Strength
Strength (Str) measures a character's muscle, endurance, and stamina. This ability is the prime requisite of warriors because they must be physically powerful in order to wear armor and wield heavy weapons. A fighter with a score of 16 or more in Strength gains a 10 bonus to the experience points he earns.
Furthermore, any warrior with a Strength score of 18 is entitled to roll percentile dice (see Glossary) to determine exceptional Strength; exceptional Strength improves the character's chance to hit an enemy, increases the damage he causes with each hit, increases the weight the character is able to carry without a penalty for encumbrance (see below), and increases the character's ability to force open doors and similar portals.
The rest of this section on Strength consists of explanations of the columns in the table. Refer to the table as you read.
Strength
| Ability Score | Hit Prob. | Dmg. Adj. | Weight Allow. | Max. Press | Open Doors | Bend Bars/ Lift Gates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | -5 | -4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0% | |
| 2 | -3 | -2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0% | |
| 3 | -3 | -1 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 0% | |
| 4-5 | -2 | -1 | 10 | 25 | 3 | 0% | |
| 6-7 | -1 | None | 20 | 55 | 4 | 0% | |
| 8-9 | Normal | None | 35 | 90 | 5 | 1% | |
| 10-11 | Normal | None | 40 | 115 | 6 | 2% | |
| 12-13 | Normal | None | 45 | 140 | 7 | 4% | |
| 14-15 | Normal | None | 55 | 170 | 8 | 7% | |
| 16 | Normal | +1 | 70 | 195 | 9 | 10% | |
| 17 | +1 | +1 | 85 | 220 | 10 | 13% | |
| 18 | +1 | +2 | 110 | 255 | 11 | 16% | |
| 18/01-50 | +1 | +3 | 135 | 280 | 12 | 20% | |
| 18/51-75 | +2 | +3 | 160 | 305 | 13 | 25% | |
| 18/76-90 | +2 | +4 | 185 | 330 | 14 | 30% | |
| 18/91-99 | +2 | +5 | 235 | 380 | 15(3) | 35% | |
| 18/00 | +3 | +6 | 335 | 480 | 16(6) | 40% | |
| 19 | +3 | +7 | 485 | 640 | 16(8) | 50% | Hill Giant |
| 20 | +3 | +8 | 535 | 700 | 17(10) | 60% | Stone Giant |
| 21 | +4 | +9 | 635 | 810 | 17(12) | 70% | Frost Giant |
| 22 | +4 | +10 | 785 | 970 | 18(14) | 80% | Fire Giant |
| 23 | +5 | +11 | 935 | 1,130 | 18(16) | 90% | Cloud Giant |
| 24 | +6 | +12 | 1,235 | 1,440 | 19(17) | 95% | Storm Giant |
| 25 | +7 | +14 | 1,535 | 1,750 | 19(18) | 99% | Titan |
Hit Prob. adjustments are added to or subtracted from the attack roll rolled on 1d20 (one 20-sided die) during combat. A bonus (positive number) makes the opponent easier to hit; a penalty (negative number) makes him harder to hit.
Dmg. Adj. also applies to combat. The listed number is added to or subtracted from the dice rolled to determine the damage caused by an attack (regardless of subtractions, a successful attack roll can never cause less than 1 point of damage). For example, a short sword normally causes 1d6 points of damage (a range of 1 to 6). An attacker with Strength 17 causes one extra point of damage, for a range of 2 to 7 points of damage. The damage adjustment also applies to missile weapons, although bows must be specially made to gain the bonus; crossbows never benefit from the user's Strength.
Weight Allow. is the weight (in pounds) a character can carry without being encumbered (encumbrance measures how a character's possessions hamper his movement—see Glossary). These weights are expressed in pounds. A character carrying up to the listed weight can move his full movement rate.
Max. Press is the heaviest weight a character can pick up and lift over his head. A character cannot walk more than a few steps this way. No human or humanoid creature without exceptional Strength can lift more than twice his body weight over his head. In 1987, the world record for lifting a weight overhead in a single move was 465 pounds (as of 2021, the record appears to be 468.48 pounds). A heroic fighter with Strength 18/00 (see Table 1) can lift up to 480 pounds the same way and he can hold it overhead for a longer time!
Open Doors indicates the character's chance to force open a heavy or stuck door. When a character tries to force a door open, roll 1d20. If the result is equal to or less than the listed number, the door opens. A character can keep trying to open a door until it finally opens, but each attempt takes time (exactly how much is up to the DM) and makes a lot of noise.
Numbers in parentheses are the chances (on 1d20) to open a locked, barred, or magically held door, but only one attempt per door can ever be made. If it fails, no further attempts by that character can succeed.
Bend Bars/Lift Gates states the character's percentage chance (rolled on percentile dice) to bend normal, soft iron bars, lift a vertical gate (portcullis), or perform a similar feat of enormous strength. When the character makes the attempt, roll percentile dice. If the number rolled is equal to or less than the number listed on Table 1, the character bends the bar or lifts the gate. If the attempt fails, the character can never succeed at that task.A character can, however, try to bend the bars on a gate that he couldn't lift, and vice versa.
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