Ability scores. How does get?

[SlashRunner]

I am very new to D&D, and most of my game-related knowledge comes from the SRD. However, I have never found anything relating to how you increase your ability scores. From a response on a previous thread, I found that you get an increase in abilities every 4 levels. How much do they increase?

[HalfDragonCube]

I am very new to D&D, and most of my game-related knowledge comes from the SRD. However, I have never found anything relating to how you increase your ability scores. From a response on a previous thread, I found that you get an increase in abilities every 4 levels. How much do they increase?

One ability score of your choice increases by one every four levels. You choose which to increase each time.

[AsteriskAmp]

It's on the PHB if I'm not wrong.

[Drglenn]

You get +1 to one ability score every 4th level.

There are also magic items which can give you a boost as long as you wear them

There are also magic tomes that give you a permanent boost when you read them, these stack with the other items

[Callista]

Don't forget spells. For example, if your party cleric casts Bull's Strength on the party fighter, then the fighter gets a +4 to strength (which doesn't stack with magic items, but is available a lot earlier than a +4 strength item).

Are you playing with an experienced group? Should be easier for you to learn if you just observe and see how it works in practice.

[The Cat Goddess]

I am very new to D&D, and most of my game-related knowledge comes from the SRD. However, I have never found anything relating to how you increase your ability scores. From a response on a previous thread, I found that you get an increase in abilities every 4 levels. How much do they increase?

To combine everything said...

At levels 4, 8, 12, 16 & 20 you gain a +1 Bonus that can be applied to any one stat. This gives you a total of +5. Most people put all their bonus on their "main" stat (Str for Fighters & Barbarian, Int for Wizards, Cha for Sorcerers, etc.). If you have an odd numbered Dex or Con, you might put a point there, depending on your character.

There are magic items which give a +2, +4 or +6 bonus to a stat (not to mention items which give bonuses to multiple stats). Typically, a character will end up with a couple of these... especially a +6 item for their main stat.

There are magic tomes which give a +1 to +5 bonus to a stat when read by a character. This are single-use items only and rather expensive. If your character reads a +1 Tome, they can still read a +4 Tome later... but the +4 bonus will replace the +1 bonus, not add to it.

Surprisingly, the SRD doesn't list anything about when you gain stat bonuses or bonus feats. I find that to be a very noticable problem.

[Yora]

That is to keep other from simply printing PHBs and selling them at a lower price.
But somehow Pathfinder managed anyway.

Also, who was phone?

[AsteriskAmp]

That is to keep other from simply printing PHBs and selling them at a lower price.
But somehow Pathfinder managed anyway.

Also, who was phone?


From the SRD FAQ:
A: The d20 license restricts some information from being included. Specifically…

"No Covered Product may contain rules or instructions of any kind that:

Describe a process for Creating a Character
Describe a process for Applying the Effects of Experience to a Character"


Doesn't that also mean that Ability Score additions, Feat additions and character creation, since not in the SRD, aren't Open Game Content (or whatever the license was called)? And by extension should not be fully described in here?

[Keld Denar]

Slash, we have a thread for asking very simple basic questions. It's here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=196174). If you want to have discussion about your questions though, making a new thread is the best course of action.

[Yora]

You're in a really deep murky gray area here.

An important fact is, that this is a public conversation and not a commercial publication. The OGL sets some terms in addition to what is normally allowed to do with rules.
Talking about gaining feats is just the same thing as talking about anything in any RPG that does not have an open lincence. If we were forbidden to talk about it, then we would also be forbidden to talk about anyhting in any other RPG.
In addition, some US court ruled that you can't put any coppyright or whatever restrictions of use on game mechanics. So while the OGL does not give us special permission to talk about those things, I don't think a special permission is needed.

But intelectual property law is a huge messup that nobody really understands.
Let's just say that this thread is not any different than any discussion about any other RPG, and so far RPG forums havn't been closed down en masse. :smallwink:

[Tyndmyr]

Yeah, you don't need OGL to talk about things. You need OGL to publish things.

In general, ability score bonuses come in the following flavors:

Racial mods(typically untyped)
Templated mods(typically untyped)
Bonuses from spells(note that typed bonuses are subject to stacking rules)
Bonuses from items(typically enhancement bonus, like most spells)
Bonuses from wishes/tomes(typically inherent)
Level up bonuses(every level divisible by 4. Untyped).
Age modifiers(untyped)

Most of these do not change terribly frequently. There are other methods, like epic feats, but these are less typical.

[Keld Denar]

You forgot size mods, the other relatively common mod. Enlarge/Reduce Person, Righteous Might, and a few other goodies modify Str and Dex most often, as would any template that changed your size.