Optional Attribute Bonus Chart

(Version 1.00 - Last Modified: 08/13/2004)

• Introduction
• Attribute Bonus Chart
• Attribute Descriptions

Introduction

I have never been satisfied by the attribute bonuses provided by Palladium Books. Using there charts there is functionally no difference between an IQ of 7 or an IQ of 15. Obviously, a good player would play a character with an IQ of only 7 as not as intelligent as a character with an IQ of 15, but when both characters try to use a skill, they could both have the exact same percentage, unlike a character with an IQ of 16, which has a bonus. Even worse, some races have lower attributes in some areas, such as MA attribute for an Elf or a Dwarf, but from a game perspective there is no different between them and an average Human. To address this problem, I have created a revised attribute bonus chart that provides penalties and a better ramping up of bonuses so a warrior with a decent PS of 14 or 15 does not feel the need to spend valuable skill slots on physical skills to get any bonus to damage. This attribute bonus chart is presented as an optional chart and none of the creatures, monsters, races, or NPCs on this site use this chart to determine what kind of bonuses apply.

I believe the way that bonuses are provided by having a high attribute are improperly distributed. Placing bonuses only at the 17 and higher encourages people to play races with higher attributes then the standard 3D6 of a Human or to to spend skills getting the physical skills necessary to boost an attribute to the level where it provides a bonus. In addition, the complete absence of penalties on the lower end of the attribute range basically negates the disadvantages of playing a race with a low attribute. A character with a Mental Endurance attribute of 3 is no more vulnerable to psionic powers then a character with a Mental Endurance attribute of 16. This strikes me as unbalanced.

Attribute Bonus Chart

Descriptions

1. Intelligence Quotient - IQ:
   IQ measures how intelligent a character is, pure and simple. This attribute provides a bonus or penalty to all of the character's skills depending on the attribute number, this includes RCC skills, OCC skills, OCC Related Skills, Secondary Skills, and any special skills provided by a class. This bonus and penalty is not applied to non-skills even if they have a percentage associated with success and failure. For every five points that the IQ score is above 30, increase the percentage bonus by +1%. For example, an IQ of 57 provides a bonus of +20% to all skills.
2. Mental Endurance - ME:
   Mental Endurance shows not how tough the character is physically, but how tough they are mentally. How long the character can withstand torture, extreme mental stress, and how able the character is to resist a psionic attack. These are all determined through the ME attribute. Mental Endurance provides a bonus or penalty to saves vs. insanity and psionics. For every five that the ME score is above 30, increase the bonus to save vs. insanity by +1 and for every ten points that the ME score is above 30, increase the bonus to save vs. psionics by +1. For example, an ME of 51 provides a bonus of +12 to save vs. insanity and +10 to save vs. psionics.
3. Mental Affinity - MA:
   Where Physical Beauty shows how attractive a character is, the Mental Affinity attribute shows how charismatic the character is and how forceful the character's personality is, which is an important difference. The greatest leaders may not be attractive and some can be quite ugly, but if they have a high Mental Affinity attribute, people will follow them. The MA attribute provides a bonus or penalty to the special Trust / Intimidate skill. This skill allows a character to convince or intimidate an NPC into believing or following him in some small way. The base percentage for this skill is 35% +2% per level of experience, and any IQ bonuses or penalties are applicable. For every five points that the MA score is above 30, increase the percentage bonus by +5%. For example, an MA of 43 for a 6^th level character with an IQ of 10 provides a total Trust / Intimidate skill of 87%.
4. Physical Strength - PS:
   This attribute has many uses, and as its name suggests, they all revolve around strength. This attribute is used to determine how much the character can lift, carry, and throw, and how much damage they do with an attack. Although most character have normal strength, there are several levels of strength, they are: Normal Strength, Strong Strength, Extraordinary (Augmented) Strength, Robotic (Superhuman) Strength, and Supernatural Strength. With the exception of Normal and Strong Strength, the other strength categories determine how much damage a physical attack will inflict. For example, a normal Human punch will inflict 1D4 points of S.D.C. damage, but with a Supernatural Strength of 50, a punch inflicts 6D6 M.D. on an M.D.C. world or 1D6x10 points of damage on an S.D.C. world. That's a big difference. See Physical Strength Categories for more information on the different types of strength. Regardless of the type of strength possessed by the character, Physical Strength provides a bonus to damage for physical attacks or attacks by melee weapons used by the character. For every point that the PS score is above 30, increase the bonus to damage by +1. For example, a PS of 41 provides a bonus of +26 to physical and melee damage rolls.
5. Physical Prowess - PP:
   Physical Prowess determines how physically agile a character is, which is important in combat and in acrobatic moves. Physical Prowess provides a bonus to strike, parry, and dodge. This bonus is cumulative with the bonuses from hand-to-hand combat skills and weapon proficiencies. For every three points that the PP score is above 30, the character receives a bonus of +1 to initiative and for every six points, increase the bonus to strike, parry, and dodge by +1. For example, a PP score of 63 provides a bonus of +13 to strike, parry, and dodge and +11 to initiative.
6. Physical Endurance - PE:
   One of the most important attributes, Physical Endurance is used to determine how tough the character is and how easily they can resist physical punishment. This attribute is critical in determining the number of hit points that most creatures start with. For example, a Human has a base number of hit points equal to his PE attribute +1D6. Physical Endurance also provides a bonus to save vs. coma / death and a bonus to a large number of saving throws. Although only toxins and magic is listed, which applies to saves vs. all types of magic, the PE attribute provides a bonus to save vs. disease, electrocution, extreme temperature, and pain. For every point that the PE score is above 30, increase the percentage bonus to save vs. coma / death by +1% and for eight points above 30, increase the bonus to the saving throws by +1. For example, a PE of 55 provides a bonus of +45% to save vs. coma / death and +11 to the saving throws listed above.
7. Physical Beauty - PB:
   This attribute shows how attractive the character is from the perspective of a typical Human. For example, an average Human has an average PB attribute of 10 or 11, and a Human with a PB higher then that would be considered more attractive then average, however a race with only 2D6 in the PB attribute would have an average of 7, so a member of that race with a PB of 9 would be considered of average beauty to a Human, but would be above average in the eyes of his own race. The MA attribute provides a bonus or penalty to the special Charm / Impress skill. This skill allows a character to charm or impress an NPC, which makes them friendlier towards the character. The base percentage for this skill is 40% per level of experience, any IQ bonuses or penalties are applicable, and if the character has the disguise skill, they receive a one-time bonus of +10% to this skill. For every five points that the PB score is above 30, increase the percentage bonus by +5%. For example, a PB of 38 for character with an IQ of 14 and without the Disguise skill provides a total Charm / Impress skill of 77%.
8. Speed - Spd:
   Speed represents how fast a character can run. This attribute is not associated with any bonuses, but is used to directly determine how fast a character can move. Take a character's speed attribute, multiply it by 20 and that is the number of meters the character can run per minute. The attribute also represents how many meters the character can run in a single melee round.