Do racial bonuses affect modifiers?

[Harbinger]

I'm new to D&D. In act, I've never played. I've read the Players Handbook and something confuses me. I read the section on races and saw that some have pluses or minuses to certain stats. I assumed that a character who rolled, say, a 14 for strength would, if they were a halfling, then have a 12. But my friend who knows somewhat more about the game than me, said that the racial +/- only affected ability score checks, and couldn't actually affect modifiers and such. Is this correct?

[Yora]

That friend is wrong. If you start with a Strength of 14 and pick halfling as race, that halfling has a Strength score of 12.
If you start with a Constitution score of 13 and pick dwarf as race, that dwarf has a Constitution score of 15.

[Yuki Akuma]

Your friend who knows more about the game than you does not in fact know more about the game than you.

[holywhippet]

I think I can count the number of times I've made an ability score check in D&D on one hand.

[TuggyNE]

I think I can count the number of times I've made an ability score check in D&D on one hand.

Make a Wis check to see if you can remember accurately.

[lsfreak]

I think I can count the number of times I've made an ability score check in D&D on one hand.

Without further modifiers, things like initiative and bull rushing are just ability checks with special names, and I'm fairly certain they get all the bonuses for "ability checks" (and skill too? are there things that boost ability checks, but not skill checks?)

[Rubik]

I think I can count the number of times I've made an ability score check in D&D on one hand.You've rolled initiative 5 times or less?

How long have you been playing D&D again?

[RolkFlameraven]

maybe he always has improved initiative?

[Scow2]

Skills, initiatives, and special combat maneuvers are all Ability Checks.

[holywhippet]

You've rolled initiative 5 times or less?

How long have you been playing D&D again?

Are we talking about the same thing or am I getting things confused. I thought an ability check was when you roll a d20 to see if you get a value under your ability score. Like rolling to see if you are intelligent enough to work out what the strange contraption does.

Initiative is roll d20 and add dex + other bonuses.

[Rubik]

Are we talking about the same thing or am I getting things confused. I thought an ability check was when you roll a d20 to see if you get a value under your ability score. Like rolling to see if you are intelligent enough to work out what the strange contraption does.That's in 2nd edition. There's nothing like that in 3.P., as far as I'm aware. It's ALWAYS d20+modifiers. Always.

I think your group has been doing it wrong. That, or houserules. But it's not official.


Initiative is roll d20 and add dex + other bonuses.It's explicitly an ability check, which is d20+ability score+other modifiers.


Initiative Checks

At the start of a battle, each combatant makes an initiative check. An initiative check is a Dexterity check. Each character applies his or her Dexterity modifier to the roll. Characters act in order, counting down from highest result to lowest. In every round that follows, the characters act in the same order (unless a character takes an action that results in his or her initiative changing; see Special Initiative Actions).The bolded part is what it says it is. An ability check. Dexterity, in particular.

From http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/initiative.htm

[holywhippet]

Hmm, I think my DM only ever asked for it under rare circumstances like making an INT check to recall some bit of information.

[Rubik]

Hmm, I think my DM only ever asked for it under rare circumstances like making an INT check to recall some bit of information.That would be an Int or Knowledge check with a specific DC, both of which are d20+Int+modifiers.

[holywhippet]

That would be an Int or Knowledge check with a specific DC, both of which are d20+Int+modifiers.

I mean something more recent and specific like if we heard Lord X mention he'd be visiting the town of Y. Then later we learn about a possibile assassination attempt of Lord X but everyone has forgotten the name of the town he'd be visiting.

I think he also would use INT checks to see if we were smart enough to warrant hints about our current situation.

[ArcturusV]

Yeah, that would be Knowledge checks, or Bardic Lore checks, etc. As the DCs for Knowledge include things like "Things only a few, if any people would know" among their listing. Thus knowing about an assassination plot would be a high DC Knowledge (Nobility) check. Knowing where he'd be would be a common knowledge sort of check with a low DC, as presumably a lot of people know it. You don't really hide your heads of state.

[Rubik]

I mean something more recent and specific like if we heard Lord X mention he'd be visiting the town of Y. Then later we learn about a possibile assassination attempt of Lord X but everyone has forgotten the name of the town he'd be visiting.

I think he also would use INT checks to see if we were smart enough to warrant hints about our current situation.Yes, that would be an Int or Knowledge check, neither of which is "roll under this number," but "add your modifiers and roll over this number."

[Crake]

maybe he always has improved initiative?

Even with improved initiative, that simply makes it a modified ability check, still an ability check though.

[Ashtagon]

Skills, initiatives, and special combat maneuvers are all Ability Checks.

Heck, an attack roll is just a Strength (or Dexterity in certain cases) check with modifiers :smallbiggrin:

[Khedrac]

Heck, an attack roll is just a Strength (or Dexterity in certain cases) check with modifiers :smallbiggrin:
Nice try at humour, but this is specifically not the case. An Attack Roll is (if anything) a Base Attack Bonus check.
It's actually fairly important to distinguish what is and is not an ability check because of things like Marshal Minor Auras which boost ability checks but not other rolls.

[ArcturusV]

Well we know explicit RAW wise an untrained skill check is an ability check. But presumably not a trained skill check.

[Ashtagon]

Nice try at humour, but this is specifically not the case. An Attack Roll is (if anything) a Base Attack Bonus check.

Fair point. But ultimately, every single check is 1d20+modifiers. In almost every case, an ability score is one of the modifiers. Attack rolls are special only in that one of the modifiers involved is the BAB. Saving throws are special in that one of the modifiers involved is the $relevant save bonus. Skill checks are special in that one of the modifiers is the $relevant skill ranks. Caster level checks are special in that one of the modifiers involved is the character's levels in $relevant spell-casting class(es).

As far as I can tell, the only useful definition of an ability check is a check that involves an ability modifier and does not involve a bonus that scales from (approx.) 1-20 as a character goes from character level 1-20.

If there is a better definition, I'd love to hear about it.

[TuggyNE]

Caster level checks are special in that one of the modifiers involved is the character's levels in $relevant spell-casting class(es).

And also in that they don't add ability score modifiers. But otherwise, yes, good analysis.