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(5. geburah)
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Strength: Strength is a measure
of muscle, endurance, and stamina combined.
For purposes of relating this ability
to some reality, assume that a character with a STR of 3 is able to lift
a max. of 30 pounds weight above his or her head in a military press, while
a character with 18 STR will be able to press 180 pounds in the same manner.
Strength is the forte of fighters,
for they must be physically powerful in order to wear armor and wield heavy
weapons.
Therefore, strength is the major characteristic
(or prime requisite) of fighters, and those fighters with strength of 16
or more gain a bonus of 10% of earned experience
(explained later).
Furthermore, fighters with an 18 STR are
entitled to roll percentile dice in order to generate a random number between
01 and 00 (100) to determine exceptional strength;
exceptional strength increases hit probability
and damage done when attacking, and it also increases the weight the character
is able to carry without penalty for encumbrance, as well as increasing
the character's ability to force open doors and similar
portals.
The tables below give complete information
regarding the effects of strength.
Note that only fighters are permitted
to roll on the exceptional strength section of STRENGTH
TABLE II: ABILITY ADJUSTMENTS.
-
DMG:
The strength characteristic of a human or humanoid of any type,
and of player-characters
in particular, is more than a simple evaluation of the musculature of the
body.
Strength is a composite
rating of physical power,
endurance,
and stamina.
A rating of 3, for example,
indicates that the creature in question has little of each of the three
categories,
a score of 10 or thereabouts
shows that the creature has the norm for a human adult male
(based on an assumed medieval
standard where the typical individual was in "good shape" due to the necessity
of hard labor),
while a score of 18 means
that the creature has a composite rating far above average in all respects.
By way of comparison, kobolds
will have an average strength rating of 9,
goblins
10, orcs 12, hobgoblins 15, gnolls 16, bugbears 17, ogres 18, and trolls
a strength rating of 18+.
Gnomes have an average strength
rating of 10,
dwarves
14, elves 12, halflings 8, and giants 19 and up.
Exceptional
Strength: Assume further that a strength of 18 indicates that the creature
can lift weight equal to its own body weight, or 180 pounds,
whichever is the greater,
above its head.
This rating is modified
by a restriction that
no creature of human/humanoid
nature can lift more than twice its own body weight above its head.
A human with an 18 strength
and an additional percentile dice roll
is able
to lift 1 additional pound for every percentage point up to and including
50%,
4 pounds
for every percentage point from 51% to 90%,
and 8
pounds for each percentage point from 91% to 00%.
Question: Do Clerics
with 18 Strength qualify for exceptional Strength?
What about multi-classed
characters?
Double-classed
humans?
Answer: Only characters
who are Fighters or have the Fighter
class as one of their classes
can qualify for an xceptional
strength rating. Furthermore,
several races and genders of
races are by their nature
unable to achieve an 18 Strength, and
thus do not qualify for
the exceptional rating even if they are
Fighters. These types include
all females except for humans
and half-orcs, plus male
halflings. — J. Ward, W. Niebling
(Revision: Fighter
sub-classes can have exceptional Strength as well).
(Revision: Cavaliers
and their sub-classes can have exceptional Strength as well).
Question:
Do ex-fighters (such as bards) keep their exceptional
strength
when they become a member
of another class?
Answer: No.
For bards, this is a case
of giving up something to get
something else: No character
who is not an actual member of
the fighter class can have
exceptional strength. But when the
ex-fighter becomes a bard,
he does gain many benefits which
are designed to make up
for the prohibition on keeping his
exceptional strength. The
PH
lists 18 — not
18/01, or any other higher
number—as the maximum strength
possible for all non-fighter
characters. As soon as a bard-to-be
switches to the thief class,
the character becomes a non-
fighter. And although there
will come a time when the bard-to-
be regains the ability to
use the skills he had as a fighter, he will
never again be a fighter.
