Abilities/Strength

Strength measures bodily power, athletic training, and the extent to which you can exert raw physical force. It’s also used to determine attacks and damage using melee (hand-to-hand) weapons such as swords and daggers. Your Strength bonus determines the amount of weight you can bear. The following terms define what you can lift or carry.

Strength Checks
A Strength check can model any attempt to lift, push, pull, or break something, to force your body through a space, or to otherwise apply brute force to a situation. The Athletics skill reflects aptitude in certain kinds of Strength checks.

Climb
You attempt to climb a sheer or slippery cliff, avoid hazards while scaling a wall, or cling to a surface while something is trying to knock you off.

A climber’s kit gives you a +2 on Climb checks.

Jump
You try to jump an unusually long distance or pull off a stunt midjump.

Swim
You struggle to swim or stay afloat in treacherous currents, storm-­‐‑tossed waves, or areas of thick seaweed. Or another creature tries to push or pull you underwater or otherwise interfere with your swimming.

Other Strength Checks
The GM might also call for a Strength check when you try to accomplish tasks like the following:
 * Force open a stuck, locked, or barred door
 * Break free of bonds
 * Push through a tunnel that is too small
 * Hang on to a wagon while being dragged behind it
 * Tip over a statue
 * Keep a boulder from rolling

Attack Rolls and Damage
You add your Strength to your attack roll and your damage roll when attacking with a melee weapon such as a mace, a battleaxe, or a javelin. You use melee weapons to make melee attacks in hand-to-hand combat, and some of them can be thrown to make a ranged attack.

Carrying Capacity
You can carry a weight in pounds using the chart below...

Push, Drag, or Lift
You can push, drag, or lift a weight in pounds up to twice your carrying capacity. While pushing or dragging weight in excess of your carrying capacity, your speed drops to 1 square (5 feet).

Size and Strength
Larger creatures can bear more weight, whereas smaller creatures can carry less. For each size category above Medium, add 25 pounds to the creature’s carrying capacity and 50 pounds to the amount it can push, drag, or lift. For each size category below Medium, reduce 25 pounds from the creature’s carrying capacity and 50 pounds to the amount it can push, drag, or lift (minimum of one).