How to Roleplay Your Stats

With help from Gideon Kalve Jarvis.

Tabletop roleplaying is, at heart, a numbers game. It’s meant to take all these situations and reduce them to a formula, adding the randomness of dice rolls in order to allow for how some things happen. But right alongside those numbers is the other half of the game: roleplaying. And those stats that you created to get going can also be applied in a roleplaying sense.

Here’s what they mean.

8-9: Under average. You’re not the worse, not by a long shot, but you aren’t going to be winning any contests, that’s for sure. Anything lower gets steadily worse down to 3, which is pretty much what any humanoid needs to actually function. In a lot of races, 8 is going to be the average score for their weakest statistic, like strength for a halfling, or constitution for elves.

10-11: Average. 2nd edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons had 9 as average, but in 3rd it’s 10. This is the bare minimum needed to cast spells depending on which state you lean on for spells (Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom).

12-13: Above average. Typical average score for the strongest stat in nonhuman races, like wisdom in dwarves or strength in certain types of beastfolk. In terms of humans, this is slightly above average. Not bad at all.

14-15: Good. With a +2 modifier, you could conceivably make a living on this stat. More often than not, you will succeed when using this stat.

16-17: Very Good. You are good enough to be renown for your skill. You’re up there with athletes, scholars, and probably a good chunk of politicians. You’re a mover and a shaker because of all the time and effort you have in this trait.

18-19: Excellent. A +4 bonus is pretty much the limit of human ability. If you’re here, you’re an Olympic medalist, you’re a member of MENSA, you’re part of Cirque du Solei. People bow to your skill.

20+: Superhuman. Unless you’re a non-human character who’s maxed out a trait, or a high level who’s been putting a stat point every 4 levels into one stat, you won’t get here outside of the use of magical items. It ain’t happenin’.

Now that’s all well and good, but how, exactly, would you apply the stats? Well, let’s use an example here. Here are two characters, we’ll call them Andrea, and Benjamin. Andrea’s stats go like this: Str 12, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 8
Benjamin’s go like this: Str 16, Dex 8, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha, 12

Now, going by the stats, we could say that Andrea’s definitely above average strength-wise, and so she’s probably going to be a scrapper. Benjamin, on the other hand, has lots of muscle and will probably have more of a bodybuilder look. Andrea’s dexterity means she’s really, really quick, while Benjamin lumbers. Andrea’s constitution means she’s plenty durable, but probably going to want to not get hit if she can help it. You can mix this with her dexterity and say she’s a sprinter. Benjamin will be your tank; he’s got the bulk to just soak up hits like a sponge, and though he won’t win the 100 meter dash, he’s going to beat Andrea over the long haul. Andrea’s smarter, but not by much. She’ll probably be quicker on her feet, while Benjamin is more likely to try to plan things out, but if stuff hits the fan, he’s just going to go on instinct. Andrea is the stronger-willed one, though not by too much, and probably going to be much more aware of her surroundings and herself, as well as have better self-control. In terms of Charisma, Andrea’s likely a social outcast; she knows enough to get by in society, but perhaps disdains it and/or has no place except with other misfits. People like Benjamin and he has quite a few friends, as well as some untapped leadership potential.

Isn't this more fun than simple numbers?