A character’s eight ability scores determine a lot about him, though certainly not everything. What ability scores represent is raw talent: how much can this character do without relying on complex training? A character with high ability scores in several areas has a lot of talent in many kinds of things. A character with low ability scores is less talented, and will have to work much harder and train longer to achieve the same effects as someone with a higher score.

The average, human, range of scores is 3-18. Most standard races will take those limits no higher than 19, though some extraordinary races will take the limits to 20 or even higher. Rolling 3d6 most easily simulates the 3-18 range. There are many other methods available besides simply rolling 3d6, so choose one that suits your playing style.

Some people will put a lot of emphasis on having high scores, and I’ll admit that high score characters can be fun sometimes. However, rolling over every enemy quickly becomes boring. On the flip side, low scores are almost always disappointing, because you feel like you can never do anything. Other people have opinions on this topic, but I’ve found that characters whose scores average out to about 11 are among the most fun to play. These kinds of characters will usually have a high score or two, and a low score or two, but in the end will balance out because their strengths can compensate for their weaknesses if well played.

At a later point in the game, some of your scores may increase or decrease, either due to magic or the effects of growing older. If your scores should go beneath the minimum, or above the maximum, required for your race or class because of these changes, you don’t suddenly lose the advantages of being a member of that race or class. Those scores are the minimum required to train in that class or to have been born of that race. While their alteration may change how effective you are at your class, they won’t disqualify you for either.

Long-term players of AD&D will notice that some columns are missing from the following tables. In many cases, these have been completely removed from the game, either because of the streamlining of the system, or because a radical change in how the system works made the column meaningless.

Strength: Strength measures a character’s raw muscle power. It affects how much the character can carry, how much he can lift, and his ability to batter through people’s defenses with strength-based weapons. Other strength based actions, like forcing doors and lifting portcullises are executed by strength checks. The values on the table are interpreted as such:

"To Hit" is the number that is added to the character’s "To Hit" roll when using a weapon based on strength. The higher this value, the more likely a character will hit his opponent.

"To Damage" is the number added to the character’s damage rolls with melee weapons, thrown weapons, and specially designed bows.

"Carry" is the amount of weight, in pounds, the character can carry before becoming encumbered. An encumbered character moves slower and has trouble in combat due to the effects of the weight.

"Lift" is the amount of weight a character can lift above his head, though the character can take no more than a few steps with this much weight. Note that no bipedal character with a strength score under 19 can lift more than twice his body weight above his head.

Dexterity: Dexterity is a very broad attribute, including manual dexterity, physical agility, and reflexes. A character with a high dexterity is accurate both with missiles and dexterity-based melee weapons, less likely to be surprised, quicker on the draw, and able to avoid the brunt of many blows. They are also less likely to be affected by some traps and attacks that will take the less wary.

"Initiative" is the number added to the character’s initiative roll. A lower total is better for initiative, as it means you declare last and act first.

"Surprise" is added to the die roll when determining surprise. As a low roll indicates that the character is surprised, a bonus can be very handy, indeed.

"To Hit" is much like the bonus of the same name on the strength table, except that it applies to missile weapons and dexterity-based melee weapons.

"Defense" is the number added to the character’s Defense, lessening the chance the character will be hit in combat (provided, of course, the character is aware of the attack). It is also added to saving throws that require agility more than physical or mental endurance to pass.

Constitution: A character’s Constitution score represents the general health, stamina, and general toughness of the character. In addition to giving extra hit points and, in rare cases, granting regenerative abilities, constitution represents a character’s ability to adapt to tremendous shocks to the system, resist poisons and diseases, and the number of times they can be raised from the dead.

A character can only be raised from the dead as many times as he has points of Constitution at 1^st level. Being raised from the dead lowers the character’s Constitution temporarily to the number of times he can still be raised. Once the character has fully recovered from being raised (reaches full hit points), the Constitution score returns to normal. However, when the character is raised the next time, the temporary Constitution will be another point lower. Should that temporary Constitution ever reach 0, the character’s body crumbles to dust, and is incapable of being raised.

