The DM's Notebook: Using D&D for Creative Writing ~Ability Scores~

So I've been thinking for a while about the way the Dungeons and Dragons RPG, in its trappings and mechanics, has some really useful applications for Creative Writing.  So, I'm starting a series called the Dungeon Master's Notebook to organize such thoughts. 

Dungeon Master's Notebook: Ability Scores

Strength¹, Dexterity², Constitution³ , Intelligence⁴ , Wisdom⁵ , Charisma⁶ .

These are the abilities of any living thing in a game of Dungeons and Dragons.  The average score for a person is 10.  Someone who stumbled through college has 10 Intelligence, someone who works out every odd Sunday and goes swimming in the winter has 10 Strength.  Intelligence of 8 is a dunce, 12 is clever, 14 is a Savant.  Sherlock Holmes has a good 18 or so.  

How is this useful?  Let’s stat up the Ability Scores of some Star Wars characters:

★ Luke Skywalker
Strength	12
Dexterity	13
Constitution	10
Intelligence	15
Wisdom	12
Charisma	12

★ Han Solo
Strength	14
Dexterity	12
Constitution	11
Intelligence	10
Wisdom	14
Charisma	14

During the plot it doesn’t matter a lot what their abilities are.  Luke’s Dexterity is generally just “Plot.”  But what about the little things, those moments that gives the story consistency?  For instance, let’s say Luke and Han are learning to a card game.⁷   Who learns it first?  Luke does, because learning is based on Intelligence and Luke’s is higher.  Luke should usually learn things faster than Han does.

Second Example.   Luke and Han are walking through a forest.  One of them notices a flower.  Who?  In D&D, noticing things is relegated to Wisdom.  Han has a higher Wisdom, he notices more often every time.  (Barring distractions)

"They're Gonna Kill her!"
"Better her than me!"

Third example, Luke and Han are guests at a party, the butler comes and takes their coats.  Whose does he take first? Han’s.  Han has more Charisma, more force of personality, charm.  A butler will want Han’s approval more than he wants Luke’s, so he’ll wait on Han first. 

Last example.  Say our fearless heroes are staying up on watch all night.  Who falls asleep first?  Luke does.  Han lasts only a little longer.  Luke has a bit less Constitution, so he isn’t quite as resilient to his own failings. 

Why does all this matter?  Because sometimes it matters who does what, who says or does something.  But sometimes you don’t really care, and you need someone to notice that flower or learn a card game.  If you have stats for your characters, you can check and say "Luke’s more dexterous, he’ll get through the brambles better.”  This lends consistency to your story, which is one of those things that no one talks about but everyone notices.

Let’s see it in action.

At the party, the Butler comes and takes Han’s jacket, then Luke’s [Charisma].  They look around and Han spots [Higher Wisdom] the Imperial Senator they have to pump for information.  They go over, Han grabbing a bit of wine.  He knows it won’t bring him down [Constitution], just relax him.  Luke accosts the General first and appeals to his sense of reason and honor, which only sorta goes over well [middling Charisma], then cites passages from the Codex Imperiator⁸ , which impresses the General [High Intelligence].  Then Han comes in, and starts being intimidating.  His forceful attitude [High Charisma and Strength] pushes through the General’s already low amount of will to stay loyal [Wisdom] to Lord Vader, and he gives in. 

"What is it Lieutenant Sebastian?  I'm arranging Matches."

Now, that’s a simple example, and maybe there’s more to it.  Maybe the General has a higher Intelligence than either, so Luke’s quoting of the Codex Imperiator does no good.  But knowing what the relative ability scores of your characters is a remarkably handy shorthand for figuring out where they’re going next.

When you run into a contest between the two, it’s pretty easy to work out who wins.

High Strength beats Low Strength, High Dexterity beats Low Dexterity, etc.  Feel free to decide if a person resisting someone’s Charisma is going to oppose with their own Charisma, or if their Wisdom, and therefore Willpower, is their fallback.  

There are a lot of other mechanisms.  Maybe you want to consolidate Strength, Dexterity and Constitution into just "Physical" for simplicities sake, or want to split Wisdom into "Perception" and "Willpower."  These are all fine, it just depends what story you're telling.  The most important thing is that you can use it.

Tune in next week for notes on using Random Encounter Tables to establish characters!

This will never not be funny.