Attributes/Stats

[Sanste]

Is there any standard on this site for attributes/stats? I seen quite a few different ways of having it done. While I think flexibility is great, it also seems to make some characters more powerful just by the fact they are generalizing two stats into one. An example would be some people just say speed while others break it into agility and speed.

Also, while thinking about another character (tiny creature), I ran into another problem. Since attributes (over 1x a normal human) are currently required to be abilities, I couldn't do what I wanted to which was trade strength and turn it into a bit of speed. Here's an example: A fairy/pixie. Since they are extremely small, it would make sense for them to be very weak in comparison to a human like 1/10 to 1/100 depending. However, to offset this a bit, it would be nice to be able to move a bit faster seeing that a single hit will be much more dangerous for small creatures like that.



Anyways, here are the stats I was kind of thinking up as I was designing characters. I tried to break them up and be less general so I could more finely describe my character's abilities. However, it does have the weakness of that I need to have two abilities if I want to increase both speed and agility rather than just one to increase a combined speed/agility like I seen some people have.

Strength - How much weight a character can push, pull, lift, etc. I think most people understand this one
Speed - How fast a character can move. Does not include how fast at reacting or changing directions
Agility - How fast a character can react and change directions. Does not include how fast a character can move
Endurance - How long can a character fight at peak condition (I would say 80%+ power) before getting tired out.
Toughness - How well a character can take hits and pain tolerance.
Perception - How well a character can sense stuff. I guess this would normally be a combination of the 5 senses listed below
-Seeing
-Hearing
-Touch
-Taste
-Smell
-Other - While this kind of falls into perception, I would personally classify unique senses (e.g. 6th sense) as a separate attribute if it applies the character. I think sensing magic might fall into this category too rather than Perception.



Other stats I seen used/mentioned. (I personally don't think these should be used in general. Maybe some in certain circumstances but not for every character)

Stamina - Basically the same as I described endurance
Fitness - Basically the same as I described endurance although it could be used as a general stat to describe more of the stats I listed above.
Dexterity - Flexibility and muscle control.
Intelligence - The capacity a person has to remember facts and reiterate them comprehensibly
Charisma - How good you are at talking to people and getting them to like you.
Wisdom - Being able to take all that raw data and analyze them in a way that you can reiterate them in way that helps to explain a concept
Aptitude - Ability to learn new information. Basically, allows you to pick up knowledge more easily.
Spirit - How much magical capacity a person has.
Mind - Same as Spirit
Luck - I think most people know what luck is.
Will - Willpower. How determined someone is and the ability to continue fighting against spells, enchantments, etc.




So what are people's thoughts on this issue? I already heard a few talks about it but I know there are a lot more opinions out there.

Edit: Ganther brought up some stats I completely forgot about. Added them to the list in red.
Edit2: Added in some other stats that were brought up. I'm using Ganther's definitions for Intelligence and Wisdom since it seem clear and concise.

[Ashla]

I like this idea! A lot! I do consider abilities as in using magic and any other power which require training in magic or simply blood-line traits (like being born with the ability due to heritage, like my character). And while yes, super-strength is a superpower for superheroes, just by exercising you could become for flexible and faster, so I don't think that would fall as abilities. So I really like this idea!

[hoytti]

I honestly believe these should be mandatory in a intro thread. It would be under abilities since that's what they are, abilities.
Example with Sorish Mon Larsh
Strength: 1X Human Strength = can lift 300 lbs of weight

Speed:

In Water: 1.5X human speed = 22.5 MPH

Out of Water: 1X human speed = 15 MPH

Agility:

Balance: 1X human balance

Dexterity: 1.5X human dexterity = 37 hand-eye coordination test

Flexibility: .5X human flexability = 16 cm sit and reach test

Endurance: 1.5X human endurance = 15 minutes 300 lbs 15 MPH out of water

Toughness:

Dry: 1X human toughness = can take a few hits but will tire quickly

Wet: 2X human toughness = can take many minor cuts due to Coral Healing ability which heals minor cuts in minutes.

Perception: 1.5X human ability = as an explorer, he knows to always watch his surroundings. Not easy to sneak up on him especially when he has Roxi in the back of his head.

Intelligence: He has a high intelligence but not super high. He is especially knowledgeable when it comes to geography and magic but is low in hieroglyphs.

Charisma: He doesn't really like to make people do stuff but when it is needed he will take charge. He also has a friendly personality that is easy to get along with

Wisdom: What is the use of Knowledge without the ability to use it? Sorish does not only know information about environments but also knows how to use that information to work for him. For example. Lets say Sorish is in a forest in unmarked territory when suddenly he is attacked by another traveler who is aggressive. He can use his knowledge on the basics of forests to lead the aggressor into a trap.


Extra abilities:

Water magic:

Water Bubble - A 2 cubic meter bubble of water appears for one minute and can be used twice per hour.

Water Gun - When used in water makes a strong current but when used on land requires Water Bubble and shoots it out at the enemy.
moderate damage, about as much as a really strong punch, he can sustain it for 6 seconds, and can use it 3 times per hour

Breathing Bubbles - 2 Bubbles that he places around his gills when he leaves the water.
Sustainable till he enters water. No attack or defense Stat Change. just makes him able to breath.

Rain Dance - Requires Water Bubble. When used the Water bubble changes into a creature which dances around Sorish protecting him from fire and small projectiles for 3 seconds. After this time it returns to being a bubble and it begins to rain in 1/2 mile radius. Rain lasts for an hour.


Gills - For breathing under water

Coral Regeneration- While wet Sorish heals at 1 mm every ten seconds via Coral Regeneration, lasts as long as he is wet. While dry it takes about the same amount of times it would any normal human. While active, ability absorbs water at at 2x normal rate drying him five seconds after water source stops.

