Abilities

(Ability Assignment information found at the bottom of the article.)

Introduction:
Just about every dice roll a player makes is going to get a bonus or penalty based on their character's abilities. A tough character has a better chance of surviving a freezing night on Hoth. A perceptive character is more likely to notice stormtroopers sneaking up from behind. A stupid character is less likely to find a concealed panel that leads to a secret cargo compartment. Ability scores indicate what modifiers are applicable for rolls such as these. (*1)
A character has six abilities: Strength (abbreviated Str), Dexterity (abbreviated Dex), Constitution (abbreviated Con), Intelligence (abbreviated Int), Wisdom (abbreviated Wis), and Charisma (abbreviated Cha). Each character's above-average abilities gives them a bonus on certain die rolls, and each below-average ability gives a penalty on other die rolls. (*1)
Strength (Str) measures your character's muscle and physical power. This ability can be important for Soldiers using melee weapons because it helps them prevail in physical combat. Dexterity (Dex) measures hand-eye coordination, agility, reflexes, and balance. This ability is the most important ability for Scoundrels, but it's also high on the list for characters who want to be good shots with ranged weapons or who want to handle the controls of a starship or speeder fairly well. Ultimately, Dex is an ability that comes into play in many aspects of gameplay, which generally makes it at least a fairly valuable ability for characters of various classes. Examples include skills checks such as acrobatics, piloting, riding, and stealth. Skill checks will be covered in greater detail in a later entry. Constitution (Con) represents your character's health and stamina. Constitution adds to a hero's Hit Points, so it's important for everyone, but most important for Soldiers and Jedi. Intelligence (Int) determines how well your character learns and reasons, Intelligence is important for Scouts, Nobles, and any character who wants to have a wide assortment of skills. Wisdom describes a character's willpower, common sense, perception, and intuition. Compared to Intelligence, Wisdom is more related to being in tune with and aware of one's surroundings, while Intelligence represents one's ability to analyze information. An "absent-minded professor" has a low Wisdom score and a high Intelligence score. A simpleton with low Intelligence might nonetheless have great insight (high Wisdom). Wisdom is the most important ability for Scouts, but it's also important for characters wishing to be in-tune with their environment or characters who like to gamble. If you want your character to have keen senses, put a high score in Wisdom. Charisma measures a character's force of personality, persuasiveness, personal magnetism, ability to lead, and physical attractiveness. It represents actual strength of personality and force of presence, not merely how others perceive you in a social setting. Charisma is most important for Nobles and Jedi. (*1)

Modifiers:
A character's ultimate score on a roll is also influenced by other modifiers, such as species and class selection. The modifier that is applied to in-game rolls is derived from the final score after taking into account all modifiers. The table below illustrates the relationships for a given score and consequent modifier:

Score	Modifier		Score	Modifier		Score	Modifier
1	-5		12-13	+1		24-25	+7
2-3	-4		14-15	+2		26-27	+8
4-5	-3		16-17	+3		28-29	+9
6-7	-2		18-19	+4		30-31	+10
8-9	-1		20-21	+5		32-33	+11
10-11	0		22-23	+6		etc...	etc...

(*1)

Ability Assignment:
The ability system that will be employed shall be the point buy system. Role playing games commonly employ the dice rolling system, however, in an effort to ensure relative character power balance and enhance player agency, the point buy system has been selected instead. Each player will be allowed 27 points with which they will determine their character's ability scores. The cost varies depending on the score and is illustrated in the table below:

Score	Cost		Score	Cost
8	0		12	4
9	1		13	5
10	2		14	7
11	3		15	9

For the purposes of the herein employed point-buy system, the minimum allowed score shall be 8 and the maximum allowed score shall be 15. Reference the first table to match score with the consequent modifier.

In terms of roleplaying, players may keep in mind the following in terms of general application (and differences between) Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma:
A character with a high Intelligence score is curious, knowledgeable, and prone to using big words. A character with a high Intelligence but low Wisdom may be smart but absent-minded, or knowledgeable but lacking in common sense. A character with a high Intelligence but a low Charisma may be a know-it-all or a reclusive scholar. 
The smart character lacking in both Wisdom and Charisma usually puts her foot in her mouth. A character with a low Intelligence mispronounces and misuses words, has trouble following directions, or fails to get a joke. 
A character with a high Wisdom score may be sensible, serene, "in tune", alert, or centered. A character with a high Wisdom but a low Intelligence may be aware, but simple. A character with a high Wisdom but a low Charisma knows enough to speak carefully and may become an advisor or "power behind the throne" rather than a leader. 
A character with a high Charisma may be beautiful, handsome, striking, personable, and confident. A character with a high Charisma but a low Intelligence can usually pass herself off as knowledgeable, until she meets a true expert. A character with high charisma but with a low Wisdom may be popular, but he doesn't know who his real friends are. A character with a low Charisma may be reserved, gruff, rude, fawning, or simply nondescript. (*1)