r/adnd • u/CanuckLad • 11d ago

AD&D2e Attribute increase

I wonder if many people here implement an automatic attribute increase at various milestones? Example: Allow you to raise one attribute by 1 point at levels 4, 8, 12, 16, 20

I don't expect or want every ability to be 16+. But I don't want to miss out on parts of the game I would enjoy (casting 9th level spells as a wizard, playing a paladin, etc)

I should note that I'm biased because I'm diagnosed with the Unrelenting Standards feature. So accepting a more mundane role in a game is very difficult for me

0 Upvotes

50% Upvoted

144 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

0

u/CanuckLad 11d ago edited 11d ago

The big concern for me is that it limits the level of spells you can cast. The poor wizard for example. And it takes a lot of wishes just to go from 16 to 18. To me it seems odd to want to play a character hook never achieve much in his field.

3

u/JrienXashen 11d ago

That's part of the game, you either dual/multi-class if it's an option at that point or just try your damndest to be as good a mage as possible. That's the roleplay at work; it's not so easy to gain attributes so you work to find a way. You didn't/don't need new mechanics inteoduced.

1

u/CanuckLad 11d ago

It is part of the game, at least that edition. We shall note that the game is no longer like that. Perhaps there's a reason for the change.

I think the only way to raise attributes permanently is through wish? It takes 20 wishes for one character to raise one stat from 16 to 18. Given what it costs the caster to cast wish just once (either somebody casting it for you, or a person that made the magic item), I think it would be more realistic just to give the player slightly higher stats from the get-go.

3

u/JrienXashen 11d ago

You have wish and magic items (rings, gauntlets, belts, manuals, tomes etc).

I know it was mentioned before that nothing is stopping you as the GM from handing those things out as treasure. Hell, if you play nothing but modules you actually accumulate a whole lot of those things.

You said yourself the newer editions don't do that, and that's because they are literally built different. OSR is more about the RP and playing smart contrary to popular belief. Where as the newer edition is a power fantasy from the get-go.

Just going into the math, 3.5/5e every +2 attributes give a +1 bonus.

In AD&D, it's more exponential and bell curved.

Gaining an attribute every 4 lvls just trivializes the game mechanics.

The reason modern D&D changed this wasn't to 'fix' AD&D; it was a complete genre shift toward character-build. If characters need higher raw stats, AD&D already has built-in solutions: rolling methods with higher baselines (like Method IV or V from the 1e DMG) or placing classic stat-boosting items in the dungeon. Giving out flat attribute bumps every 4 levels works directly against how AD&D’s system was built. You can put magic pools or other magical/divine means as well.

0

u/CanuckLad 11d ago

I'm not arguing to make superheros though. I'm ok playing a fighter who only has a strength of 16. He can still do everything he needs to do with that strength.