you roll Hit Dice to determine the increase to your hit point maximum when gaining a level or to recover hit points during a short rest, you add your Constitution to each dice roll.

If your Constitution changes, your hit point maximum also changes as if you always had the new. For example, a 10th level barbarian with a Constitution of +3 equips a belt of dwarvenkind, increasing their Constitution by 1 (to +4). The barbarian’s hit point point maximum increases by 10 hit points (1 per character level) as though their Constitution was always the new value. When they increase to 11th level, they roll a d12 Hit Die adding the +4 Constitution, to determine their new hit point maximum.

Should they remove the belt of dwarvenkind afterward, their hit point maximum decreases by 11 hit points (1 per character level) because their Constitution decreases by 1 (from +4 back to +3).

Intelligence (INT)

Intelligence measures mental swiftness and acuity, accuracy of recall, past education and learning, and the ability to reason.

Intelligence Checks

Intelligence is frequently used to recall details of the shared adventure world, representing memory and education — knowledge obvious to a character even if unknown or forgotten by their player. It is also used when you need to draw on logic or deductive reasoning:

• Recalling lore.
• Estimating the value of a precious item.
• Describing an object from memory.
• Forging a document.
• Winning a game of wits.
• Deducing the link between clues and a killer.
• Outsmarting a charlatan.
• Using a little information to appear to be an expert.

Bonus Knowledge

Having a higher Intelligence means having more knowledge than other characters. During character creation, for each point of your Intelligence above 0 you can choose a skill specialty chosen from lore skills (Arcana, Culture, Engineering, History, Nature, Religion). If you are not proficient in any lore skills you either gain proficiency with a lore skill, choose an extra language known, or pick a tool proficiency in one artisan’s tool, gaming kit, instrument, or vehicle.

If your Intelligence changes, it affects your bonus knowledge. When your Intelligence increases, you can choose an additional skill specialty in the skills listed above as if you always had the new. If your Intelligence decreases you must remove the last benefit from your bonus knowledge. If your Intelligence drops below 0, you don’t lose more knowledge than you gained from bonus knowledge.

If you lose bonus knowledge due to a decrease in Intelligence, at the Game Master’s discretion you might choose a new bonus knowledge the next time your Intelligence increases (instead of regaining the lost bonus knowledge).

Spellcasting Ability

Wizards and some warlocks use Intelligence as their spellcasting ability to determine their spell attack bonus and the saving throw DCs of the spells they cast.

Wisdom (WIS)

Wisdom measures your attunement to the world around you: your intuition, mental endurance, and perceptiveness.

Wisdom Checks

Wisdom is frequently used to notice details of the shared adventure world immediately around you, representing what you perceive in the moment — the present world obvious to your character as described by the Game Master. It is also used to understand feelings and emotions, read body language, offer appropriate care to others, and discern cryptic omens on an intuitive rather than logical level:

• Calming a frightened animal.
• Noticing a lie from the liar’s mannerisms.
• Predicting an opponent’s next move.
• Providing care for a sick companion.
• Detecting an unusual odor or sound in the air.
• Spotting an enemy waiting in ambush.
• Tracking wild game through thick undergrowth.
• Interpreting a gut-feeling about an upcoming course of action.

Spellcasting Ability

Clerics, druids, rangers and some warlocks use Wisdom as their spellcasting ability, which determines their spell attack bonus and the saving throw DCs of the spells they cast.

Charisma (CHA)

Charisma measures your ability to effectivelyinteract with others, including your confidence and eloquence, as well as the power of your personality (be it charming, commanding, or forceful).

Charisma Checks

Charisma is used in social situations to determine first impressions, to fit in or stand out, and to influence others:

• Deceiving a monster of your true intentions.
• Threatening a guard to allow you to pass.
• Engaging in a dramatic performance to inspire a crowd.
• Convincing a frightened child you mean them no harm.
• Haggling with a shopkeeper for a better price.
• Blending into a crowd to overhear rumors.

Remember, that Charisma checks are no mind controll. Rolling a total of 30, trying to convince a king to give you his crown doesn’t result in that, you might only be laughed at, instead of killed outright.

Spellcasting Ability

Bards, paladins, sorcerers, and some warlocks use Charisma as their spellcasting ability, which determines their spell attack bonus and the saving throw DCs of the spells they cast.

Determine Ability Scores

There are six key ability scores that factor into everything that your character does in the game: Strength (STR), Dexterity (DEX), Constitution (CON), Intelligence (INT), Wisdom (WIS), and Charisma (CHA). These abilities and their uses are described in detail later.

Ability scores are generated randomly by rolling 2d4 and substracting 4 from the total. You continue to do this until you have a total of six numbers.

Choose where you’d like to assign these numbers by recording each next to an ability score.

After that’s done, modify your ability scores to account for any additional bonuses your character gained from their background.

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