Runequest had (don’t know if it still works this way) a periodic aging roll for each stat, leading to a -1 on each failed roll. A zero in any state was death from old age. Which lead to the phenomenon of “ugly-ing to death.”
Hmm, lets see if I can remember all the stat effects.
Strength 0 – either can not move OR has no body per se
Dexterity 0 – also cannot move
Constitution 0 – has no metabolism or no body at all
Intelligence 0 – is an automaton or runs on instinct
Wisdom 0 – is an object and not a creature
Charisma 0 – is an object and not a creature
Ladies and Gentle Bugs I give you our newest and best candidate for office Slab’o’concrete.
Except for the first two, those don’t describe a zero: they’d be a “-” mark. Undead and constructs don’t have Constitution 0, because that would incur huge penalties to hit points and saving throws. Instead, stuff that uses that stat straight up doesn’t affect things that don’t have it.
But yes, a 0 in Con would be dead. Theoretically, a 0 in any of the mental stats should mean brain death but a functional body, and therefore mean a 0 in all mental stats. Which, incidentally, is why I don’t count charisma as an indicator of appearance. You can be literally brain dead and still good-looking.
But 0 in all stats means that they were once higher and some kind of damage has been taken. You take penalties with a zero, but you still have a chance to succeed on a roll. Your 0 dexterity still has a chance to catch a falling glass. The glass doesn’t have a dexterity score, and can’t even make the attempt. That’s the difference.
And yes that does have weird implications for the brain-dead guy, but honestly, most DMs would just rule that he was dead and have it done with. And once dead, he has no more stats except the ones assigned to objects, like hardness and(strangely, in some editions) hit points.
I could be mistaken, but I believe he meant a -4 to his rolls with those stats, not setting the stats themselves to -4. If it could actually set the stats to -4, it’d be something you want to toss at your foes, not throw down your own gullet.
How about the jar labelled Potion of Motion? Turns out it’s just a laxative
Potion of Giant Growth? Elephantitis culture. Enjoy the gargantuan ball sack
Potion of Heroism? Booze (Dutch Courage)
Potion of Speed? Yep, it is liquid meth
Potion of Heeling: Nope, not misspelled healing. It makes you obedient to strongly stated commands
Potion of Eructation of the Gods: If the player doesn’t know, the character doesn’t. This potion makes you belch REALLY loud. Yes, it can be used as an attack but you damage yourself too… human esophagi are not built for that level of air pressure
Potion of Priapic Tumescence: Like the the above, you don’t know, character doesn’t know, this is Viagra that doesn’t wear off
I call booze the “levity” potion.
Are negative values really possible for dex and wis?
Oooh! Take 2D6 burn damage!
I believe that if your wisdom hits 0, you forget to breathe,if your dexterity hits zero,you become unable to move.
Runequest had (don’t know if it still works this way) a periodic aging roll for each stat, leading to a -1 on each failed roll. A zero in any state was death from old age. Which lead to the phenomenon of “ugly-ing to death.”
Hmm, lets see if I can remember all the stat effects.
Strength 0 – either can not move OR has no body per se
Dexterity 0 – also cannot move
Constitution 0 – has no metabolism or no body at all
Intelligence 0 – is an automaton or runs on instinct
Wisdom 0 – is an object and not a creature
Charisma 0 – is an object and not a creature
Ladies and Gentle Bugs I give you our newest and best candidate for office Slab’o’concrete.
Except for the first two, those don’t describe a zero: they’d be a “-” mark. Undead and constructs don’t have Constitution 0, because that would incur huge penalties to hit points and saving throws. Instead, stuff that uses that stat straight up doesn’t affect things that don’t have it.
But yes, a 0 in Con would be dead. Theoretically, a 0 in any of the mental stats should mean brain death but a functional body, and therefore mean a 0 in all mental stats. Which, incidentally, is why I don’t count charisma as an indicator of appearance. You can be literally brain dead and still good-looking.
But 0 in all stats means that they were once higher and some kind of damage has been taken. You take penalties with a zero, but you still have a chance to succeed on a roll. Your 0 dexterity still has a chance to catch a falling glass. The glass doesn’t have a dexterity score, and can’t even make the attempt. That’s the difference.
And yes that does have weird implications for the brain-dead guy, but honestly, most DMs would just rule that he was dead and have it done with. And once dead, he has no more stats except the ones assigned to objects, like hardness and(strangely, in some editions) hit points.
I could be mistaken, but I believe he meant a -4 to his rolls with those stats, not setting the stats themselves to -4. If it could actually set the stats to -4, it’d be something you want to toss at your foes, not throw down your own gullet.
*adjusts nerd glasses*
That’s what I got from it too.
The implied joke was that he started with natural 3’s.
… or 2’s. But yes, thank you.
It’d have to be 3’s, minimum. Below that is a reroll no matter who your DM is.
This might be my favorite comment thread.
Ah, gaming and potion jokes from the GM
How about the jar labelled Potion of Motion? Turns out it’s just a laxative
Potion of Giant Growth? Elephantitis culture. Enjoy the gargantuan ball sack
Potion of Heroism? Booze (Dutch Courage)
Potion of Speed? Yep, it is liquid meth
Potion of Heeling: Nope, not misspelled healing. It makes you obedient to strongly stated commands
Potion of Eructation of the Gods: If the player doesn’t know, the character doesn’t. This potion makes you belch REALLY loud. Yes, it can be used as an attack but you damage yourself too… human esophagi are not built for that level of air pressure
Potion of Priapic Tumescence: Like the the above, you don’t know, character doesn’t know, this is Viagra that doesn’t wear off