Infamous Supplementary: Strength

 Of all the ability scores of first edition, strength is often seen as the most simple. Many regard the proficiencies associated with it to be fairly simple, and in many cases, this can be the case. The major advantage of having a high strength is having far higher damage numbers, and using mighty weapons with high damage dice. Strength is a stat that is often difficult to use well, as picking good strength proficiencies can prove very difficult. Most high strength characters are Fighters, and most of those strength Fighters spend their proficiencies on weapons, not skills. This means that often, you will need to get creative in the ways you employ your strength.

Strength Table 1

Strength Score	"To-Hit" Probability	Damage Adjustment	Weight Allowance*
3	-3	-1	-350
4-5	-2	-1	-250
6-7	-1	0	-150
8-9	0	0	0
10-11	0	0	0
12-13	0	0	+100
14-15	0	0	+200
16	0	+1	+300
17	+1	+1	+500
18	+1	+2	+750
18/01-50	+1	+3	+1000
18/51-75	+2	+3	+1250
18/76-90	+2	+4	+1500
18/91-99	+2	+5	+2000
18/00	+3	+6	+3000
19	+3	+7	+4500
20	+3	+8	+5000
21	+4	+9	+6000
22	+4	+10	+7500
23	+5	+11	+9000
24	+5	+12	+12000
25	+6	+14	+15000

* - The Weight allowance modifiers are measured in weight in gold pieces.

Exceptional Strength

The maximum possible strength of any non-Fighter character is always 18. This is different from any other stat, as with every other, the maximum possible is 25 (under special circumstances.) Fighters that attain greater than 18 strength will roll a d100 (a d10, and the percent die) to determine Exceptional strength, the bonuses for which are seen on the table above. If further increased strength is achieved, your Exceptional strength will increase by 10%. If this 10% increase would bring you above 18/00, it will simply bring you to that point. If, from 18/00 you gain further strength, your strength will increase up to 19, and may continue to increase from there.

Opening Doors (very exciting!)

Opening doors is an ability listed on the table for strength in the Player's Handbook. This skill is used whenever a door needing to be opened is stuck, and sometimes even locked, or even wizard locked. This is accomplished by the character ramming into a door, full force, and may result in the character taking damage. This may be attempted as many times as desired, but is very noisy, and will likely result in repeated damage dealt to a character. A six-sided die is usually rolled (unless otherwise stated) whenever this skill is used, as thus, characters with high strength will have increased chances of success as seen on the table below.

Open Doors:

Strength Score	Number Required
3	1
4-5	1
6-7	1
8-9	1-2
10-11	1-2
12-13	1-2
14-15	1-2
16	1-3
17	1-3
18	1-3
18/01-50	1-3
18/51-75	1-4
18/76-90	1-4
18/91-99	1-4 (1)*
18/00	1-5 (2)*
19	7 in 8 (3)*
20	7 in 8 (3)*
21	9 in 10 (4)*
22	11 in 12 (4)*
23	11 in 12 (5)*
24	19 in 20 (7 in 8)*
25	19 in 20 (9 in 10)*

* - Refers to the ability to open a barred, locked, or wizard locked door.

Bending Bars, and Lifting Gates (now we're talking!)

A character with high strength will also have the ability to bend bars, and to lift gates. This allows the characters to bend several bars of iron, such as the bars of a prison cell. Most forms of iron, and occasionally steel, can be bent in this way. The Fighter is also capable of lifting gates, for instance, should a castle portcullis be in the way of the party, the Fighter could attempt to lift the gate, allowing the party passage.

Bend Bars, Lift Gates:

Strength Score	Bend Bars / Lift Gates
8-9	1%
10-11	2%
12-13	4%
14-15	7%
16	10%
17	13%
18	16%
18/01-50	20%
18/51-75	25%
18/76-90	30%
18/91-99	35%
18/00	40%
19	50% (as Hill Giant)
20	60% (as Stone Giant)
21	70% (as Frost Giant)
22	80% (as Fire Giant)
23	90% (as Cloud Giant)
24	100% (as Storm Giant)
25	100% (as Titan)

Ability Rolls

Strength rolls can be made for a variety of things themselves. Mostly, these involve temporarily carrying objects of higher weight than what the character can otherwise maintain. In addition, strength may be used to lift massive objects such as boulders and trees for throwing, which can cause structural damage to things such as stone walls. 

10 points over: Can carry normal items.

Successful roll (0 under): Can lift a heavy object up to 2 times normal weight allowance for one round.

5 points under: Can lift a very heavy object up to 3 times normal weight allowance for one round.

10 points under:  Can lift an incredibly heavy object up to 5 times normal allowance for one round. Character is treated as a Tier I building destroyer for one round.*

15 points under: Can lift a supremely heavy object up to 8 times normal allowance for one round.
Character is treated as a Tier I building destroyer for one round.*

20 points under: Can lift an impossibly heavy object up to 10 times normal allowance for one round.
Character is treated as a Tier II building destroyer for one round.** At this level, the character can lift even smaller buildings such as fishing boats full of people without significant effort.

* - Allows the character to destroy weaker buildings such as wooden doors and gates, wagons, and most wooden structures.

** - Allows the character to destroy stronger buildings such as stone walls and metal doors, as well as most man made structures.

Note that if the character is willing to push his or her luck, another strength roll may be made in order to lift objects for multiple consecutive rounds. This may result in exhaustion damage (equal to 1+1 per consecutive round) as the character continues. A constitution roll can be made to avoid this.

Notable Skills

Even when playing a strength Fighter, your choice of skill can be very important. There are a few notable proficiencies under strength that can very well prove useful to a Fighter, and may be able to turn the effectiveness of a party for the better.

 Intimidation is a great place to start, as it's a skill that directly turns your strength into a new form of "attack." Intimidation allows the Fighter to make a strength roll, and if 10 points under is rolled, the Fighter will have successfully intimidated the opposing force, should they be controllable through fear. If this roll should fail, the opposing force still makes a morale roll, with penalties. Should they fail this roll, several members of an enemy force will retreat. In addition to this, Intimidating Presence is an extension of this skill, allowing you to effectively challenge the opposing force into attacking you, as their new target.

You lift a boulder with your bare hands, for no reason other than because you can.

Climbing Walls is another highly useful skill, allowing for the Fighter to effectively fill the role of a Thief in the ability to Climb Walls. This has several uses, allowing a Fighter to potentially fill additional roles in the party, outside of combat. This skill is also highly useful for Thieves with a moderate strength, as it may also increase a Thief's chances of succeeding at his or her own Climb Walls table. This skill performs identically to the Thief's ability to Climb Walls, in all respects except for the actual percentage of success, which is half that of a Thief of the same level.

Strange as it may seem, Mason and Miner are highly useful as well for the main reason of constructing strongholds and fortresses. Assets such as these can prove highly valuable in the face of warfare, or simply in as a place to store treasure, prisoners, refuges, and much more that you find along your adventures. These are especially useful on a Dwarf Fighter, as their natural affinity for stone and caves helps with the construction of some form of stronghold.

Some other honorable mentions, mainly for the sake of guild access, are Blacksmithing and its subskills, as well as Sailor, Teamster, Boat-Wright, Mountaineer, and Carpenter. These allows for the character to potentially commission various things, and in some cases, gain some form of means of travel. This often is very useful to a party, as these things when put to use are often highly valuable.

Strength is an attribute of a character that is often overlooked and disregarded. It is not solely a combat use, though it's primary purpose is served in that field. Much can be done with even the dullest of characters, and there are tools to make a strength based character more than a simple bruiser. You must be constantly thinking about new ideas, in and out of combat.