Ability Scores
Introduction
Player Character Ability Scores
To venture into the worlds of the AD&D game, players first create characters with six core ability scores: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. These scores determine the character's physical, mental, and personality traits and affect various aspects of gameplay.
Ability Score Generation Methods
Method I
Roll three six-sided dice (3d6) for each ability score in the order of Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Chrisma. This method gives scores ranging from 3 to 18, with most results falling between 9 and 12.
Method II
Roll 3d6 twice for each ability score. Note the total of each roll and use whichever result you prefer for your character's score. Repeat this for Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. This method helps avoid very low ability scores.
Method III
Roll 3d6 six times and jot down the total for each roll. Assign these six scores to your character's six abilities however you want, allowing for customization.
Method IV
Roll 3d6 twelve times and jot down all twelve totals. Choose the six best rolls and assign them to your character's abilities as desired. This method combines the advantages of Method II and III.
Method V
Roll four six-sided dice (4d6), discard the lowest die, and total the remaining three. Repeat this five more times to get six numbers. Assign these numbers to the character's abilities however you want. This is a fast method that generally yields good characters.
Method VI
Each ability starts with a score of 8. Then roll seven dice. These dice can be added to your character's abilities as you wish, with all points of a die added to the same ability. No ability score can exceed 18. This method is for creating specific types of characters.
Strength
Strength (Str) measures a character's muscle, endurance, and stamina. It is the prime requisite for warriors, affecting their ability to wear armor and wield heavy weapons.
Game Effects
Ability Score Table
| Score | Hit Prob. | Damage Adj. | Weight Allow. | Max Press | Open Doors | Bend Bars/Lift Gates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | -5 | -4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0% | |
| 2 | -3 | -2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0% | |
| 3 | -3 | -1 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 0% | |
| 4-5 | -2 | -1 | 10 | 25 | 3 | 0% | |
| 6-7 | -1 | None | 20 | 55 | 4 | 0% | |
| 8-9 | Normal | None | 35 | 90 | 5 | 1% | |
| 10-11 | Normal | None | 40 | 115 | 6 | 2% | |
| 12-13 | Normal | None | 45 | 140 | 7 | 4% | |
| 14-15 | Normal | None | 55 | 170 | 8 | 7% | |
| 16 | Normal | +1 | 70 | 195 | 9 | 10% | |
| 17 | +1 | +1 | 85 | 220 | 10 | 13% | |
| 18 | +1 | +2 | 110 | 255 | 11 | 16% | |
| 18/01-50 | +1 | +3 | 135 | 280 | 12 | 20% | |
| 18/51-75 | +2 | +3 | 160 | 305 | 13 | 25% | |
| 18/76-90 | +2 | +4 | 185 | 330 | 14 | 30% | |
| 18/91-99 | +2 | +5 | 235 | 380 | 15(3) | 35% | |
| 18/00 | +3 | +6 | 335 | 480 | 16(6) | 40% | |
| 19 | +3 | +7 | 485 | 640 | 16(8) | 50% | Hill Giant |
| 20 | +3 | +8 | 535 | 700 | 17(10) | 60% | Stone Giant |
| 21 | +4 | +9 | 635 | 810 | 17(12) | 70% | Frost Giant |
| 22 | +4 | +10 | 785 | 970 | 18(14) | 80% | Fire Giant |
| 23 | +5 | +11 | 935 | 1,130 | 18(16) | 90% | Cloud Giant |
| 24 | +6 | +12 | 1,235 | 1,440 | 19(17) | 95% | Storm Giant |
| 25 | +7 | +14 | 1,535 | 1,750 | 19(18) | 99% | Titan |
Dexterity
Dexterity (Dex) encompasses hand-eye coordination, agility, reaction speed, reflexes, and balance. It is the prime requisite for rogues, affecting their professional skills, reaction to threats, accuracy with ranged weapons, and ability to dodge.
