Stuff of Legends - Character Basics: Attributes and Confidence

Full disclosure - since the last post about Stuff of Legends, the game and design had undergone some streamlining and restructuring. I'd like to believe the current iteration of the below is better than what I had presented last time.

Characters in Stuff of Legends are similar to the ones in D&D. There, that's on the table now. The full concept and original intention behind Stuff of Legends is a type of OSR game with a very different approach to characters ad progress, very similar to what BareBones Fantasy did, I think.

Every PC in Stuff of Legends has several important bits: attributes, confidence, skills, titles, traits and derivative stats. On top of all those stands the "level", called tier. The tier does not really matter.

Today's I'd like to cover attributes and confidence.

Attributes in Stuff of Legends are half of the core of characters, next to skills. There are a total of 5 attributes and they have a natural range of 0 to 5 although racial modifiers may bring an attribute as low as -1 or as high as 7. Each attribute, when it is high enough, gives an attribute bonus which is usually applied to certain rolls but also sometimes apply elsewhere. Attributes at 0 or -1 impose restrictions on characters.

The five attributes are Strength (STR), Health (HLT), Dexterity (DEX), Intellect (INT) and Essence (ESS):

• Strength - STR is the measure of raw physical power a character has, as well as the primary attribute for most combat types. It's the basis for many physical skill rolls and the bonus from strength is applied to the damage of most attacks.
  A strength of 0 means the character cannot help others in strength rolls or wield a weapon larger than medium.
  A strength of -1 means the character cannot make strength rolls at all, nor aid others in strength rolls. They also cannot wield a weapon larger than light.
• Health - HLT is the measure of the overall physical condition of a character and an important attribute for all characters. A character's Endurance is derived from their health.
  A health of 0 means the character
• Dexterity - DEX is the measure of a character's overall speed and coordination and an important attribute of all combat types and some expertise types. Nearly all attack rolls rely on dexterity and the bonus from dexterity aids ranged damage.
  A dexterity of 0 means the character cannot aid others in dexterity rolls or take aim.
  A dexterity of -1 means the character cannot make dexterity rolls at all, nor aid others in dexterity rolls.
• Intellect - INT is the measure of a character's overall intelligence, cognitive abilities and focus and the primary attribute for magic types and some expertise types. Intellect applies to many skills and its bonus aids in spellcasting and mental skills.
  An intellect of 0 means the character cannot aid others in intellect rolls or learn or cast magic.
  An intellect of -1 means the character cannot make any intellect rolls or aid others in intellect rolls. They also cannot learn or cast magic nor can they magical implements or devices.
• Essence - ESS is the measure of a character's magical potential and it is important strictly for spell casters. It affects the amount of Mana a character has and the potential power of their spells.
  An essence of 0 means the character is magically impotent and cannot cast magic.
  An essence of -1 does not naturally occur. If a character does have an essence of -1, they become a type of magical vacuum and the GM is suggested to interpret this as they see fit.

Along these five fairly fixed attributes, there's also Confidence. Confidence is an ever-changing attribute that applies any time a character makes a skill roll. By default every character has 3 confidence, but this serves as a base number when characters begin a new adventure. Some races have a higher or lower base and traits (below) may change a character's base confidence.

Confidence goes up or down in certain situations:

• When a character rolls a successful double or higher, they gain 1 confidence.
• When a character wins a contest, they gain 1 confidence.
• Whenever a character would receive a Legend Points from their Title's core feature, they may instead gain 1 confidence.
• When a character rolls a failed double or higher, they lose 1 confidence.
• When a character loses a contest, they lose 1 confidence.

*Note: I would like some input on more opportunities to increase or decrease confidence.*

That's what I got for this post. Another may go up today about skills, titles and traits.
As usual, any comments and critiques are welcome. Granted, I would like to discuss any critique you might have, so that I may learn.