and anybody else out there, how does one handle VERY low stats (1/2)It's possible for characters to have a score of 1. How do scores that low affect them? Thought there was a rule but I can't find it 2/2
— Fury (@TheyCallMeFury) September 20, 2017
Believe 3 is the minimum – 1 would be a -5 modifier
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) September 20, 2017
Three is the normal minimum (if rolling 4d6 and dropping the lowest for attribute generation).
That can technically be modified downward, however.
For example, if you play as an Orc or a Kobold from Volo’s Guide To Monsters, they have a -2 to Intelligence and a -2 to Strength, respectively. So if you roll a 3 and assign it to the appropriate attribute, it can be reduced further to a 1 in Intelligence for the Orc or a 1 in Strength for the Kobold.
That could be very dangerous, however, is you run into a monster with something like Strength Drain. I know for a fact that if you reach 0 Strength, you die. I think the same thing happens if you hit 0 Intelligence too, but I’m less sure on that.
Fun fact – a creature with 1 Intelligence is as smart as a frog, lizard, beetle, or simlar. Most ordinary beasts like cats, goats, and horses are 2 Intelligence. Particularly trainable animals like dogs tend to be around a 3 Intelligence. And normally at around 4 Intelligence you start seeing magical beasts and creatures that can speak some sort of language.
Kobolds and orcs can have scores on 1 in Str and int i believe.