(Note: This technically
contradicts a previous answer).
| Ability Score | General Information |
| 0 | <>Dead, or worse<> |
| 1 | <comatose: cf. spirit troll, FF> <Severe disability (based on human norm)> <avoid clutter, use footnote> |
| 2 | <comatose: cf. spirit troll, FF> <Mild disability (based on human norm)> |
| 3 | (You have little physical power, endurance, and stamina) |
| 4 | - |
| 5 | Here or lower the character can only be a magick-user |
| 6 | Min. STR for a gnome, half-orc or hobbit character |
| 7 | |
| 8 | Min. STR for a dwarf character (Avg. halfling) |
| 9 | Min. STR for a fighter character (Avg. kobold) |
| 10 | (Avg. adult human (ancient/medieval) male), (Avg. goblin), (Avg. gnome) |
| 11 | - |
| 12 | Min. STR for an assassin || paladin character (Avg. orc) (Avg. elf) |
| 13 | Min. STR for a ranger character |
| 14 | Max. STR possible for a female halfling character (Avg. dwarf) |
| 15 | Max. STR possible for a female gnome character, minimum strength for a monk character (Avg. hobgoblin) |
| 16 | Max. STR possible for a female elf character (Avg. gnoll) |
| 17 | Max. STR possible for a female dwarf or female half-elf or male halfling character (Avg. bugbear) |
| 18 | Max. STR possible for all non-fighter characters (Your physical power, endurance, stamina is far above average) (Avg. ogre) |
| * 18/01-50 | Max. STR possible for a female human or male gnome character |
| 18/51-75 | Max. STR possible for a male elf or female half-orc character |
| 18/76-90 | Max. STR possible for a male half-elf character |
| 18/91-99 | Max. STR possible for a male dwarf or male half-orc character |
| 18/00 | Max. human STR |
| 19+ | (Avg. giants) |
* (18% Avg. troll)
<italics>
<the words possible and character could
be edited out>
Quote:
Originally Posted by Barak
Heh Mr Gygax, I'm glad to
see that, on the whole, your view on most of the "complaints" about D&D
or even FRPGs in general reflect mine. I fondly remember answering a rather
long tirade about the fact that nowadays female characters had basically
the same STR as male characters, including lenghty references to biological
and sociological surveys with the simple "Ok, but you're fine with fireballs?",
and I'm glad to see you would basically have answered in kind. Realism
in fantasy can only go so far, eh?
Howdy Barak!
Just so.
The only limit I placed on
female PCS was no Str above 18.
In actual history female
participation in what would be considered adventuring was virtually nil.
i am always amused when history
programs on the tube attempt Political Corectness by featuring the only
examples of female duelists, pirates, warriors, etc.
They represent less than
one percent of the whole being considered, and featuring one-armed men
in the same roles would be at least as meaningful historically.
Frankly, not only did society
generally prevent such participation, but I believe most women were generally
not the least interested in engaging in such dangerous and questionable
activities.
That said, I never enforced
the rule in my own game, for the milieu is fantasy, and given that, why
have a physical power barrier when there are no others?
If any player, male or female,
wants to have a female character that is as strong as any male, there is
no reason not to allow that.
