Attribute and skill modifiers

Gaia Gamma will use direct attribute and skill values for tests, as explained in an older post. Nonetheless there also will be attribute modifiers that influence other areas in the game.
Examples include:

• Influencing secondary attributes (like the base movement rate which is affected by the dexterity modifier).
• Influencing direct rolls (like the strength modifier that adds to melee combat damage).

Since skills and attributes are ranked on the same scale, it would be natural to also include skill modifiers derived from the current skill score in the same way that the attribute modifier derives from the attribute score.

But why would you want to have them? Because they provide a neat and uniform way to describe the effects of skills based on the skill of the user. E.g. the jumping skill (if it existed) might allow to jump 3 yards plus (20 inches times the skill modifier). Now Gaia Gamma will not include such a fiddly skill, but it's easy to see how this could be used to find results for money earned by performances in taverns, how the time required to fix a machine could be calculated (base time plus machine complexity minus the skill modifier) and so on. So far these ideas are preliminary since I have one specific other use in mind that I will elaborate in one of the next posts.

Before closing for today here is the table showing the modifier for a given score (the so-called universal modifier table or UMT for short):

Whether the above level of detail survives the design phase in this blog will have to be seen. Till then let me know your thoughts.