What's the purpose of Strength?

[Reshy]

Alright, I'd like to get an answer about this, but what's the purpose of the strength attribute within the context of the game?  Strength is not factored into most skills within the game, so what's the point in investing into strength even as a close-quarters brawler type?


Second, while we're on the topic of attributes, what's the point in investing into any attribute unless you can reach the next "tier" of linked skill support?  Even then wouldn't it be more cost-effective to just improve the skill instead of paying a premium for a bonus that only matters 1/3rd of the time?

[monbvol]

Carrying capacity.

Also there could be situations where a GM calls for an attribute check rather than a skill check.

More for other skills untrained skill checks can be an incentive as well.

Attribute links if you choose the right attributes for AToW you can get a bonus a lot more than 1/3rd of the time.

[Reshy]

Carrying capacity.

Also there could be situations where a GM calls for an attribute check rather than a skill check.

More for other skills untrained skill checks can be an incentive as well.

Attribute links if you choose the right attributes for AToW you can get a bonus a lot more than 1/3rd of the time.

Carrying stuff matters less when you have things that exist specifically to carry things for you... like a vehicle.  Even then, it doesn't seem like many skills you'd imagine being conventionally strength-related are actually strength related.  Climbing, Archery, Martial Arts, Melee Weapons, etc. don't factor in skill at all.

Attributes only matter at 7+ for linked bonuses, for the amount of experience to go from a 4 to a 7, I could just purchase a 7 in a particular skill, gaining seven times the benefit.

[Daryk]

If I remember right, there's also a strength minimum for Battle Armor training.

[Kharim]

And with high strength You can always present Your muscles and say: "Check out this sick gains!"
Which could work as either seduction or intimidation attempt.
Also imagine being stuck inside a damaged vechicle, and using brute force to tear  your way out.

[monbvol]

Carrying stuff matters less when you have things that exist specifically to carry things for you... like a vehicle.  Even then, it doesn't seem like many skills you'd imagine being conventionally strength-related are actually strength related.  Climbing, Archery, Martial Arts, Melee Weapons, etc. don't factor in skill at all.

Attributes only matter at 7+ for linked bonuses, for the amount of experience to go from a 4 to a 7, I could just purchase a 7 in a particular skill, gaining seven times the benefit.

Relying on a vehicle to carry things for your character depends on how evil your GM is for how good of an idea it is.

At the very least you'll want to plan out what your character carries while on foot.

While Strength may not be a link attribute to those skills it can have some pretty important effects, like determining how much damage you do, how fast you can climb*, and thanks to the aforementioned direct attribute checks can cover certain fuzzy areas in the use of those skills.

Where the XP break even point for where it becomes better to get an attribute bonus versus using the XP to increase skills does depend on what level of skills you want and how many you want that can benefit from an attribute bonus.

There are also considerations as mentioned of attribute minimums to do certain things.  Inner Sphere Battle Armor training, Special Pilot Abilities, certain modules, and maybe even character concepts can all demand minimum attribute levels.

Also worth mentioning is that untrained skills are attribute checks in A Time of War, with a penalty I should mention, so that can be an incentive to invest in attributes beyond certain points too.

*Which reminds me, how far your character can walk, run, swim, crawl, and climb in a turn are linked to certain attributes.  So if you want to move farther in a turn you can invest in the relevant attributes and get a boost to all those ratings while certain skills only improve certain movement rates.

[Kharim]

Also it covers arm wrestling!

Remember this are role-play games, not roll-play.

[monbvol]

Plus a GM can always say a situation is a bit unusual and suddenly say that a different attribute might be a more appropriate link attribute on a skill roll.

[Atlas3060]

I could have sworn there's a rule for melee weapons, where damage is increased 1 point per 4 or strength.

[monbvol]

Page 180 in damage resolution.

To be fair to the OP though he's asking the question of "Why should I get Strength 5 when 4 seems to be perfectly fine?" or roughly along those lines.

There are answers to that question but how good of answers they are I do have to admit largely depend on the GM and the style of campaign being played.

[Col Toda]

When looking for minimum Stat levels look at the age chart what do you need to have to not get penalties and stay in a cockpit as the character hits 51-61 years of age . Battletech Canon has many 70-80 year olds who do not retire at all. It also helps to have the fast learner and tough traits to offset the Slow learner and glass jaw negative traits you get with age.

[Tai Dai Cultist]

ATOW is a game where if you look at it as a wargame rather than a RPG (i.e. you forget about Rule Zero) there are lots of "holes" where a rules optimizer might find quirks or loopholes.  Strength of 1-4 doing the same amount of melee damage being one such example, and needing to get all the way to 9 strength to have any measurable impact on melee damge over strength 5 being another.

But it's a RPG, not a wargame.  If the rules optimizer sees 5 strength gets +2 damage for melee and figures that's going to be "just as good" as 8 strength for his purposes, that's not recognizing that the GM might say "well this instance involves a High G world or High G DropShip burn, and I'm adding my own extra penalties to these strength-involved tasks that aren't in the book to recognize the higher gravity affecting you PCs..."

[monbvol]

*nod*

That is kind of the thing about AToW.  By making a lot of things up to the GM the system has put in a lot of subtle ways to give value to non-optimal stats.

[BiggRigg42]

The strength score increases the damage of melee attacks.

Melee (Unarmed):  (Winner's STR/4)+(Winner's MoS x 0.25)

Melee (Armed): (Weapon Damage)+(Winner's STR/4)+(Winner's MoSx0.25)

This looks important to me.