Cheers,
Gary
| Ability Score | Hit Probability | Damage
Adjustment |
Weight Allowance (#) <> | Open Doors On A | Bend Bars/
Lift Gates |
<> Lift <> | ||
| 0<comatose> | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | ||
| 1 | -5 | -3 | -40# | 1 | 0% | 3# | ||
| 2 | -3 | -2 | -40 | 1 | 0% | 5 | ||
| 3 | -3 | -1 |
|
1 | 0% | 30 | ||
| 4-5 | -2 | -1 |
|
1 | 0% | ** | ||
| 6-7 | -1 | normal |
|
1 | 0% | ** | ||
| 8-9 | normal | none |
|
1-2 | 1% | ** | ||
| 10-11 | normal | none |
|
1-2 | 2% | ** | ||
| 12-13 | normal | none |
|
1-2 | 4% | ** | ||
| 14 | normal | none |
|
1-2 | 7% | ** | ||
| 15 <***> | normal | none |
|
1-2 | 7% | ** | ||
| 16 | normal | +1 |
|
1-3 | 10% | 160 | ||
| 17 | +1 | +1 |
|
1-3 | 13% | 170 | ||
| 18 | +1 | +2 |
|
1-3 | 16% | 180 | ||
| 18/01-50 | +1 | +3 |
|
1-3 | 20% | 180 + % | ||
| 18/51-75 | +2 | +3 |
|
1-4 | 25% | 230 + (%-50)4 | ||
| 18/76-90 | +2 | +4 |
|
1-4 | 30% | 330 + (%-75)4 | ||
| 18/91-99 | +2 | +5 |
|
1-4(1)* | 35% | 390 + (%-90)8 | ||
| 18/00 | +3 | +6 |
|
1-5(2)* | 40% | 470 | ||
| 19 | +3 | +7 | +450 | 7 in 8 (3) | 50% (as hill giant) | 1,000# | ||
| 20 | +3 | +8 | +500 | 7 in 8 (3) | 60% (as stone giant) | 1,500# | ||
| 21 | +4 | +9 | +600 | 9 in 10 (4) | 70% (as frost giant) | 2,000# | ||
| 22 | +4 | +10 | +750 | 11 in 12 (5) | 80% (as fire giant) | 2,500# | ||
| 23 | +5 | +11 | +900 | 11 in 12 (5) | 90% (as cloud giant) | 3,000# | ||
| 24 | +6 | +12 | +1200 | 19 in 20 (7 in 8) | 100% (as storm giant) | 3,500# | ||
| 25 | +7 | +14 | +1500# | 23 in 24 (9 in 10) | 100% (as titan) | 4,000# |
* The number in (parentheses) is the
number of chances out of 6 for the fighter to be able to force open a locked,
<>
barred, magically held,
or wizard locked door, but only one attempt
ever (per door) may be made, and if it fails no further attempts can succeed.
** Str x 10, unless otherwise noted.
<*** Possible advantage dual-wielding weapons, if DEX is 17+.>
Notes Regarding Strength Table II:
Hit Probability
adjustments refer to the score generated by dice roll in melee combat.
Subtraction from or addition to the number
rolled is made according to the table as applicable.
(A full listing of combat
tables appears in the DUNGEON MASTERS
GUIDE.)
Damage Adjustment
likewise applies to melee combat. The damage done
by scoring a successful hit on an opponent
is adjusted downwards or
upwards as applicable. Thus, if a hit
would normally score 1-6 points of
damage upon the opponent, and the character's
strength was only 3, the
actual damage done would be reduced by
1 point; but, on the other hand,
if the attacker had strength of 18/00,
the actual damage done would be
adiusted upwards by 6 hit points, and
possible damage would jump from
1-6 to 7-12.
<unless a "min 1 pt of dmg rule" is
explicitly stated elsewhere, a weak character can do 0 dmg, or dmg himself
with an attack>
Q: Do Strength bonuses apply to hand-hurled
missiles? And are the Strength
bonuses cumulative with Dexterity bonuses
to hit?
A: The bonuses do apply, at any range,
and are cumulative.
(Polyhedron #2)
Q: Do strength bonuses
count for
hurled weapons such as daggers,
spears,
clubs, javelins, etc.?
A: Yes, though the
DM may limit the application
of full strength bonuses
for small,
light weapons such as daggers.
(117.47)
Weight Allowance
is given in number of gold pieces over and above the
maximum normally stated for unencumbered
movement. (See MOVEMENT.)
The conversion ratio of gold pieces to
pounds of weight is 10 to 1.
If a character could normally carry 500
gold pieces without
encumbrance, but the character had strength
of 17
instead of the normal 8-11 range,
1,000 gold pieces could be carried without
incurring movement penalty.
<All weights & encumbrance
values are expressed in # (pounds).>
<Ignore anything beyond the first decimal
point (game school!).>
<PH2 might be -390, but -400 would
be game school>
Open Doors indicates
the number of chances out of 6 which the character
has of opening a stuck
or heavy door on that try.
Successive attempts may be made at no
penalty with regard to damage to the character attempting
to force the door open, but each such
attempt requires time and makes
considerable noise.
