First time player in a group figuring out things as we all go.
I just hit level four as a Ranger, and I get to improve one ability score of my choice by 2, or I can increase two ability scores of my choice by 1.
My first thought was Strength, as I've been rocking a score of 11 with a mod of +0 so far. But I read that Rangers use (wisdom mod + 10) for their spell casting modifier. Currently my wisdom is 13, with a mod of +1. If I increase either STR or WIS, will the modifier increase as well? How and why?
A Monk in our party went from 9 CON to 11 during their ability score improvement, and by doing so their modifier went from −1 to 0.
We're all pretty new, so between eight people we're currently sharing one book, and all trying to locate our own copies for later campaigns. That's making it… inefficient for us to learn these things quickly.
Best Answer
Typically you'll be able to make an improvement to your stats at level 4, 8, 12, 16 and 19.
The ability modifier is based on your ability score. If you look on p.13 of the PHB you'll see the chart.
\begin{array}{cc} \text{Score} & \text{Modifier} \\ \hline 1 & -5\\ 2\text{–}3 & -4\\ 4\text{–}5 & -3\\ 6\text{–}7 & -2\\ 8\text{–}9 & -1\\ 10\text{–}11 & +0\\ 12\text{–}13 & +1\\ 14\text{–}15 & +2\\ 16\text{–}17 & +3\\ 18\text{–}19 & +4\\ 20 & +5\\ \vdots & \vdots \end{array}