3 Strength

[CactusUnicorn]

One of the players in a campaign I am also playing in has recently died. For his new character he wants to play a Kitsune Trickster. The trickster is a Homebrew class that is basically an 20 level base class arcane trickster. Now, as you can probably guess, he has 3 strength. This happened because he rolled three 1s and a 2, which is 4, added 1 from being above level 4, then subtracted 2 for being a Kitsune. He has decided that this is going to be his dump stat. He has weapon finesse, and hasn't chosen the other 2 feats. So, how much of a problem will this be.

[CactusUnicorn]

Forgot to mention that we are level 5 and he has a handy haversack.

[Gray Warden]

This is what happens when you roll stats.

[Rory]

CactusUnicorn wrote:

So, how much of a problem will this be.

Assume the player always preps the spell Ant Haul (STR 3 = 1 less spell known effectively). They cast it approximately twice per day at level 5. That will give the character triple carrying capacity for the entire day. That puts a light load limit of 30 lbs on the character, and a heavy load of 90 lbs. That's easily manageable.

Have them carry around a couple scrolls to solve Climb and Swim issues:

- Monkey Fish (25gp - from the Advanced Class Guide) gives a climb and swim speed
- Touch of the Sea (25gp - Advanced Player's Guide) wouldn't hurt either.

That takes care of a lot of the issues of a 3 STR.

If they ever meet a Shadow or other strength draining monster? Well, that's just life (or death I guess).

[Rysky]

For 3 Strength Medium Encumbrance hits at 11lbs and a Handy Haversack weighs 5lbs, when you add any weapons, armor/clothing and other magical items they'll be wearing/carrying they'll probably tip them over into that, meaning max Dex bonus of +3 and a check penalty of -3, and a reduced speed.

At 21lbs they go into +1/-6, and can't move at 31lbs (or however that works)

[Wonderstell]

As Rysky points out, this character should be at medium encumbrance just from wearing armor/clothes.

Since this seems to be homebrew, I'd recommend this character to buy Muleback Cords (and fuse this magic item with a Cloak of Resistance for +50% price cost)*, instead of buying a Handy Haversack. This would raise the character's light load from 10 lb to 38 lb.

The other more lethal consequence of a low STR score is that many venomous creatures deal STR damage. These creatures will probably result in a one-hit KO.

*Muleback Cords cost 1000 gp, so fusing it with a Cloak of Resistance +1 would have a price of 1000+1000+500 gp, for a total of 2500 gp.

[DarkPhoenixx]

I would not be happy to fight a Shadow as this character...

[Swordwhale]

... or any enemy that likes to grapple (or excelling in any other combat maneuver).
Anyway, how are his/her other rolls?
What's the average of the other players?
Consider to allow him/her to make a point buy instead, presenting the average of the other stats.
Having a dump stat is okay.
But anything below 6 is ridiculous.

Other fixes for weight problems: let him/her buy a pony/riding dog (cap&capper anyone?) carrying her stuff around. Also Mithral for anything made of metal since it reduces weight considerably could be an idea....

[CactusUnicorn]

Thanks. I'm going to tell him to get ant haul. Muleback cords seem like a good investment, I'll ask the GM (my brother) to have us find it. For armor, he has a hamaraki which weighs one pound. He will probably get a dagger which is another 1 pound. The sack is 5 which brings it up to 7 as the rest is in the sack. We don't play with clothing weights.

On another note, how good of an investment do you think slashing grace (dagger) is. It would take up 2 feat slots, but increase his damage by like 8.

[David knott 242]

This kitsune should avoid ever assuming human form so that he can get away with not wearing clothes. That should save a few pounds right there. ;)

[Omnius]

This isn't an interesting character quirk. It's annoying accounting. Either handwave the encumbrance and keep in mind it's super low, or just let it be a sane number. A 3 in anything is just absurd.

[Rory]

CactusUnicorn wrote:

Thanks. I'm going to tell him to get ant haul. Muleback cords seem like a good investment, I'll ask the GM (my brother) to have us find it. For armor, he has a hamaraki which weighs one pound. He will probably get a dagger which is another 1 pound. The sack is 5 which brings it up to 7 as the rest is in the sack. We don't play with clothing weights.

On another note, how good of an investment do you think slashing grace (dagger) is. It would take up 2 feat slots, but increase his damage by like 8.

Also, have the character carry around antiplague and antitoxin. They will be useful to ward off disease and poison STR loss. They could be a life saver if used judiciously.

Weapon damage is going to be terrible without using DEX for damage instead of STR. If the character ever wants to get into melee weapon damage, then Slashing Grace is very good. That said, it can be avoided if they just use spells and simply ignore STR/DEX to damage.

Chill Touch eliminates the STR/DEX issue. The character could sneak attack for 1d6 Chill Touch + 3d6(?) Sneak Attack at level 5. That's a decent attack at level 5. When more spell slots are available, Shocking Grasp makes for a bigger hit (5d6 + 3d6 Sneak Attack), but you have to cast once per successful hit.

Range Touch Sneak Attacks are ideal though, if a little harder to pull off. There are a lot more options and it keeps the character away from as many grapples.

[Gallant Armor]

If you are dropping below 7, the flavor text on the ability score chart starts to become meaningful.

At 3 STR you would be somewhere between "Needs help to stand, can be knocked over by strong breezes" and "Knocked off balance by swinging something dense".

Even if it's not outlined in the rules, a creature with under 5 in a stat should have trouble just existing in the world, let alone adventuring.

[DoubleBubble]

It's is going to be fun, as long as you have decent saves against strength damage and strength drain, you will be just fine.

Roleplaying wise, just make him listless. Only effortlessly do things with grace and intellect. If the work is too hard, he will just get someone to carry him. You will have fun!

[Wolventad]

I would recommend the player gets a +2 equivalent weapon, namely +1 Agile so they can legally add Dexterity to damage, or yes, the Slashing Grace feat. Both of these will be pretty much essential for the character to do melee damage outside of sneak attack, which some creatures are effectively immune to. Dealing 1 nonlethal damage (1d4 - 4, minimum 1 nonlethal) as your max damage without sneak attack is pretty rough, so being able to deal 1d4 + 4 (for example), which increases with Dexterity (used for attack, damage, AC, initiative AND skills at this point) is almost a must: even if they do have spellcasting ability.

It sounds like a very fun character to RP, but DEX to damage is pretty important for a character with such a low strength score who will (I'm assuming) be in melee.

[Feral]

He should be fine. Tanking dexterity to that degree would be absolutely crippling for most characters. Strength can be completely negated with a few small investments.

[Slim Jim]

<spent five minutes composing a post> <was unsatisfied with it> <decided to favorite Gray Warden instead>

[ngc7293]

Do like my GM would do, just have the player re-roll the stat. It saves trouble down the road.