Question: How do you
figure the chance to open doors if more than one
character tries to do it
at the same time?
Answer: That depends
on what sort of door the characters are con-
fronted with, how the DM
chooses to define and describe the
door in game
terms, and what the capabilities of the characters
are. There is no set of
“rules” for such a situation that could
apply in all possible cases.
The size
of the door and the number of gripping places
(handles) it has will help
determine, first and foremost, whether
two or more characters can
even get their hands on it. If they
can, and if the door is
nothing more than an ordinary “stuck or
heavy
door” as described in the PH,
++ then the chance for a
pair of characters to pull or push open the door might be as great as a
simple sum of their chances:
Two characters each with
a STR of 12 would have a 1-4 (on d6) chance together,
while two characters each
with strength of 16 or better would automatically be able to open such
a door.
++ Or, the chance might not
be quite that great if the DM reasons
that the individual characters
can’t each apply all the strength
at their disposal (for lack
of good balance or leverage), so that
perhaps the chance for two
12-strength
characters would only
increase to 1-3, and the
pair of 16-strength characters might
have an 80% or 90% chance
(or at least something short of
guaranteed success).
If you
want to get really particular, it would be more efficient for characters
to work in tandem against a door that pushes open rather than one that
is pulled.
The procedure
used will vary according to the circumstances
and the surroundings —and
in cases where it isn’t a matter of
life or death
for that door to be opened in the next round of
action, it often doesn’t
really matter what the exact chance of
success might be. A good
DM won’t make a big thing out of it if
two characters want to “attack”
a door at the same time, unless
there’s something really
important about the door — or behind
it — in which case the door
would generally already be locked
or magically sealed to prevent
it from being breached by
strength alone.
Bend
bars/Lift Gates
states the percentage chance the character has of
bending normal soft iron bars or of lifting
a vertically moving gate (such as
a small portcullis barring a passage).
The attempt may be made but once, and if
the score required is not made, the character will never succeed in the
task.
Example: A character with
16 strength is trapped in a dead end
passage by a set of iron
bars which drop down from the ceiling when a
stone slab is stepped on
and triggers the release of the gate. The character
first attempts to lift the
gate, a roll of 01-10 indicating success, but the
percentile dice come up
74, so failure is indicated. The character next
attempts to bend the bars
in order to squeeze between them, the
percentage chance of success
is the same as for lifting the gate, and this
time a 07 is rolled, so
the character slips out and is free.
<>
Lift: This is
the amount of weight a character can pick up.
UA+: If a character
can lift (TAKE) an object, he can DROP it into any adjacent space.
<>
Note: compare to the
2e "Max. Press" numbers, which are different. <again,
game school
: see weight allowance>
Remember : anything
that is on one of the ability score pages, that is not from the PH, is
numbers
only!
<too cryptic, edit:
this note was made for 1e.math>
<>
Asrogoth wrote:
Gary,
The Strength scores in AD&D and OD&D can go as high during character generation as 18/00 if I remember correctly.
Why does the extra oomph (01-00) apply only to Strength? I can see a case for all the other attributes to have this special ability as well.
My apologies in advance if this is covered. I do not play AD&D and do not own a copy of OD&D to draw from.
Just curious.
Thank you in advance.
-Kenny+
Inusual strength is quantifiable,
and the fighter class needed the benefit of increaded
chance to hit and damage done thus.
None of the other stats have easily quantifiable measurement of addition as does strength.
Cheers,
Gary
As for Strength in OAD&D,
I did indeed use reasoning along the lines you suggest, and exceptional
strength was reserved to the fighter class for exactly the reason you note--training.
Because the PCs are assumed
to be superior, the maximum strength being had by 1 in 216 is more like
1 in 21,600.
Then apply the percentages,
but assume that about 90% of those with 18 strength will be Fighters.
Cheers,
Gary
Nikosandros wrote:
Bumping my question... 
Nikosandros wrote:
Hi Gary!
I have a question about the progression of Strenght in AD&D compared to that of the other abilities.
