I agree. The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that the stat blocks for NPCs should just have the attributes listed. This solves a few rule gaps currently being patched with ‘defaulting’ rules:IMO i think that the npc should list their STR, CON and WILL on their character sheet. Specifically if a character has a damage die, then they can have an appropriate value (such as 13 if they have a d4), while they can list CON/Will in case they have several stacks of ROBUST/focused (otherwise it is easy to calculate what their CON/WIL is, sense it is equal to their HP/WP), but otherwise if nothing else is listed assume a standard value, like 9 similar to the Skill Base Chance.
This makes it easy to keep track off, and it is primarily these three attributes that are used for effects against spells and such.
* Resistance rolls that require a particular attribute (e.g. STR, CON) are easy as the information is right there - no need to back calculate from derived ratings.
* Variance in ‘default’ skill levels caused by non-average attributes, ie the default non-skilled check is apparently 5, but if AGL is 13 or 16 (due to an AGL based damage modifier) then logically the base chance for an AGL based skill is 6 or 7 respectively, not 5.
* Opposed rolls not covered by skills (e.g. an arm-wrestle) are still (from my current read) difficult to adjudicate.
Just including attributes on the stat blocks seems like an easier solution to a number of problems.
(Aside: If you included attributes for Monsters you also don’t need to make Monsters immune to things like poison etc, which seems like the sort of thing a PC might like to try to do when fighting or dealing with something tough - they could just have high attributes; I am aware that ship has probably sailed however).