Game Effects
Ability Score Table
| Score | Reaction Adj. | Missile Attack Adj. | Defensive Adj. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | -6 | -6 | +5 |
| 2 | -4 | -4 | +5 |
| 3 | -3 | -3 | +4 |
| 4 | -2 | -2 | +3 |
| 5 | -1 | -1 | +2 |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | +1 |
| 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10-14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 16 | +1 | +1 | -2 |
| 17 | +2 | +2 | -3 |
| 18 | +2 | +2 | -4 |
| 19 | +3 | +3 | -4 |
| 20 | +3 | +3 | -4 |
| 21 | +4 | +4 | -5 |
| 22 | +4 | +4 | -5 |
| 23 | +4 | +4 | -5 |
| 24 | +5 | +5 | -6 |
| 25 | +5 | +5 | -6 |
Constitution
A character's Constitution (Con) score reflects their physique, fitness, health, and resistance to hardship, injury, and disease. It is vital for all classes as it affects hit points and the ability to survive significant physical trauma.
Game Effects
Ability Score Table
| Score | Hit Point Adj. | System Shock | Resurrection Survival | Poison Save | Regeneration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | -3 | 25% | 30% | -2 | Nil |
| 2 | -2 | 30% | 35% | -1 | Nil |
| 3 | -2 | 35% | 40% | 0 | Nil |
| 4 | -1 | 40% | 45% | 0 | Nil |
| 5 | -1 | 45% | 50% | 0 | Nil |
| 6 | -1 | 50% | 55% | 0 | Nil |
| 7 | 0 | 55% | 60% | 0 | Nil |
| 8 | 0 | 60% | 65% | 0 | Nil |
| 9 | 0 | 65% | 70% | 0 | Nil |
| 10 | 0 | 70% | 75% | 0 | Nil |
| 11 | 0 | 75% | 80% | 0 | Nil |
| 12 | 0 | 80% | 85% | 0 | Nil |
| 13 | 0 | 85% | 90% | 0 | Nil |
| 14 | 0 | 88% | 92% | 0 | Nil |
| 15 | +1 | 90% | 94% | 0 | Nil |
| 16 | +2 | 95% | 96% | 0 | Nil |
| 17 | +2 (+3)* | 97% | 98% | 0 | Nil |
| 18 | +2 (+4)* | 99% | 100% | 0 | Nil |
| 19 | +2 (+5)* | 99% | 100% | +1 | Nil |
| 20 | +2 (+5)** | 99% | 100% | +1 | 1/6 turns |
| 21 | +2 (+6)*** | 99% | 100% | +2 | 1/5 turns |
| 22 | +2 (+6)*** | 99% | 100% | +2 | 1/4 turns |
| 23 | +2 (+6)**** | 99% | 100% | +3 | 1/3 turns |
| 24 | +2 (+7)**** | 99% | 100% | +3 | 1/2 turns |
| 25 | +2 (+7)**** | 100% | 100% | +4 | 1/1 turn |
Intelligence
Intelligence (Int) represents a character's memory, reasoning, and learning ability. It dictates the number of languages a character can learn and is the prime requisite for wizards, affecting their ability to learn and memorize spells.
