This Ability Guide will help you understand what each ability, or attribute, does, and what different scores of an ability should mean. Below is the general attribute score chart, and it shows what each attribute stands as for a character.

Score
4/5 - Horrible
6/7 - Very frail; unskilled.
8/9 - Below average, frail.
10/11 - The average among human commoners - Not good, but not bad.
12/13 - The average among human adventurers - Above average, skilled.
14/15 - Very skilled and talented.
16/17 - The best in the field, amazingly good.
18 - Extraordinary; uncommon and envied.

Remember that racial factors matter when comparing and averaging two of the same race. If for example you are comparing two moon elves (+2 dex, -2 con), everything on the right side should appropriately move up or down.

IE.
Moon Elf Dexterity.

10/11 - Below average, frail.
12/13 - The average among moon elf commoners - Not good, but not bad.
14/15 - The average among moon elf adventurers - Above average, skilled.
16/17 - Very skilled and talented.
18/19 - The best in the field, amazingly good.
20 - Extraordinary; uncommon and envied.

Moon Elf Constitution.

6/7 - Below average, frail.
8/9 - The average among moon elf commoners - Not good, but not bad.
10/11 - The average among moon elf adventurers - Above average, skilled.
12/13 - Very skilled and talented.
14/15 - The best in the field, amazingly good.
16 - Extraordinary; uncommon and envied.


Keep in mind that the younger characters are more likely to have higher physical attributes than older characters, and older characters are likely to have higher mental attributes than youger characters.

Strength
Strength measures your character's muscle and physical power. This ability is especially important for fighters, barbarians, paladins, rangers, and monks because it helps them prevail in combat. Strength also limits the amount of equipment your character can carry.

In game, strength...
- Gives a bonus to melee attack rolls.
- Gives bonus to damage rolls when using a melee weapon or thrown weapon (including sling) Exceptions...
~ Off hand attacks receive only one-half the character's strength modifier.
~ Two-handed attacks receive one and a half times the strength modifier.
- Effects total encumbrance.

Characters with high strength are usually...
- Warriors
- Physical Labourers
- Body-builders

Strength should effect your character and how it is roleplayed in a number of ways, such as...
- How muscley and 'buff' they are.
- What they would be able to lift and not be able to lift.
- How hard their hits/punches/kicks/etc would be towards other characters.
- How easily they would break an object/door.

Characters with high strength are musclier and physically stronger, able to throw a heavier punch and weapon strike, as well as carry and lift more.

Dexterity
Dexterity measures hand-eye coordination, agility, reflexes, and balance. This ability is the most important one for rogues, but it's also high on the list for characters who typically wear light or medium armor (rangers and barbarians) or no armor at all (monks, wizards, and sorcerers), and for anyone who wants to be a skilled archer.

In game, dexterity...
- Gives a bonus to ranged attack rolls, including those for attacks made with bows, crossbows, throwing axes, and other ranged weapons.
- Gives dodge armor class (AC), provided that the character can react to the attack.
- Increases reflex saving throws, for avoiding fireballs, traps, and other attacks that you can escape by moving quickly.
- Increases hide, move silently, open lock, sleight of hand, and tumble checks.
- Gives a bonus to initiative rolls.

Characters with high dexterity are usually...
- Rogues
- Acrobats/Entertainers
- Dancers
- Archers

Dexterity should effect your character and how it is roleplayed in a number of ways, such as...
- How good their hand-eye coordination is.
- How accurate they are when throwing objects or using a bow.
- How well they can react to something physical.
- How balanced they are and how likely they are to fall from loss of balance.
(Note that if a character's dexterity score changes enough to alter his or her dexterity modifier, the character's armour class also increase or decrease accordingly.)

Characters with high dexterity have a great hand-eye co-ordination, are great at throwing things and firing with a bow, have a greater sense of balance and are able to utilise their body's movements better.

Constitution
Constitution represents your character's health and stamina. A Constitution bonus increases a character's hit points, so the ability is important for all classes.

In game, Constitution...
- Applies the modifier to hit points per level. (HD of class)
- Increases fortitude saving throws, for resisting poison and similar threats.
- Increases concentration checks.
(Note that if a character's constitution score changes enough to alter his or her constitution modifier, the character's hit points also increase or decrease accordingly.)

Characters with high constitution are usually...
- Physical Labourers
- Athletes
- Travelers
- Farmers

Constitution should effect your character and how it is roleplayed in a number of ways, such as...
- How far they are able to run without exhaustion.
- How healthy they are and how well they deal with sickness/poison.
- How fit they are.

Characters with high constitution will be able to run further without exhaustion, be less prone to sickness and have a greater level of fitness.

Intelligence
Intelligence determines how well your character learns and reasons. This ability is important for wizards because it affects how many spells they can cast, how hard their spells are to resist, and how powerful their spells can be. It's also important for any character who wants to have a wide assortment of skills.

In game, Intelligence...
- Gives a character bonus skill points on character creation.
- Gives a character bonus skill points per level.
- Affects a wizard's spell DC, the maximum level of spells he can cast (10+ whatever the level of the spell), and bonus (if any) spells.
- Increases appraise, crafting skills, disable device, lore, search, and spellcraft checks.
- Gives bonus languages according to class and modifier. (Added with DMFI)

Characters with high intelligence are usually...
- Scholars
- Learned
- Tacticians
- Researchers

Intelligence should effect your character and how it is roleplayed in a number of ways, such as...
- How well they are able to learn things and how quickly they can put what they've learnt to use.
- How well they understand things.
- How well they think about things and reason about things.

Characters with high intelligence are able to apply logic to situations, use quick-thinking in situations and learn and understand things with a higher level of reasoning.