Ability Scores

The six character abilities are described in the respective articles. Each description gives an idea of what that ability encompasses. Specific game effects are also given. At the end of each ability description is the table giving all modifiers and game information for each ability score.

Rolling Ability Scores
The six ability scores are determined randomly by rolling six-sided dice to obtain a score from 3 to 18. There are several methods for rolling up these scores.

Method I
Roll three six-sided dice (3d6); the total shown on the dice is your character's Strength ability score. Repeat this for Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma, in that order. This method gives a range of scores from 3 to 18, with most results in the 9 to 12 range. Only a few characters have high scores (15 and above).

This method is the one used in Tragulus to generate most non-player characters. It may be used by players who wish to play an "average" character, but some abilities are at a greater risk for penalties which might cut their adventuring career short. There is also the possibility (however slight) that a character generated with Method I will not qualify for any class.

Method V
Roll four six-sided dice (4d6). Discard the lowest die and total the remaining three. Repeat this five more times, then assign the six numbers to the character's abilities however you want. This is a fast method that gives you a good character, but you can still get low scores (after all, you could roll 1s on all four dice!).

This method is the one used in Tragulus to generate most player characters. It pushes the "curve" slightly higher, increasing the chance that a character will have one or more positive modifiers due to their abilities. It is still difficult to qualify for certain secondary classes (especially paladin), but it is not as astronomically improbable as it would be when rolling 3d6 in order.