Question to readers/players: In OD&D, I'd never noticed the prime requisite use of other abilities than each class's main one (p10 of FMC). And I can't make heads nor tails of it.
Could anyone give me an example?
Viewing post in Fantastic Medieval Campaigns comments
hi eric! that rule would transform into the point reallocation rule in the different versions of basic d&d, but in the original ruleset it is implied that there is no actual reallocation :)
for example, suppose that a fighter has 12 strength, 11 intelligence, and 12 wisdom. they have 11 - 9 = 2 points of intelligence which can count as 1 point of strength, and 12 - 9 = 3 points of wisdom which can also count as 1 point of strength. therefore their overall total “strength” for the purposes of XP is 12 + 1 + 1 = 14!
another example is that if your character has 10 strength, 15 intelligence, and 15 wisdom, the math works out so that they can also be a fighter with a virtual PR score of 10 + 3 + 2 = 15!
meanwhile, all the scores themselves seem to stay the same.
I think the bonuses for prime requisites are there to encourage you to play an archetype based on your ability scores e.g I'm strong so I'll be a fighter. The 'virtual' reallocation from other stats gives you a bit of differentiation and reward for having another above average ability - the fighter's strong but also smart so advances faster.
I was browsing through FMC today and ran into that creatively explained rule again and was like "I'm sure I've asked about this somewhere, but why is it still unclear now?"
Because I'd forgotten about asking and never saw Marcia's answer, is why!
So please accept my apologies for my short attention span as well as my thanks for explaining, Marcia. And again, thanks for gifting us FMC. OD&D is a fascinating artefact and you've been doing great work to help us make use of it.