The progression of strenght is slower than that the other ones... for instance at str 16 there is just a +1 to damage, while one gets +2 defensive bonus from dex, +2 hp from con or +2 to saves from wis. Furthermore it takes the quite uncommon score of 18/00 to be able to get a +3 to hit (even though it's true that there's also the huge +6 to damage).
I was curious about the reasoning
behind the progression... thanks in advance!
The reasoning is this:
Many creatures are very strong,
and if humans were granted greater strength bonus benefits, so would critters,
and the much stronger ones
would have some really devistating to hit and damage bonuses thus.
In addition, really strong
persons are quite rare, more so in my estimation than are really wise or
dextrous.
Like constitution,
strength is limited in its benefits until the upper end.
Cheers,
Gary
JASON THE RULESREADER wrote:
Hi Gary, my thoughts and
prayers are always with you.
ON the above quote, is the factor of 216 simply an arbitrary example for the moment? If not, what is the math source for it. I am really getting into math of late and that number 216 comes up alot lately...weird......
If so, just want to know why 216.
On a side note, you may recall
that Kepler used the platonic solids in his solar system designs. Cool
Cool math there heh!
6 x 6 = 36 x 6 = 216, 3d6
multiplies to get the least likely result of any roll, so an 18 will come
up 1 in 216 on average.
Assuming that 1 in 1,000
persons is fit to be a fighter adventurer, that makes a score of 18/00
about 1 in 216,000 as a fair measurement.
Of course that does not
reflect dice rolls that are fudged, use the best 3 of 4, etc. but my gut
says it is a likely actual measurement of human
population potential.
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by RFisher
Gary,
Let me add one more voice to the chorus thanking you for your seminal work upon which so much of our hobby is built. After managing to work my way through all five parts of this Q&A, I still managed to think of a question or two I didn't see answered.
(1) Regarding OAD&D (or,
I suppose, OD&D + the Greyhawk supplement, though I never played that):
Why exceptional strength? Aren't 18s uncommon enough? Why did Fighters
need to subdivide the prime requisite thus, but other classes didn't? Why
not continue to scores 19+ instead of subdividing 18?
Thanks for the kind words.
Actually, an 18 score is one in 216, so not particularly rare in any large population. to make truly heroic strength more rare, I limited the percentage chance to fighters only, then stepped the linear curve so as to make the really great human strength rare.
As for 19s, they are beyond
the normal range of human potential, Of course magic can enable such a
score, but massive strength of human sort was, I felt, better reflected
by the added d% roll.
Originally Posted by Dogbrain
Then why only for strength?
Why set up an additional complication--special case for strength--instead
of a simple, unified, and elegant design?
Adding a d% roll to an 18
Strength roll is hardly complicated.
It was done because Strength
was the only stat that needed to be increased in steps by the d% mechanic
so as to improve fighters to hit and damage chances.
So that was used because
I favor interesting play over any imagined elegance, that being quite unlikely
in an RPG in my view.
RPGs are games, not art,
and I don't give myself airs.
Can you imaging the increases
of stats going into the 20s needed in order to get the same result as 18/00?
The human norm bell curve
of 3-18 down the tubes in a jiffy.
Not elegant at all, and
simply foolish 
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vargo
Gary,
First off, thank you again (I've said it before) for giving us this wonderful game.
Secondly, why did you do the percentile stat thing for Strength, then continue on up to 25 for all stats? I know some EARLY books I saw (I seem to remember a Dieties and Demigods precursor) had percentiles for stats other than strength - what was the evolution of that?
Well,
At first blush I decided that 18 was the maximum for a human, but then to make fighters more viable, and because the concpt of degrees of strength in the 18 cap followed logically, I used the percentile measurement. As for strength over 18, any such ability is superhuman and must be magically endowed in my view. The 18/% did give the fighter a real boost <boost>
To the best of my recollection, I have never suggested percentile breakdown for stats other than strength.
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quasqueton
AD&D: Why were the modifiers
for Strength score different for to hit and damage?
