Gameplay: Ability Modifiers

The following material is Open Game Content, and is licensed for public use under the terms of the Open Game License v1.0a. The text may have been modified slightly from that of the System Reverence Document (v.3.5) or Modern System Reference Document.


Whenever you attempt an action that has some chance of failure, you roll a twenty-sided die (d20). To determine if your character succeeds at a task you do this:

• Roll a d20.
• Add any relevant modifiers.
• Compare the result to a target number.

If the result equals or exceeds the target number, your character succeeds. If the result is lower than the target number, you fail.

Each Ability offers some sort of modifier to rolls dependent upon it. Below is a list for modifiers available at the beginning of gameplay. The modifier is the number you apply to the die roll when your character tries to do something related to that Ability. You also use the modifier with some numbers that aren’t die rolls. A positive modifier is called a "bonus," and a negative modifier is called a "penalty."

ABILITY MODIFIERS
(Levels 1 - 19)

Level 1: Modifier -5
Level 2-3: Modifier -4
Level 4-5: Modifier -3
Level 6-7: Modifier -2
Level 8-9: Modifier -1
Level 10-11: Modifier 0
Level 12-13: Modifier 1
Level 14-15: Modifier 2
Level 16-17: Modifier 3
Level 18-19: Modifier 4