Game Effects
Ability Score Table
| Score | NumberOfLanguages | SpellLevel | ChanceToLearnSpell | MaxNumberOfSpellsPerLevel | Illusion Immunity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0* | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2 | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 3 | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 4 | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 5 | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 6 | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 7 | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 8 | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 9 | 2 | 4th | 35% | 6 | -- |
| 10 | 2 | 5th | 40% | 7 | -- |
| 11 | 2 | 5th | 45% | 7 | -- |
| 12 | 3 | 6th | 50% | 7 | -- |
| 13 | 3 | 6th | 55% | 9 | -- |
| 14 | 4 | 7th | 60% | 9 | -- |
| 15 | 4 | 7th | 65% | 11 | -- |
| 16 | 5 | 8th | 70% | 11 | -- |
| 17 | 6 | 8th | 75% | 14 | -- |
| 18 | 7 | 9th | 85% | 18 | -- |
| 19 | 8 | 9th | 95% | All | 1st-level |
| 20 | 9 | 9th | 96% | All | 2nd-level |
| 21 | 10 | 9th | 97% | All | 3rd-level |
| 22 | 11 | 9th | 98% | All | 4th-level |
| 23 | 12 | 9th | 99% | All | 5th-level |
| 24 | 15 | 9th | 100% | All | 6th-level |
| 25 | 20 | 9th | 100% | All | 7th-level |
Wisdom
Wisdom (Wis) represents a character's enlightenment, judgment, guile, willpower, common sense, and intuition. It is the prime requisite for priests and can affect resistance to magical attacks.
Game Effects
Ability Score Table
| Score | MagicalDefenseAdjustment | Bonus Spells | ChanceOfSpellFailure | Spell Immunity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | -6 | -- | 80% | -- |
| 2 | -4 | -- | 60% | -- |
| 3 | -3 | -- | 50% | -- |
| 4 | -2 | -- | 45% | -- |
| 5 | -1 | -- | 40% | -- |
| 6 | -1 | -- | 35% | -- |
| 7 | -1 | -- | 30% | -- |
| 8 | 0 | -- | 25% | -- |
| 9 | 0 | 0 | 20% | -- |
| 10 | 0 | 0 | 15% | -- |
| 11 | 0 | 0 | 10% | -- |
| 12 | 0 | 0 | 5% | -- |
| 13 | 0 | 1st | 0% | -- |
| 14 | 0 | 1st | 0% | -- |
| 15 | +1 | 2nd | 0% | -- |
| 16 | +2 | 2nd | 0% | -- |
| 17 | +3 | 3rd | 0% | -- |
| 18 | +4 | 4th | 0% | -- |
| 19 | +4 | 1st, 3rd | 0% | cause fear, charm person, command, friends, hypnotism |
| 20 | +4 | 2nd, 4th | 0% | forget, hold person, ray of enfeeblement, scare |
| 21 | +4 | 3rd, 5th | 0% | fear |
| 22 | +4 | 4th, 5th | 0% | charm monster, confusion, emotion, fumble, suggestion |
| 23 | +4 | 1st, 6th | 0% | chaos, feeblemind, hold monster, magic jar, quest |
| 24 | +4 | 5th, 6th | 0% | geas, mass suggestion, rod of rulership |
| 25 | +4 | 6th, 7th | 0% | antipathy/sympathy, death spell, mass charm |
Charisma
The Charisma (Cha) score measures a character's persuasiveness, personal magnetism, and ability to lead. It is important for interacting with nonplayer characters (NPCs), hirelings, and intelligent monsters.
Game Effects
Ability Score Table
| Score | MaximumNumberOfHenchmen | Loyalty Base | Reaction Adjustment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | -8 | -7 |
| 2 | 1 | -7 | -6 |
| 3 | 1 | -6 | -5 |
| 4 | 1 | -5 | -4 |
| 5 | 2 | -4 | -3 |
| 6 | 2 | -3 | -2 |
| 7 | 3 | -2 | -1 |
| 8 | 3 | -1 | 0 |
| 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | 5 | 0 | +1 |
| 14 | 6 | +1 | +2 |
| 15 | 7 | +3 | +3 |
| 16 | 8 | +4 | +5 |
| 17 | 10 | +6 | +6 |
| 18 | 15 | +8 | +7 |
| 19 | 20 | +10 | +8 |
| 20 | 25 | +12 | +9 |
| 21 | 30 | +14 | +10 |
| 22 | 35 | +16 | +11 |
| 23 | 40 | +18 | +12 |
| 24 | 45 | +20 | +13 |
| 25 | 50 | +20 | +14 |