Strength Redux

Apart from the occasional person telling me I'm too anal for D&D, or those who just don't get why I care about niggling details, I get some terrific feedback and thought out criticism for the rules adaptations, changes and conceptions I produce on this blog.  More so, I think, in the last six months, which suggests to me that I'm reaching that segment that DOES get why I care.

I will state once again my philosophy that an RPG is an art form.  And that a world designed to compliment an RPG is an art form.   Art forms, to have any real value, must be produced with care, with deliberate purpose, and with commensurate effort.  Art is a worthy pursuit for a human to follow, to dedicate thousands of hours of their life towards ... IF that art is painstakingly accomplished. 

In the spirit outlined above, I am posting the following table, which is an upgrade of the table that can be found here.  It incorporates, in half, a slightly modified version of the original table (family), in addition to a second chart (feats).  A d20 roll is made on each table, and the roll compared with the character's strength score, equal to or less than.

There are those who might say that particular feats above are better included under the dexterity or constitution tables, but things necessarily bleed into various stats - and an argument can always be made that a thing belongs on one side or the other.  The two constitution tables reflect 'health' and 'composition', while dexterity is divided into 'agility' and 'reflex & coordination'.  What is left over, which might vaguely suggest either dexterity or composition, but certainly involved strength, is included here.

Notes, for better clarification.

The lowest score a character can have is a 3, and the highest roll on a d20 can only be 17 above this.  There is only a 1 in 20 chance that a character with a 3 strength (a 1 in 1296 chance overall), would not be able to run.  That's only 1 chance in 25,920 (or less, if you consider there's only a 1 in 6 chance of the character putting the stat under strength).

The highest score a character can have (the background is rolled before any modifiers are applied for race or age) is an 18.  A 1 on a d20 is 17 below.  The chance of a character possessing inherent hysterical strength is 1 in 20 x 21 in 1296 (the chance of getting an 18 on 4d6 less one die).  That's approximately 1 chance in 1234).

I use rules for running where in the second round, characters can move twice normal movement, and in the third round, three times normal movement.  Thus it is possible for a character to be reduced to a maximum speed of normal, or at best one and a half, or twice speed.  Or to simply have overall speed reduced by 1.  The running skill described at '11 below' is meant to reflect a talent for jogging throughout the day.

Most of the results assume that the majority of the body is normal, while one characteristic is extraordinarily inferior or superior - the various results are not intended to be cumulative.

Athletic experience for or against generally assumes the character's chance of success or failure at that particular support is +50% or -50%.  I assign a 40% chance for most people to be successful at a physical effort they are not trained at accomplishing.  Thus, a character choosing to pinpoint dive (anyone can fall off a drop, but can they miss the rocks?) would be normally 40% (subject to other considerations - for some things a thief would be higher, for others a ranger would be higher).  With athletic experience this is increased to 60%.  Levels are not an issue.  I would suggest a +1% ability for every time the effort was made successfully.

I consider rock climbing to be easier than climbing sheer walls.

"1 or less hit points" ... characters in my world survive until -9 hit points.