On the table, the number in the column "Hit Points" is the amount added to the Hit Die rolled at each new level. At a 20 Constitution, all 1’s rolled on the character’s Hit Dice are considered to be 2’s. At a Constitution of 21 or 22, all 1’s and 2’s rolled are considered 3’s. Higher than 22, and all 1’s, 2’s, and 3’s rolled are considered 4’s.

"Regeneration" comes into play at exceptionally high Constitution scores. A character with this awesome of a Constitution regains 1 point of damage every time the listed interval of time has passed. Note that things that cause extensive tissue damage, such as fire, acid, or deprivation, can not be regenerated in this manner.

"Poisons" is added to a character’s saving throws vs. poison and other saving throws that are based on a character’s physical toughness.

Intelligence: A character’s Intelligence represents their ability to reason, to remember, and to learn. It is of principle of importance to spell casters, being one of the prime determinants of spell points, as well as their capacity to learn and invent new spells.

"# Of Points" represents the number of bonus character points that are given for a character to learn proficiencies. These points are only granted once, at character generation, and may only be spent on proficiencies.

Wisdom: Wisdom is likely one of the most important attributes, representing a character’s force of will, guile, common sense and intuition. Wisdom forms the basis of a character’s ability to resist mental attacks, the base of their spell points, as well as being a prime factor in the Perception attribute.

"Mental Defense" is the number added to a character’s saving throw roll when defending against an attack against the mind, such as charm effects or suggestion type magics.

Note that, while Intelligence and Wisdom share a table, they do not both grant the same benefits. A high intelligence only grants additional character points, a high wisdom only grants mental defense bonuses.

Charisma: Charisma is a character’s ability to persuade others, to sway them by words and personality alone. It does not include a character’s looks, which come under the attribute Comeliness.

"Henchmen" is the number of close, personal retainers a character can keep. These don’t include other PC’s, nor do they include people who are simply hired to do a job (though the latter can develop into henchmen, if role-playing warrants it).

"Loyalty" is a modifier to the morale of henchmen and hirelings, as well as any other groups of NPC’s the character may be in charge of.

Comeliness: A character’s Comeliness score represents how attractive others will find the character. It governs first impressions as well as the kinds of attention the character will receive, both wanted and unwanted.

"Reaction" is a modifier to a NPC’s reaction rolls in response to the character upon first meeting. Since lower results are more favorable, minuses are good things.

Perception: Perception determines the character’s chance to notice small details and nuances, as well as to resist illusions. One special note about Perception is that it must be at least equal to Intelligence or Wisdom, whichever is lower, as those two ability scores tie so tightly into understanding what a character senses.

"Range" is the amount added to a character’s to hit roll for missile weapons, though bonuses can only be used to negate range penalties (minuses are always applicable).

"Surprise" is added to the die roll when determining surprise. As a low roll indicates that the character is surprised, a bonus can be very handy, indeed.

"Illusions" is added to a character’s roll to save vs. illusion spells.

Character points (often called CP’s) are not an attribute, precisely, but are rather a measure of the character’s potential to learn, as well as representing a bit of luck. During character creation, the character has a lot of them, and they’re used to buy racial and class abilities, as well as proficiencies. After character creation, the character will get about 3 to 5 per level, and maybe an occasional bonus at the Dungeon Master’s discretion.

After the game starts, players can use character points to:

Learn a new proficiency by finding a teacher, paying his or her fee, and spending the character points.

Improve a known proficiency by 1 for each character point spent.

Learn a new spell without needing an Intelligence check, by spending 5 CP’s per level of the spell. Note that only one spell per spell level can be learned this way.

For every two character points spent, a player can roll an additional die for hit points at level up. The character gets the highest of the rolls added to his or her hit points.

Before making a roll, the player can declare that a character point will be spent if the character fails. If the character does fail, the player can reroll. Whether the reroll succeeds or fails, the character point is lost. A player can keep declaring rerolls so long as the character has character points left to spend.