Resisting Fear (dump stats and 3/L, 3/M, 3/H saving throws)

[zot]

I don't think IQ should represent courage (for resisting a ghost) or will power (for resisting control or possession). There should be a better way to let more experienced characters generally do better than less experienced characters. I'm starting with Rick Smith's idea here:

Originally Posted by Rick_Smith

Hi Kirk, everyone.
I totally agree. In my campaign I rewrote most of the dangerous thrown spells so that they give a saving throw. (For example, if someone casts a Sleep on you, you get a 4vs(your lowest attribute) to resist the spell.

Sleep still works fine on mooks, but wizards are a bit less likely to cast it on bosses or PC's, since they have a decent chance to make the save.

I really like this idea. I'm calling it a "3/L saving throw", 3 dice against your lowest attribute. 3/L is a decent way to estimate how "well rounded" a character is and it's an Achilles heel for characters with a dump stat (4/L and 5/L are also possible but I figured writing X/L would make less sense, so I picked "3" :) ).

There could also be 3/M (middle attribute) and 3/H (highest attribute) saving throws.

Would the middle attribute be a decent representation of general experience? If so, it could be used for resisting fear, control, etc. I'm thinking that the middle attribute will usually range from 12 to 16, making it a good target for a 3-die saving throw.

I'd like to use 3/L rolls, like Rick is using for resisting Sleep, but I'm also torn about using them. With only 8 points to go around, now, won't most characters tend to have one stat as close to 8 as the player can manage?

On the other hand, is this maybe an area where characters with "balanced" attributes should shine?

I'm thinking this type of saving throw would be good for things that challenge a character's "strength of character" or "strength of experience", where characters with lower IQ shouldn't be more susceptible than ones higher IQ.

Some examples:

• Courage: resisting fear of a ghost
• Will power: resisting Control Person, Geas, Possession, Word of Command, Basilisk gaze
• Wisdom: saving roll against leaving 90% of your money behind when fleeing the country (see Taxes, Banks, etc.)
• Asking for a raise: maybe 4/H makes more sense than 3/IQ because it would highest attribute plays to the strengths of the character and that's usually in line with what they're getting paid for (or 3/L if the job is really a bad fit).

Another possibility might be 3/EP, using 10 + earned attribute points. A 32-point character would have a 10 and a 40-point character would have an 18. The only problem with this is that I think it will have less variation than 3/M or 3/H (but probably more variation than 3/L).