Sea Creature - Due to being born and raised in the water, Sorish isn't as easily effected by it. The only way water effects him is if there is a really strong current in the water, However the flip side is that he is slower on land due to his slime hardening constantly.

Coldblooded - Coralians are cold blooded so they are extremely slow in the cold, however, they will not hibernate.

No Groin Shot - Coralians do not reproduce from the groin so they are not effected any differently from any other parts of the body being hit.

[Gunther]

How about Intelligence, Charisma and Wisdom?

[Aurelianus Drak'shal]

Are more how you roleplay than an actual ability. In my opinion.

[Gunther]

Are more how you roleplay than an actual ability. In my opinion.A reflection of the author. Sure, I get that. Sometimes Charisma does not translate well into text whereas wisdom and Intelligence can be perceived quite easily.

[Sanste]

Completely forgot about those stats Gunther. Thank you for mentioning them. I added them to the main post in red. Although, is wisdom and intelligence the same?

[Lye]

There is also Spirit or Mind in some cases to quantify macigal capacity. Luck is also mentioned. Will has been used in some cases to quantify willpower.

[Gunther]

Completely forgot about those stats Gunther. Thank you for mentioning them. I added them to the main post in red. Although, is wisdom and intelligence the same?RPGs tend to define those abilities as being necessary for different types of magic casters. I would define Intelligence as the capacity a person has to remember facts and reiterate them comprehensibly. Wisdom is being able to take all that raw data and analyze them in a way that you can reiterate them in way that helps to explain a concept. Aptitude to learn is intelligence and wisdom is the ability to construct a thought process using this retained information. This is simply my subjective interpretation. I'm sure Webster and 10,000,000 others could define them differently. ;)

[Aurelianus Drak'shal]

I personally have a lot of experience with tabletop roleplay, which does use those stats.

But I don't believe they are right for Althanas. Physical stats, yes, because they have a direct impact on how someone interacts with another character, but I have never liked adding mental stats (namely Intelligence and Wisdom) to PbP roleplaying boards such as this. They limit creativity too much, as in the tabletop games, by defining what stats people use for casting, or saying who's smarter or has more common sense than the others. But it does not cover all possibilities.

Blood magic, people who use sheer willpower to cast, elemental magic.. none of these are adequately covered by either Intelligence or Wisdom. I believe those stats should be entirely up to the writer to determine, without being limited by the numbers.

[hoytti]

Wisdom - Going to say this is the same as intelligence but maybe I'm wrong[/COLOR]

Wisdom is the ability to know how to use the knowledge you gain to your advantage. An example is stated below


Wisdom: What is the use of Knowledge without the ability to use it? Sorish does not only know information about environments but also knows how to use that information to work for him. For example. Lets say Sorish is in a forest in unmarked territory when suddenly he is attacked by another traveler who is aggressive. He can use his knowledge on the basics of forests to lead the aggressor into a trap.

[Aurelianus Drak'shal]

Intelligence is book smarts.

Wisdom is common sense.

Simple. Or at least, that's always how I've been taught / read it.

[Atzar]

I personally have a lot of experience with tabletop roleplay, which does use those stats.

But I don't believe they are right for Althanas. Physical stats, yes, because they have a direct impact on how someone interacts with another character, but I have never liked adding mental stats (namely Intelligence and Wisdom) to PbP roleplaying boards such as this. They limit creativity too much, as in the tabletop games, by defining what stats people use for casting, or saying who's smarter or has more common sense than the others. But it does not cover all possibilities.

Blood magic, people who use sheer willpower to cast, elemental magic.. none of these are adequately covered by either Intelligence or Wisdom. I believe those stats should be entirely up to the writer to determine, without being limited by the numbers.

Absolutely agree with this take.

I'm going to bluntly state my bias from the start: I greatly favor the writing element of the game/writing alloy we have here.

With that in mind, I'm not a fan of strictly enumerating all of these personal statistics. And while I recognize that physical attributes are necessary to an extent for battles, for the purposes of everything else they're somewhere between nuisance and filler. I'm just trying to write a story. A page of stats doesn't get me any closer to achieving that end.

[Sanste]

Updated the main list on the initial post.


I personally have a lot of experience with tabletop roleplay, which does use those stats.

But I don't believe they are right for Althanas. Physical stats, yes, because they have a direct impact on how someone interacts with another character, but I have never liked adding mental stats (namely Intelligence and Wisdom) to PbP roleplaying boards such as this. They limit creativity too much, as in the tabletop games, by defining what stats people use for casting, or saying who's smarter or has more common sense than the others. But it does not cover all possibilities.

Blood magic, people who use sheer willpower to cast, elemental magic.. none of these are adequately covered by either Intelligence or Wisdom. I believe those stats should be entirely up to the writer to determine, without being limited by the numbers.

I definitely agree about magical attributes. I do not think they have a place in this type of world. It's up the writer in my mind to make the character behaves as s/he wishes. However, I have them included on the second list just so people can read the initial post to see what all people have said.


Absolutely agree with this take.

I'm going to bluntly state my bias from the start: I greatly favor the writing element of the game/writing alloy we have here.

With that in mind, I'm not a fan of strictly enumerating all of these personal statistics. And while I recognize that physical attributes are necessary to an extent for battles, for the purposes of everything else they're somewhere between nuisance and filler. I'm just trying to write a story. A page of stats doesn't get me any closer to achieving that end.

I have mixed feelings personally on the subject of personal statistics. I think there should be at least a few basic physical stats to let people know what the character can do. Adding a few more helps clear it up in some cases. However, I think Atzar does have a valid point too.