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The ability damage rules state
For every 2 points of damage you take to a single ability, apply a –1 penalty to skills and statistics listed with the relevant ability
Is this supposed to override the intuitive rules for someone with an 18 strength accruing penalties as soon as they get knocked down to 17?
The ability damage rules state
For every 2 points of damage you take to a single ability, apply a –1 penalty to skills and statistics listed with the relevant ability
Is this supposed to override the intuitive rules for someone with an 18 strength accruing penalties as soon as they get knocked down to 17?
I hadn't looked that closely at it before, but yes. By RAW, apply a -1 penalty for every multiple of 2 damage. If you take 1 point of damage with an even stat, it has no effect. I guess it is the counterpart of buffs only being even values.
Drain, on the other hand, does care if you go from 18 to 17, since that actually reduces your ability score, and you'd suffer the effect with a single point of drain.