Ability score under zero due to age - am I missing something?

[2bz2p]

If you had a 6 or less STR or DEX score at inception and grow to be venerable (no magic help here, just the basics) you have -6 on STR & DEX. So are you unable to move, and with a strength score 0 or less UNCONSCIOUSE? Or is there an "at least a 1" rule I am missing with age effects?

[Sandslice]

Good news: you are indeed missing something. CRB:

Quote:

With age, a character’s physical ability scores decrease and his mental ability scores increase (see Table 7–2). The effects of each aging step are cumulative. However, none of a character’s ability scores can be reduced below 1 in this way. When a character reaches venerable age, secretly roll his maximum age (on Table 7–2) and record the result, which the player does not know. A character who reaches his maximum age dies of old age sometime during the following year.

src

There is an "at least a 1" rule.

[2bz2p]

In essence I am asking if this rule applies to age effects: Ability Score Penalties - Some spells and abilities cause you to take an ability penalty for a limited amount of time. While in effect, these penalties function just like ability damage, but they cannot cause you to fall unconscious or die. In essence, penalties cannot decrease your ability score to less than 1.

[2bz2p]

2bz2p wrote:

In essence I am asking if this rule applies to age effects: Ability Score Penalties - Some spells and abilities cause you to take an ability penalty for a limited amount of time. While in effect, these penalties function just like ability damage, but they cannot cause you to fall unconscious or die. In essence, penalties cannot decrease your ability score to less than 1.

Thanks for that -- making an NPC in Hero Lab and saw STR drop to 0 because they were venerable and thought WTF? Could not find an answer!

[David knott 242]

You may want to report that bug to the Hero Lab folks. It has probably gone unfixed because characters with strength scores of 1 are not really viable adventurers.

[AwesomenessDog]

Extended Floating Disk baby. Who needs strength to carry all your gear when you can just have an invisible force carry it for you for the low cost of a second level spell per day.