Dexterity: Dexterity encompasses
a number of physical attributes
including hand-eye coordination, agility,
reflexes, precision, balance, and SPEED of movement.
A high DEX indicates superiority in all
of the
above attributes, while a low dexterity
might well indicate that one of
these attributes is actually superior,
but that the others are very poor.
DEX affects all characters with regord
to initiative in attack, the
projection of missiles from hand or other
means, and in defensive
measures. Dexterity is the maior characteristic
of the thief class of
character, and it affects their professional
activities (such as picking
pockets, opening lacks, and so forth)
accordingly. Thieves with a dexterity
ability score of 16 or more gain a bonus
of 10% of earned experience. The
two tables which follow outline the effects
of dexterity on characters.
DMG:
The dexterity rating includes the following physical characteristics:
hand-eye coordination,
agility,
reflex speed,
precision,
balance,
and actual speed of movement
in running.
It would not be unreasonable
to claim that a person with a low dexterity might well be quite agile,
but have low reflex speed,
poor precision, bad balance, and be slow of foot (but slippery in the grasp).
| Ability Score | General Information | Reaction/Attacking Adjustment | Defensive Adjustment | Two-Weapon Fighting |
| <1> | <Incapacitation: cf. witherweed> | - | - | - |
| <2> | <Incapacitation: cf. witherweed> | - | - | - |
| 3 | - | -3 | +4 | -5, -7 |
| 4 | - | -2 | +3 | -4, -6 |
| 5 | Here or lower the character can only be a cleric | -1 | +2 | -3, -5 |
| 6 | Min. dexterity for a half-elfor magic-user character | 0 | +1 | -2, -4 |
| 7 | Min. dexterity for an elf character | 0 | 0 | -2, -4 |
| 8 | Min. dexterity for a hobbit character | 0 | 0 | -2, -4 |
| 9 | Min. dexterity for a thief character | 0 | 0 | -2, -4 |
| 10 | - | 0 | 0 | -2, -4 |
| 11 | - | 0 | 0 | -2, -4 |
| 12 | Min. dexterity for an assassin character | 0 | 0 | -2, -4 |
| 13 | - | 0 | 0 | -2, -4 |
| 14 | - | 0 | 0 | -2, -4 |
| 15 | Min. dexterity for a monk character | 0 | -1 | -2, -4 |
| 16 | Min. dexterity for an illusionist character | +1 | -2 | -1, -3 |
| 17 | Max. dexterity for a dwarf or half-orc character | +2 | -3 | 0, -2 <*> |
| 18 | - | +3 | -4 | 0, -1 |
| 19 | - | +3 | -4 | 0, -1 |
| 20 | - | +3 | -4 | 0, -1 |
| 21 | - | +4 | -5 | 0, 0 |
| 22 | - | +4 | -5 | 0, 0 |
| 23 | - | +4 | -5 | 0, 0 |
| 24 | - | +5 | -6 | 0, 0 |
| 25 | - | +5 | -6 | 0, 0 |
<* Possible advantage dual-wielding weapons, if STR is 15+.>
Notes Regarding Dexterity Table I:
Reaction/Attacking Adjustment is the penalty or bonus for both surprise (q.v) situations and missile combat attacks.
Defensive Adjustment refers to the
penalty or bonus applicable to a
character’s saves against certain forms
of attack (such as fire ball,
lightning
bolts, etc.) due to dodging ability. It also applies to the
character‘s parrying and/or dodging ability
in missile or melee combat; in
this case the penalty sutracts from the
AC
(q.v.) of the character,
making him or her easier to hit, while
the bonus adds to the defensive
value of the character’s armor class,
making him or her harder ta hit. For
example, a character with plate mail and
shield is normally treated as
AC 2; if the character has 3 dexterity,
there is a +4 penalty, so the
armor class changes to 6 (2 + 4). However,
if the same character has a
dexterity of 18, there is a bonus of -4,
so armor class changes from 2 to a -2
(2 + -4 = 1, 0, -1, -2).
| Ability Score | Picking Pockets | Opening Locks | Locating/Removing Traps | Moving Silently | Hiding in Shadows |
| 9 | -15% | -10% | -10% | -20% | -10% |
| 10 | -10% | -05% | -10% | -15% | -05% |
| 11 | -05% | 0 | -05% | -10% | 0 |
| 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -05% | 0 |
| 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | 0 | +05% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | +5% | +10% | 0 | +05% | +05% |
| 18 | +10% | +15% | +05% | +10% | +10% |
| 19 | +15% | +20% | +10% | +12% | +12% |
| 20 | +20% | +25% | +15% | +15% | +15% |
| 21 | +25% | +30% | +20% | +18% | +18% |
| 22 | +30% | +35% | +25% | +20% | +20% |
| 23 | +35% | +40% | +30% | +23% | +23% |
| 24 | +40% | +45% | +35% | +25% | +25% |
| 25 | +45% | +50% | +40% | +30% | +30% |
Notes Regarding Dexterity Table II:
All ”Penalty or Bonus for” categories
are fully detailed under CHARACTER CLASSES, Thieves.
The penalties and bonuses are applied
to the base chances of success for each named category. Racial adjustments
for dwarves, elves, etc. are additional pluses.
SA: Non-thieves can use the listed thieving abilities at the percentages stated on the table. (Variant rule).
Q: I think I have
found an error in
the Players Handbook. It
lists the
maximum dexterity for half-orcs
as
14, but the AD&D
game errata published
in DRAGON issue #35 lists
the
maximum dexterity as 17.
A: You have indeed
found a mistake in the PH.
Half-orcs do have a maximum
dexterity of 17.
(139.68)
-
Richard wrote:
Gary, at the bottom of this
thread of posts, is my question about my nine dexterity and my motion sickness
that I easily get: http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewt
... 707#426707. Motion sickness is connected to and affects my dexterity
or my constitution as one poster has mentioned? Because I get motion sickness
easily and for the purpose of some realism, can I still have a nine for
my dexterity or does motion sickness keep me from having a nine dexterity
score? Also, look at the part about people who can walk on rolling logs
of wood on a pool of water and people who can walk on a tightrope. If they
can do that, it means they have an above-nine dexterity?
Richard,
All RPG are games,
and the numbers rolled to describe the player's character dictate the matter.
What a person is in actuality
has no bearing on the PC in virtually all systems.
Dealing and being concerned with one's actual mental, physical, and spiritual state is called living life.
Cheerio,
Gary
<italics added>