Ability Rolls

[Solomoriah]

1d6 ability score roll, which makes ability scores much more important.

whats this?

https://basicfantasy.org/blog/?p=58

[JoCool]

1d6 ability score roll, which makes ability scores much more important.

whats this?

This may be what you're looking for:
Check the "Doors" "Traps," and "Secret Doors" under "Part 4: The Adventure". These can use the attribute modifiers to a greater effect. A "+1" on a roll of 1d6 is a bigger bonus than on a roll of 1d20.
Edit: The Author beat me with a better answer above (of course).

[Boggo]

1d6 ability score roll, which makes ability scores much more important.

whats this?

https://basicfantasy.org/blog/?p=58

Yeah I'd considered using a variation of the Open Doors check, but that didn't address my primary complaint that ability scores are relatively pointless, there is no difference between having a stat of 15 and having a stat of 13 for example, that was and still is the main thing I'm trying to address. the only other option I thought of was a different modifier for each level of ability but ends up giving you a range of -7 to +7 with 10 and 11 both being 0, but I don't mind that as 10.5 is close to the range average, I just feel + or - 7 is too big a range (especially rolling on a d6!)

[Boggo]

I've re-visited this, and working on the theory that Thieves, Assasins, Bards, Acrobats, Sages et al use % roll for their skills though about changing how I'm doing Ability rolls to match so I went back to the Original BFRPG Ability roll system and converted it to %, but keeping the "EVERY POINT OF AN ABILITY SHOULD MATTER" mantra, you actually add the ability stat to the target for your % chance of success. which makes the entire thing much simpler, I kept a difficulty adjustment as well, but this is also simpler, so without further ado, take 2!

Ability Rolls
A player character may attempt an action in the game that lacks a corresponding rule. In such instances, the most relevant attribute of the PC might be their Ability Score. To ensure that higher-level characters have better odds of success, the following approach should be adopted:
The player must roll a percentile roll and then add their chosen Ability Score (IE., the 3-18 score, not the bonus) that the GM deems most appropriate, along with any assigned difficulty bonus or penalty. The table below provides guidance on determining success based on whether the total rolled is greater than or equal to the Target number.
LevelxxxxxTarget
NM or 1xxxxx9%
2-3xxxxxxxxx14%
4-5xxxxxxxxx19%
6-7xxxxxxxxx24%
8-9xxxxxxxxx29%
10-11xxxxxxx34%
12-13xxxxxxx39%
14-15xxxxxxx44%
16-17xxxxxxx49%
18-19xxxxxxx54%
20xxxxxxxxxx59%

Add the score of the relevant ability as a %, IE 15 strength adds 15% to the target.
Standard bonus’ for task difficulty on the dice roll.

Very Easy:xxxxx+20%
Easy:xxxxxxxxxx+10%
Average:xxxxxxx0%
Difficult:xxxxxxx-10%
Very Difficult:xxx-20%

Examples of Ability checks are
Strength:xxxxxSwimming (Average)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxOpening stuck door (Average)
Intelligence:xxxPerception (Average)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxDeciphering Ancient Texts (Difficult)
Wisdom:xxxxxxFirst Aid (Difficult, Average for Cleric)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxIdentifying a plant or herb (Average)
Dexterity:xxxxxRide (Average)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxJuggling (Average)
Constitution:xxxxHolding Breath (Average)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxEnduring Extreme Temperatures (Difficult)
Charisma:xxxxxSing or Act (Average)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxDeceiving Someone (Average)

[ThorinSchmidt]

I am curious, why do an increase every other level? If you just said, add your level*2 and your ability score to the base difficulty, you wouldn't need a table at all. It is a minimal increase, to be sure, but then, every character of every class would be guaranteed at least *something* for each level-up.

a +2 multiplier would only get you to 40%, but maybe use a *3 multiplier? that would wind up at 60%, which is only 6 more than 54, vs 14 less.

[Boggo]

Because that's what it is in the current core rules

Though if I'm working your method out, an average difficulty task at 1st level for someone with an ability of 11 would be 13% rather than 15%

though at 9th level your method gives 29% rather than 35% my numbers were calculated to keep the chances roughly similar for an average person to the rules in the core rulebook

[ThorinSchmidt]

O well, there you go then. I just personally dislike tables. I prefer a nice easy formula. But I know that there are lots of table-lovers out there.

I keep trying to explain to my son the nice easy formula to figure out how much insulin to take (it really is simple) but he prefers to use the chart the hospital
made for him (using the formula).

[quozl]

I like the 3% per level that ThorinSchmidt suggested.

LevelxxxxxTarget
1xxxxxxxxx3%
2xxxxxxxxx6%
3xxxxxxxxx9%
4xxxxxxxxx12%
5xxxxxxxxx15%
6xxxxxxxxx18%
7xxxxxxxxx21%
8xxxxxxxxx24%
9xxxxxxxxx27%
10xxxxxxxx30%
11xxxxxxxx33%
12xxxxxxxx36%
13xxxxxxxx39%
14xxxxxxxx42%
15xxxxxxxx45%
16xxxxxxxx48%
17xxxxxxxx51%
18xxxxxxxx54%
19xxxxxxxx57%
20xxxxxxxx60%

[Boggo]

Fair enough, I chose the numbers and the level breaks I did so than an character with an average ability (11 because 10.5 isn't a thing ) has the same chance of successes as the ability roll rules in the core rules, and pretty much nothing else except hp changes every level.

[JugglinDan]

Fair enough, I chose the numbers and the level breaks I did so than an character with an average ability (11 because 10.5 isn't a thing ) has the same chance of successes as the ability roll rules in the core rules, and pretty much nothing else except hp changes every level.

That's a solid rationale. How close are the odds when compared to the core ability rolls if you allow use of the ability modifiers on the roll? I know I could work it out on AnyDice, but I'm feeling lazy right now.

Personally, in my current F2F game, I started with a "roll under your ability score" system but quickly abandoned that because the odds of success were greatly out of line with the rest of the core rules. I then moved to the optional ability rolls with the ability modifier added when appropriate. Now I mostly use the x-in-6 approach. If the situation is covered by the rules, then great. If not, I just decide on the fly how difficult it is, and if it's worth a roll at all (not so easy that it's trivial, or so hard that it's impossible). My solo oracle table is handy for me in these situations. I just have to decide if the odds of success are "has to be", "very likely", "likely", "unsure/50-50", "unlikely", "very unlikely", or "impossible". These names correspond to at least some versions of the Mythic GME oracle, and the odds of my system are really close to the odds in Mythic.

But whatever works for you and your table is the right approach I think. I play a lot of solo games as well, so my d6 oracle is second nature to me. It's really just putting labels on the traditional x-in-6 approach.