Ability Score Damage

[Globetrotter]

Is there a reason we have 9 adjustments for ability scores?

I ran across this FAQ yesterday:

Temporary Ability Score Increases vs. Permanent Ability Score Increases: Why do temporary bonuses only apply to some things?
Temporary ability bonuses should apply to anything relating to that ability score, just as permanent ability score bonuses do. The section in the glossary was very tight on space and it was not possible to list every single ability score-related game effect that an ability score bones would affect.

The purpose of the temporary ability score ruling is to make it so you don't have to rebuild your character every time you get a bull's strength or similar spell; it just summarizes the most common game effects relative to that ability score.

For example, most of the time when you get bull's strength, you're using it for combat, so the glossary mentions Strength-based skill checks, melee attack rolls, Strength-based weapon damage rolls, CMB, and CMD. It doesn't call out melee attack rolls that use Dex instead of Str (such as when using Weapon Finesse) or situations where your applied Str bonus should be halved or multiplied (such as whith off-hand or two-handed weapons). You're usually not using the spell for a 1 min./level increase in your carrying capacity, so that isn't mentioned there, but the bonus should still apply to that, as well as to Strength checks to break down doors.

Think of it in the same way that a simple template has "quick rules" and "rebuild rules;" they're supposed to create monsters which are roughly equivalent in terms of stats, but the quick rules are a short cut that misses some details compared to using the rebuild rules. Likewise, the temporary ability score rule is intended as a short cut to speed up gameplay, not as the most precise way of applying the bonus.

A temporary ability score bonus should affect all of the same stats and rolls that a permanent ability score bonus does.

It looks like anytime you take ability score damage, it should effect all aspects of that ability. If I take 4 points of STR, my to hit and damage rolls should be reduced by 2, as with all CMB related calculations. What I haven't been doing was reducing my carrying capacity since the masses on the forums said that it didn't apply.

Can someone break down why we have 9 adjustments? And do we need one for temporary and permanent now since the developers have stated they are the same thing?

 

[Globetrotter]

Anyone have any thoughts on this...?

Or is this question a little too self explanatory?

 

[Aaron]

No thoughts in particular, I'd like to make our adjustments list better, had I the time. Perhaps I will reduce them to one when that happens.

 

[bodrin]

Even though they are the same adjustment mechanics wise, there is a difference between damage and drain game wise.

Refer to the restoration and lesser restoration spells in the CRB regarding temporary and permanent ability drain / damage.

A different adjustment is required to identify which spell can remove which type of adjustment.

Drain is a lot harder to remove than damage.