3. Determine Ability Scores

Much of what your character does in the game depends on his or her six abilities: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. Each ability has a score, which is a number you record on your character sheet.

The six abilities and their use in the game are described in the Using Ability Scores chapter. You generate your character's six ability scores randomly. Roll four 6-sided dice and record the total of the highest three dice on a piece of scratch paper. Do this five more times, so that you have six numbers. If you want to save time or don't like the idea of randomly determining ability scores, you can use the following scores instead: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8.

Now take your six numbers and write each number beside one of your character's six abilities to assign scores to Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. Afterward, make any changes to your ability scores as a result of your species choice.

After assigning your ability scores, determine your ability modifiers using the Ability Scores and Modifiers table. To determine an ability modifier without consulting the table, subtract 10 from the ability score and then divide the result by 2 (round down). Write the modifier next to each of your scores.

Building Han Solo, Step 3

We will use the standard set of scores (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8) for Han's abilities. Han is talented and nimble, so we'll put his highest score, 15, in Dexterity. His next-highest, 14, goes in Charisma. He then applies the 13 to Intelligence, the 12 to Constitution, the 10 to Wisdom and the 8 to Strength. After applying his special benefits (increasing Han's Dexterity by 2, and his Intelligence and Charisma by 1), Han's ability scores and modifiers look like this: Strength 8 (-1), Dexterity 17 (+3), Constitution 12 (+1), Intelligence 14 (+2), Wisdom 10 (+0), Charisma 15 (+2). We then fill in Han's final hit points: 8 + his Constitution modifier of +1, for a total of 9 hit points.

Variant: Customizing Ability Scores

At your Game Master's option, you can use this variant for determining your ability scores. The method described here allows you to build a character with a set of ability scores you choose individually.

You have 27 points to spend on your ability scores. The cost of each score is shown on the Ability Score Point Cost table. For example, a score of 14 costs 7 points. Using this method, 15 is the highest ability score you can end up with, before applying special increases. You can't have a score lower than 8.

This method of determining ability scores enables you to create a set of three high numbers and three low ones (15, 15, 15, 8, 8, 8), a set of numbers that are above average and nearly equal (13, 13, 13, 12, 12, 12), or any set of numbers between those extremes.

Ability Score Point Cost