Dexterity

Dexterity (Dex) encompasses several physical attributes including hand-eye
coordination, agility, reaction speed, reflexes, and balance. Dexterity affects a
character’s reaction to a threat or surprise, his accuracy with thrown weapons
and bows, and his ability to dodge an enemy’s blows. It is the prime requisite
of rogues and affects their professional skills. A rogue with a Dexterity score
of 16 or higher gains a 10% bonus to the experience points he earns.

Reaction Adjustment modifies the die roll to see if a character is surprised when he unexpectedly
encounters NPCs. The more positive the modifier, the less likely the character
is to be surprised.

Missile Attack Adjustment is used to modify a character’s die roll whenever he uses a missile weapon (a
bow or a thrown weapon). A positive number makes it easier for the character to
hit with a missile, while a negative number makes it harder.

Defensive Adjustment applies to a character’s saving throws (see Glossary) against attacks that can be dodged–lightning bolts, boulders, etc. It also
modifies the character’s Armor Class (see Glossary), representing his ability
to dodge normal missiles and parry weapon thrusts. For example, Rath is wearing
chain mail, giving him an Armor Class of 5. If his Dexterity score is 16, his
Armor Class is modified by -2 to 3, making him harder to hit. If his Dexterity
score is 5, his Armor Class is modified by +2 to 7, making him easier to hit.
(In some situations, beneficial Dexterity modifiers to Armor Class do not apply.
Usually this occurs when a character is attacked from behind or when his
movement is restricted–attacked while prone, tied up, on a ledge, climbing a rope,
etc.)

Table of Contents