Ability Scores: A Description

As stated previously, Ability Scores are broken down into 6 categories that represent the various physical and mental powers of your character and every other creature throughout the game. Now, I know some people can get confused by these so I feel like it's best to go over each one to get everyone up to speed and working from the same definition of each of these going forward. I cannot tell you the number of times I have seen problems at table come about because 2 people have differing definitions of what Ability X is supposed to cover. So, without further adieu, lets get into it.

Physical vs. Mental: Each character has 6 Abilities that can be broken down into 2 groups Physical and Mental. Physical Abilities or Stats, are abilities that are meant to represent your character's physical abilities such as how strong or nimble they are or how hardy they are and ease with which they can shake of diseases. If your character has superhuman strength or get's crippled and is left very susceptible to the ravages of disease, it's represented in their physical stats. Mental Abilities or Mental Stats represent your character's cerebral powers and/or their abilities with as a character that aren't represented with things like how much you can lift. If your character is really smart and knows a lot of facts, has feral senses honed by years of living in the wild, the force of personality to convince anyone of anything, or a will power so low he can fall to someone faking the Jedi Mind Trick, then it's a mental stat. This distinction might seem ancillary at this point in your budding Pathfinder career, but as time goes on, higher level abilities, enemy powers, and various extra rules tend to differentiate these stats into these categories and bestow benefits and penalties accordingly. Also, it's an easy way to help think about them.

Strength (Str): Strength is a measure of your character's physical prowess. How much she can lift, how much she can push or pull, and how much it hurts when she hits you with her baseball bat. This stat effects your melee attacks, your carrying capacity, and your more brute physical skills like climb and swim. Having a high Str means that your character is likely very muscular and strong, able to carry lots of gear and heavy armor without being slowed down much while Low Str character is likely someone who is more weak and feeble, unable to carry much at all save potentially the clothes on their back and gains no benefit from their Strength when using their melee weapons. Characters with low Str might even have their damage reduced and be so weak that their weapons just don't cause any harm even if they connect (Low Str applying a penalty to your hit).

Dexterity (Dex): Dexterity or Dex, is how nimble or lithe your character is along with their ability to accurately aim a shot at a target. If your character is meant to be something like an escape artist, contorting their body to slip free of restraints, an archer with a crack shot, or a pickpocket with a soft touch and nimble fingers, he's got good Dex. If your character is clumsy and always falling over themselves, the dude who's last to react to danger, or the last man you'd expect to fire in a straight line, then your Dex is low. Dexterity effects your ranged attack rolls, certain melee weapon attacks (those that are more about nimble moves than brute strength), Reflex saves, and skills like Disable Device, Acrobatics, and Escape Artist.

• GM's Note: Now, this stat effects a lot, and many players don't like to dump or lower this stat as part of their build, but don't let that stop you from building what you want. If you want to have a cleric who's got two left feat or a Wizard who's reflexes leave him the last to react in a fight go for it. But talk to your GM and make sure to let your teammates know this is coming so that everyone can plan accordingly. 

Constitution (Con): Constitution or Con is the measure of how hale and hardy your character is. This stat measures how good your character is at fending off diseases, poisons, and surviving general hits to their body. Mechanically, this stat probably modifies the fewest things on your sheet but what it does modify are some of the most essential. This stat adds to your Hp and effects your Fort Saves. The former is pretty obvious but the latter will matter a lot as time goes on, with early level Fort Saves accounting for things like saves vs. diseases and poisons which can either kill you on their own or through the disabling effects they cause leaving you open to assault. Later on, Fort saves will also throw death effects into the mix, with a lot of spells that are save or die falling out under Fort, so don't underestimate it! Oh, Con also determines the maximum amount of negative hp you can have before finally dying. This is a change from the previous 3.5 edition so for those of us transitioning from 3.5 to Pathfinder make sure you remember that! A character with 9 Con dies at -9 hp, while a character with 16 Con has to get to -16 to die. This matters a little less at higher levels, where most things will just finish you off with a side hit once your health is in the negative but at lower levels and at any point you are bleeding out this fact can be a killer. 

Intelligence (Int): Intelligence or Int measures how much your character knows and how much he can remember and pick up when learning. This effects all your Knowledge skill checks, how many skill points you get, and your spells if you're and Int based caster. Now, an important note, Intelligence is NOT the measure of how effectively your character can use this information or how well he can apply it to other things outside of what he's been taught. That is the purview of Wisdom. An absent minded professor or a Savant who knows a lot about their topic but not a lot of ways to use it has a high Int but not a good Wis. So if you've got a character that is supposed to be super intelligent and able to use what he knows in a million different ways MacGuiver style, then he's got a good Wis too. 

Wisdom (Wis): Wisdom or Wis measures your characters mental will power, their ability to discern the truth of the people they are dealing with or the situations they are in, and the ability to use their abilities in ways they weren't necessarily taught. Characters with high Wis are harder to mind control, have a better ability to notice threats or secrets, and better at figuring out what to eat in the wild. Now, as stated above, Wisdom is also the mental stat the represents the ability for your character to use what they know in ways beyond they were taught. A monk who only knows the scripture and kung fu but can use those 2 things to figure out how to solve any problem is someone with high Wis and low Int. Meanwhile, a character with high Int but unable to figure out that the guys in the black cloaks skulking around that alley are ninjas has low Wis. 

Charisma (Cha): Charisma or Cha is your character's force of personality and ability to sway others to their way of thinking. Characters with high Cha are able to more easily sway others to their ways of thinking and have big personalities that others will gravitate to. Those with low Cha often have less personality, a harder time convincing others of their way of thinking, and if low enough can have the personality of a wooden plank. Now, having a high or low Charisma DOESN'T mean your character is more or less attractive, and again, has more to do with force of personality than your physical appearance. To note, a Half-Orc with a high Charisma is likely going to be less attractive than eve the lowest Cha Elf, but that Orc is likely to be far better at getting a crowd. 

Now, I hope this helps you on your journey to understanding this game, you got any questions or comments throw em' up in the section below. Next up Races!