Abilities
Six abilities provide a quick description of every creature’s physical and mental characteristics:
- Strength, measuring physical power
- Dexterity, measuring agility
- Constitution, measuring endurance
- Intelligence, measuring reasoning and memory
- Wisdom, measuring perception and insight
- Charisma, measuring force of personality
Is a character muscle-bound and insightful? Brilliant and charming? Nimble and hardy? Ability scores define these qualities-a creature’s assets as well as weaknesses.
The three main rolls of the game-the ability check, the saving throw, and the attack roll-rely on the six ability scores. The book’s introduction describes the basic rule behind these rolls: roll a d20, add an ability modifier derived from one of the six ability scores, and compare the total to a target number.
Ability Scores and Modifiers
Each of a creature’s abilities has a score, a number that defines the magnitude of that ability. An ability score is not just a measure of innate capabilities, but also encompasses a creature’s training and competence in activities related to that ability.
A score of 10 or 11 is the normal human average, but adventurers and many monsters are a cut above average in most abilities. A score of 18 is the highest that a person usually reaches. Adventurers can have scores as high as 20, and monsters and divine beings can have scores as high as 30.
Each ability also has a modifier, derived from the score and ranging from -5 (for an ability score of 1) to +10 (for a score of 30). The Ability Scores and Modifiers table notes the ability modifiers for the range of possible ability scores, from 1 to 30.
Table- Ability Scores and Modifiers
| Score | Modifier |
|---|---|
| 1 | -5 |
| 2-3 | -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 |
| 20-21 | +5 |
| 22-23 | +6 |
| 24-25 | +7 |
| 26-27 | +8 |
| 28-29 | +9 |
| 30 | +10 |
To determine an ability modifier without consulting the table, subtract 10 from the ability score and then divide the total by 2 (round down).
Because ability modifiers affect almost every attack roll, ability check, and saving throw, ability modifiers come up in play more often than their associated scores.