16 Strength was +0/+1 - to
hit/damage
18/51 Strength was +1/+3
18/00 Strength was +3/+6
Etc.
There were also magic weapons that had different bonuses on to hit and damage. "This weapon gives no bonus to hit, but gives +2 to damage rolls."
I've always wondered about the reason for the difference.
Quasqueton
As Haakon1 pointed out,
Strength enables more damage from a successful blow, but it doesn't as
effectively guarantee such a success.
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lanefan
I hope this hasn't been
asked too many times already, but:
In AD+D (and Basic?), what was the rationale for having Strength 18 broken down into several "%" gradations, with Giants starting at 19, instead of having each gradation have its own number (thus 18.01 = 18, 18.41 = 19, etc., to 18.00 = 24) and have Giants start at 25?
Reason I ask is that when Cavaliers came out in UA and introduced the idea of %-ile stat increments, we took one look and immediately decided that such a system would work for any class...except, how to apply a %-ile increment to high strength that was already on a % system?...so we converted to full numbers as above. Since then, I've always wondered why it was designed the way it was.
Thanks!
Lanefan
Simply put, the percentage
incriments that an 18 score in Strength were divided into was to give Fighters
more viability in regard to other classes.
Wny no 19? That too is self-evident.
One can't roll above 18 with 3d6 
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lanefan
Of course; makes sense.
True, but you can convert the %-roll to the corresponding number, so if a Fighter rolls 18 for Str. then rolls 45% (the next increment up), that converts their Str. to 19 (with Giants as 25+). By the same token, you can't roll less than 3, but a Half-Orc with natural Cha. 3 goes to 1, if memory serves.
Was it for this reason %-ile increments were only given to Cavaliers, rather than introduced for all classes? The idea obviously caught on; stats slowly improving by level is now built in to the 3e core rules, though as a straight +1 to one stat every 4 levels.
Thanks again!
Lanefan
Note that a character with
an 18 that receives racial bonuses does not go above the 18.
It is easy to be a loser,
but most difficult to be so far superior to all other humans in some regard.
All fighters and paladins got the d% bonus for Strength, not just calaviers. <??>
Cheers,
Gary
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Effect: Application of this spell
increases the strength of the character by a number of points --
or tenths of points after 18 strength
is attained and the character is in the fighter class.
Benefits of the strength spell last for
the duration of the magic.
The amount of additional strength accruing
to a character upon whom this spell is cast depends upon his or her class
and
is subject to all restrictions on strength
due to race, sex or class.
| Class | Minimum-Maximum
Strength Gain |
| CLERIC | 1-6 (d6) |
| FIGHTER | 1-8 (d8) |
| MAGIC-USER | 1-4 (d4) |
| THIEF | 1-6 (d6) |
| MONK | 1-4 (d4) |
<CAVALIER: same as fighter?>
If a fighter
(paladin or ranger as
well) has an 18 strength already,
from 10% to 80% is added to his extraordinary
strength roll.
All Strength addition scores above 18
are likewise treated as 1 equalling an extra 10% on the extraordinary strength
rating.
MC: A few hairs or a pinch of shit from a particularly strong animal -- ape, bear, ox, <mule>, etc. <>
sh5
AoE: Person touched
Use of this spell increases the Strength
of the character by a number of
points that depend on the character's
class:
Samurai, sohei, kensai,
bushi, & barbarians gain 1d8 points
Shukenja and yakuza
gain 1d6 points
Wu jen and monks gain
1d4 points
Ninja gain strength
as their other class
Samurai, kensai, bushi, and barbarians
gain strength in 10% increments
upon reaching 18 Strength.
MC: A piece of fur of a strong animal such as a bull or ape.
wj2
AoE: Character touched
This spell is identical to the 5th-level shukenja spell except as noted above.
<theoretically, it needs
to be determined what how much of a creature's weight is taken up by it's
hair>
<how much weight do you
lose when you have a hair cut>
<revise notes at ape
(gorilla) and carnivorous ape,
but i still think that the
1 material component for 1 spell = 1 gp and 1 gp weight rule is a good
guideline, if one was coding for FRUA>.