Does D&D as a game need ability scores from 3-18+, or can we move on to just use modifiers, if you cut nostalgia from the equation?

36 thoughts on “Does D&D as a game need ability scores from 3-18+, or can we move on to just use modifiers, if you cut nostalgia from the equation?

  1. Nathanael Detlev Petrick says:

    Feats which provide a +1 to an ability score would need to be reworked.
    Character advancement would be different, as I often use level 4 to increase two ability modifiers.
    Removing levels of granularity decreases choices.

  2. Wayne says:

    Already done years ago. Mutants and Masterminds is based on the d20 lisence, and with its third edition dropped the stat and just uses the modifier. Doesn’t really affect any thing

  3. Dan says:

    It’s easy to forget things like feeblemind, intellect Devourers, and other such things pop up in the game. Some undead sap the str value. They may not be frequent but having an identifiable number behind your modifiers is needed. New players just need to get accustomed to the difference early on.

  4. Nitchske #66 says:

    I lean toward the Chivalry & Sorcery method of generating characters. Ability scores are necessary for performing certain tasks, and ability scores from 3-18 help keep the character real, and not too powerful. I have merged C&S and D&D to make my own old school version of rules. No modifiers, but some abilities do influence others.

  5. Jason dandy says:

    The only thing required to move to a modifiers-only approach that takes “half modifiers” into account is some clever terminology, such as “my strength is +4” or “my strength is +4 plus” where the latter signals you’re one bump away from +5, while the former signals that you’re two bumps away from +5.

  6. Gabriel Henrique Wetzel says:

    Modifiers are not good at showing the relative skill of a character, what does a +1 or +5 mean? A +6 doesn’t feel excessive comparatively, a +1 feels pitiful while any negative number feels like a punishment even on a -1
    Its hard to imagine, but having a 0 – 20, 20 being the maximum normally possible, gives a better representation or mental image of how skilled someone is, something that would be lost in attempts at simplifying the system.

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