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Astatistic (orstat) inrole-playing games is a piece ofdata that represents a particularaspect of a fictional character. That piece of data is usually a (unitless)integer or, in some cases, aset of dice.
For some types of statistics, this value may be accompanied with a descriptive adjective, sometimes called aspecialisation oraspect, that either describes how the character developed that particular score or an affinity for a particular use of that statistic (likeSpecialisations inArs Magica orAttribute Aspects inAria).
Most games divide their statistics into several categories. The set of categories actually used in a game system, as well as the precise statistics within each category, vary greatly. The most often used types of statistic include:
There is no standard nomenclature for statistics; for example, bothGURPS and theStorytelling System refer to their statistics as "traits", even though they are treated as attributes and skills.
Many games make use ofderived statistics whose values depend on other statistics, which are known asprimary orbasic statistics. Game-specific concepts such asexperience levels,alignment,character class andrace can also be considered statistics.
An attribute describes to what extent a character possesses a natural, in-borncharacteristic common to all characters in the game. Attributes are also called statistics, characteristics or abilities.
Most role-playing games use attributes to describe the physical and mental characteristics of characters, for example theirstrength orwisdom. Many games also include social characteristics as well, for example a character's naturalcharisma orphysical appearance. They often influence the chance to succeed in askill or other tests by addition to a die roll or by determining the number of dice to be thrown. As a consequence, usually a higher number is better, and ranges can be as small as 1–5 (for numbers of dice) or as great as 1–100 (when adding to results ofpercentile dice). In some games, attributes represent linearly increasing ability (e.g. inTunnels and Trolls, where a character can lift 10 lbs per point of Strength) whereas in others a small increase can represent a major gain in ability (e.g. in theDC Heroes/Blood of Heroes system, where +1 to Strength doubles a character's lifting capacity).
Some games work with only a few broad attributes (such asPhysical orMental), while others have a greater number of more specific ones. Most games have about 4–10 attributes.[1]
Most games try to give all attributes about the same usefulness to a character. Therefore, certain characteristics might be merged (such as merging a Charisma-type and a Willpower-type attribute into a single Personality attribute), or split into more attributes (such as splitting physical "Comeliness" from Charisma in the originalUnearthed Arcana), or even ignored altogether (for example, Intelligence and Charisma in ahack and slash adventure). In many games, a small set of primary attributes control a larger number ofderived statistics such asArmor Class ormagic points.
Duringcharacter creation, attribute scores are usually determined either randomly (by rollingdice) or by distributing character points. In some games, such asWorld of Warcraft, the base attribute scores are determined by the character's race and class (however the vast majority of stat points will be obtained through end-game gear/equipment). Because they represent common, in-born characteristics and not learned capabilities (as skills do), in many games they are fixed for the duration of the game. However, in some games they can be increased by spendingexperience points gained during the game, or as part of the process of "levelling up".
An advantage is a physical, social, intellectual, or other enhancement to a character. In contrast, a disadvantage is an adverse effect. Advantages are also known as virtues, merits or edges and disadvantages as flaws or hindrances, or by the abbreviation "disads".
Many games encourage or even force players to take disadvantages for their characters in order tobalance their advantages or other "positive" statistics. Disadvantages also add flavor to a character that can't be obtained solely by a list of positive traits. Advantages and disadvantages often have a thematic element to them. They often provide a direct relationship between how someone wants to role-play their character and a tangible "in-game" enhancement to skill or ability rolls.
Systems of advantages and disadvantages are often criticized for allowing or even encouragingmin-maxing, where a player strives to take disadvantages which have little or no tangible effect on play while using the character points gained from those disadvantages to pay for powerful advantages.
Character points are abstract units used in somerole-playing games duringcharacter creation and development.
Early role-playing games such asDungeons & Dragons assigned random values to aplayer character'sattributes, while allowing each character a fixed number of skills. As a result, characters were at the same time wildly unbalanced in terms of attributes and heavily constrained in terms of skills.Champions (1981) introduced a points-based system of purchasing attributes and skills as a means of improving game balance and flexibility. These points are known as character points, and it has become a feature of numerous later games, most notablyGURPS.
Usually, a player is allotted a number of points for character creation. A character's attributes (such as high intelligence), skills (such as fixing a car ormechanics), or powers (such as flying) can then be bought for a certain number of points. More powerful abilities or a greater degree of power will require more "spending" of character points. Later, character points can be earned and spent to improve attributes or skills, or to buy new skills or powers. In some games, such asChampions, these points areexperience points; in others, such asArs Magica, there is a more complicated relationship between experience points and character points.
A power represents a unique or special quality that a character can use.
In many games, powers are binaryon-or-off qualities as opposed toattributes andskills which are usually numeric quantities. The main exception to this issuperhero RPGs, wheresuperpowers are often treated as a sort of skill. Superpowers may also use the same rating scale as the primary statistics.
A skill represents thelearnedknowledge andabilities of a character. Skills are known by various names, including proficiencies, abilities, powers, talents and knacks.
Duringcharacter creation, aplayer character's skills are generally chosen from a long list. A character may have a fixed number of starting skills, or they may be paid for using character points. In contrast toattributes, very few games fix a player's skills at the start of the game, instead allowing players to increase them by spendingexperience points or during "levelling up". Since some skills are likely to be more useful than others, different skills often have different costs.
Skills usually influence a character's chance to succeed by adding to the relevant attribute. In some games (such asGURPS), each skill has a specific base attribute to which it is always added; in others (such asArs Magica), a skill can be added to different attributes depending on how the skill is being used. Some games (such asFeng Shui) add the base attribute to the skill at character creation time; after that, it is independent of the attribute and is used instead of the attribute rather than adding to it. Most games have a fixed penalty for attempting a task without a relevant skill; older editions ofShadowrun gave a complex network of penalties for using similar skills (such as attempting to pick an electronic lock by using the Computer skill instead of the Electronics skill). The text-based roleplaying gameAvalon: The Legend Lives is noted for being the first text based multi user role-playing game to offer a developed profession and skills system[2]. Choosing a profession then conveyed a bank of general skills and guild specific ones each containing a ladder of skills which could be invested in via lessons earned through on-line play. Initially there were around 30 such skills with approximately 17 abilities in each covering a wide range from Riding, Perception, Thievery or Demonology. As of 2015 Avalon possesses 66 Skills with 2194 distinct abilities developed over its 26-year tenure.
A trait represents a broad area of expertise of a character.
Traits are rarely drawn from a predetermined list; rather, the player chooses some description during character generation. For example, a squash-playing history professor with a knowledge of fine wines might have thetraits "History", "Squash" and "Oenology". In terms of a more fine-grained system of statistics, a singletrait would often be represented by a group ofskills, one or moreadvantages andattributes, or a combination thereof.
The first major role-playing game to use traits wasOver the Edge.[citation needed] Some systems, such asCastle Falkenstein andHeroQuest, use traits as the only type of statistic, although they may use some other term for them, such as abilities.
Many games make use of derived statistics: statistics whose values are determined only by the values of other, "basic" statistics. They often represent a single capability of the character such as the weight a character can lift, or the speed at which they can move. Some are unitless numbers, but often they use real-worldunits of measurement (such askilograms ormetres per second). Derived statistics are often used during combat (e.g.hit points,Armor Class andinitiative). Basic and derived statistics are also called primary and secondary statistics, respectively.
In games which use such concepts, derived statistics are often modified by the character'srace andclass. In addition, certain in-game methods such asspells or magical items might raise or lower these statistics temporarily.
Some games define various interdependencies between statistics of different categories, as well as within categories. The most common are: