How would you name the stats in your RPG?

[Dodo1610]

• Courage

• Wisdom

• Charisma

• Dexterity

• Agility

• Strength

• Intuition

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

It's a difficult subject. If you make the attributes granular, you can simulate anything, but end up with some stats with niche and/or low utilization. Your system also becomes bloated and less comprehensive. If you a fewer but more broadly defined attributes, there can be some undesirable and non-intuitive results that result in a lot of bootstrapping. The attributes also mean little outside the context of a skill/class system. What I have here is intended to be used in a steampunk, Arcanum-like setting.

Attributes

• Finesse (Action point maximum, movement, reflexes, weapon attack, agility, initiative)
• Constitution (Action point regeneration, HP, health, bonus melee/thrown damage, encumbrance, endurance, strength)
• Reasoning (Skill quantity maximum, learn skill %, spell casting, knowledge checks
• Perception (Maximum range, detection, initiative, insight/assessment, overcome concealment)
• Resolve (Diplomacy, barter, will, effort resource, performance, concentration)

Skills

• Martial (Weapons, warfare, tactics, etc.)
• Arcane (Magic/Technology)
• Athletics (Dodging, climbing, swimming, acrobatics, etc.)
• Survival (Navigation, first aid, wilderness skills)
• Social (Diplomacy, trade, leadership, culture, language, etc.)

Skills represent reliability and training (number of dice rolled, take highest), attributes reflect natural ability (scope of dice). So, lets say a solider is examining an advanced firearm. They have d6 Reasoning and 2 Martial. They would roll 2d6 and take the highest to determine what they know about it. Theoretically, most attributes can be combined with most skills to simulate whatever you want. The separation of scope vs reliability also permits interesting match-ups, like a novice savant (1d10) vs an experienced every-man (2d6). Also, everyone, no matter how seasoned can still trip on their shoe strings--even if rarely. This division also gives a lot of options for modifying rolls through items, abilities, and effects.

I have only really two complaints with this. While combining Strength into Constitution is a huge improvement, it creates a situation where something small and tough (like a gnome) will also be strong without applying some kind of size modifier. This is less elegant than I like. The utilization spread is otherwise pretty good, with Finesse probably being the most weighted, and Resolve being the least. I created an extra expendable resource called "Effort", which is derived from Resolve. It allows you to add 1 Resolve die to certain rolls like, action point regeneration, or a single attack. Some uses might be contingent on certain talent/feat selections (like resisting a spell, or stabilizing on 0 HP). I have another mechanic for Perception, which allows a character to study a target and gain a relevant insight bonus.

I have several other iterations, and I constantly move between them, changing things. I've gone as low as 3 stats, or as high as 8. It's something that's very easy to be OCD about. It's one of those situations where perfect is the enemy of good.

 

[Simple Simon]

One thing I think would be interesting would be to bring more focus to wealth in stats. In real life, a lot of things that are simulated as Charisma, Intelligence, Perception, or even Endurance (in the sense that a well-fed person is generally a healthier person) are tied pretty close to wealth. I realize social mobility makes games more interesting, and thus usually it is relatively easy to make money in games (so you can buy gear, housing, etc.). However, I think it would be cool to tackle these kind of social class concepts in an RPG. Even games like Kingdom Come:Deliverance, which seem to focus on realism to some extent, give you some pretty easy ways to get food/good gear/a horse/housing.

 

[Bohrain]

That's because games usually have a short timespan so you need to sacrifice some realism if you want to become richer ingame. Crusader Kings or something that spans along generations handle it more realistically.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

The most important part of naming attributes is making them an acronym

Dexterity
Endurance
Charisma
Luck
Intelligence
Nerve
Energy

It doesn't need to make sense nor do the stats need to be self-explanatory as long as it is an acronym.

 

[Lord_Potato]

One more try:

Perception
Endurance
Nimbleness
Intellect
Strength

Yeah,that sounds quite right.

 

[a Goat]

BIG CHUNGUS
BIG DONGUS
BIG MUSCLUS

 

[Sigourn]

1. Vigor (Strength)
   
2. Acuity (Perception)
3. Mettle (Endurance)
4. Wits (Intelligence)
   
5. Celerity (Agility)
6. Fortune (Luck)
   
7. Grace (Charisma)
   
8. Vitality (HP)
   
9. Spirits (MP)

 

[TheImplodingVoice]

One more try:

Perception
Endurance
Nimbleness
Intellect
Strength

Yeah,that sounds quite right.

 

[111111111]

I would add a gay stat that acts as a modifier for your other stats.

 

[thesheeep]

I would add a gay stat that acts as a modifier for your other stats.

So gay = luck?

 

[111111111]

I would add a gay stat that acts as a modifier for your other stats.

So gay = luck?

Like your gay stat directly increases your charisma when talking to girls if your male but when talking to like a religious person it nukes it hard.

Similar ideas for every other interaction.

 

[vota DC]

Puissance
Adroitness
Sagaciousness
Duende
Serendipity

Setting: An RPG with at least over 1.2 million words.

Not stats, but there is a game with skills named that way
http://worlds-end.wikia.com/wiki/Chapter_1_Skills

 

[Machocruz]

Tolerance
Understanding
Micro-aggression
Banality
Liberalism
Rhetoric

 

[HarveyBirdman]

Offense
Defence
Mike Pence

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

Lifted - Strength
Didn't Lift - Intelligence
Kinda Lifted - Dexterity
Too Old To Lift - Wisdom
Doesn't Need To Lift - Charisma

 

[BING XI LAO]

Chadness: physical stat, also increases bravery and the number of romances you run simultaneously before they get mad at you
Autism: grants resistance to mental attacks, grants big skill boost to selected skills, but also limits social interactions and you may go berserk/catatonic at the wrong time
Faggotry: increases your knowledge of lore, high culture and fashion - and ability to wield dark magic based on sexual perversion and human sacrifice, but you may find the gods of the light take against you while the gods of the dark care for you all too much

 

[Cael]

Most of them seem pretty self-explanatory now, but what the fuck is "moxie" supposed to be?

"Moxie" is an older slang/colloquialism for "guts", "intestinal fortitude", "courage", "sheer mean cussedness". A more modern version would be "balls" when used as a slang.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

For an ARPG.

Stats:
Vitallity - HP; resistance disease
Endurance - Stamina (spells use stamina too; mana is over-complicating); resistance poison/bleeding
Strength - carry weight; how much weigth you can pick up; hand-to-hand damage; Poise; requirements for some perks
Agility & Dexterity - requirement for some skills and perks; scales some weapons/skills; increase the speed of certain interactions/actions
Intelligence - number of spells; some new speech options
Charisma - how much an NPC likes you; some new speech options; party member limit
Willpower - resistance of mental spells; a lot of stat checks

Skills:
Archery
Athletics - running; jumping; swimming; climbing; acrobatics
Alteration - manipulating physical properties
Alchemy
Axe
Blade - daggers and swords
Blunt - mace, hammers, etc...
Dark Magic - summons; curses; illusions; mental spells
Elementalism - manipulation of the 5 elements (water, fire, air, earth, lightning); when expert use of 2 elements is achieved it becomes possible to combine them (ice spells, require a good level in water and air manipulation)
Hand-to-Hand
Lock-picking
Pickpocket
Polearms - staffs, spears, halberds, etc...
Stealth
Social - speechcraft; mercantile; knowledge of norms of the different social classes and factions (making disguise and infiltration easier)
White Magic - healing; protection spells; blessings; wards against undead/spirits/demons

All weapon skills tree are divided in 1 Hand and 2 Hands. Most skills are locked and require specific perks to make them available for "evolution" (for example alchemy to be unlocked requires the perk herbalism - because it allows the PC to recgnize the different plants)

 

[ManaJunkie]

Ossa longa
Ossa plana
Ossa brevia
Ossa sesamoidea
Ossa pneumatica
Ossa irregularia

 

[InD_ImaginE]

Genetic lottery
Parents financial status lottery
Country born to lottery

Its an rpg set in modern life

 

[Incendax]

Best Stat - If you think winning is fun.
Dump Stat - If you think losing is fun.

 

[Dorateen]

Grumpy
Sleepy
Sneezy
Happy
Bashful
Dopey
Doc

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

I would replace something like G.U.R.P.S. with C.C.C.M. (Codex Character Creation Memethodology)

Stats (0-10):

Chadness
Cuckness
Inceldom
Grumpiness
Stupidity

So to give an example, Crispy would be (0, 2, 09, 10, 3), while Warpig would be more like (0, 7, 10, 5, 9).

 

[Ysaye]

How about naming them Attribute 1, Attribute 2, Attribute 3 etc. and then have it so that the player rolls for those at the start without knowing what they each do? Throughout the course of the game the player has to work out which attribute affects which game mechanics through playing the game itself and then has to choose additional increases accordingly. To make it even more anti-munchkin, perhaps you could make it that no new game ever utilises the one attribute in the same way?