Ability Scores

Five abilities provide a loose description of your physical and mental characteristics.

Attributes

Strength (Str)

measures your physical power. It's important for characters who have to steady their aim while using heavy weapons.

• Strength provides pierce resistance
• Heavy weapons damage is based on Strength
• Strength is the key ability for athletics skill checks
• Some Soldier, Spoiler, Trapper, and Medic powers can take the Strength augment

Dexterity (Dex)

measures hand-eye coordination, agility, reflexes, and balance.

• Dexterity provides explosive resistance
• Light weapon damage is based on Dexterity
• Dexterity is the key ability for acrobatics and skulduggery skill checks
• Some Recon, Sniper, Tactician, and Demo powers can take the Dexterity augment

Constitution (Con)

represents your health, stamina, and vital force. All characters benefit from a high Constitution score.

• Constitution provides resistance to void
• Your Constitution score adds to your hit points and life points
• Constitution is the key ability for endurance skill checks
• Some Soldier and Spoiler powers can take the Constitution augment

Intelligence (Int)

describes how well your character learns, reasons, and leads.

• Intelligence provides anima resistance
• Intelligence is the key ability for biology, engineering, and lore skill checks
• Some Recon, Soldier, Tactician and Medic powers use the Intelligence augment

Wisdom (Wis)

measures your common sense, perception, and empathy. You use your Wisdom to notice details, assess danger, and read people.

• Wisdom provides psi resistance
• Wisdom is the key ability for heal, perception, and persuasion skill checks
• Certain Sniper, Soldier, Demo and Trapper powers use the Wisdom augment

Generating Attributes

There is currently no plan to allow or introduce random elements to generating ability scores. Startroid uses only five instead of six attributes, and uses smaller numbers, adding these directly to any relevant areas rather than going through the insane contrivance that is the ability modifier. If you are accustomed to the D&D way of things, the scores we use here are more akin to the modifiers there.

To determine your five scores, you have 6 points to distribute as you wish, with no more than 4 in any one ability.

For example:
4, 2, 0, 0, 0
3, 2, 1, 0, 0
3, 1, 1, 1, 0
2, 2, 1, 1, 0
2, 1, 1, 1, 1
would all be acceptable arrays of your ability scores. There is no special penalty for having 0 in an ability score (you do not die for having 0 Constitution, for instance).

Then generate your starting life points as 10 + your Con.