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A statistic (or stat) in
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...
s is a piece of
data In the pursuit of knowledge, data (; ) is a collection of discrete values that convey information, describing quantity, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning, or simply sequences of symbols that may be further interpret ...
that represents a particular aspect of a
fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...
. That piece of data is usually a (
unit Unit may refer to: Arts and entertainment * UNIT, a fictional military organization in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' * Unit of action, a discrete piece of action (or beat) in a theatrical presentation Music * ''Unit'' (a ...
less)
integer An integer is the number zero (), a positive natural number (, , , etc.) or a negative integer with a minus sign ( −1, −2, −3, etc.). The negative numbers are the additive inverses of the corresponding positive numbers. In the languag ...
or, in some cases, a set of dice. For some types of statistics, this value may be accompanied with a descriptive adjective, sometimes called a ''specialisation'' or ''aspect'', that either describes how the character developed that particular score or an affinity for a particular use of that statistic (like ''Specialisations'' in ''
Ars Magica ''Ars Magica'' is a role-playing game set in 'Mythic Europe' – a historically grounded version of Europe and the Levant around AD 1200, with the added conceit that conceptions of the world prevalent in folklore and institutions of the High ...
'' or ''Attribute Aspects'' in ''
Aria In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...
''). 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: * Attributes describe to what extent a character possesses natural, in-born characteristics common to all characters. * Advantages and disadvantages are useful or problematic characteristics that are not common to all characters. * Powers represent unique or special qualities of the character. In game terms, these often grant the character the potential to gain or develop certain advantages or to learn and use certain skills. *
Skill A skill is the learned ability to act with determined results with good execution often within a given amount of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills. For example, in the domain of w ...
s represent a character's learned
abilities Abilities are powers an agent has to perform various actions. They include common abilities, like walking, and rare abilities, like performing a double backflip. Abilities are intelligent powers: they are guided by the person's intention and exe ...
in predefined areas. * Traits are broad areas of expertise, similar to skills, but with a broader and usually more loosely defined scope, in areas freely chosen by the player. There is no standard nomenclature for statistics; for example, both ''
GURPS The ''Generic Universal RolePlaying System'', or ''GURPS'', is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting. It was created by Steve Jackson Games and first published in 1986 at a time when most such systems ...
'' and the '' Storytelling System'' refer to their statistics as "traits", even though they are treated as attributes and skills. Many games make use of derived statistics whose values depend on other statistics, which are known as ''primary'' or ''basic'' statistics. Game-specific concepts such as experience levels,
alignment Alignment may refer to: Archaeology * Alignment (archaeology), a co-linear arrangement of features or structures with external landmarks * Stone alignment, a linear arrangement of upright, parallel megalithic standing stones Biology * Struc ...
,
character class In tabletop games and video games, a character class is a job or profession commonly used to differentiate the abilities of different game characters. In role-playing games (RPGs), character classes aggregate several abilities and aptitudes, ...
and race can also be considered statistics.


Types


Attributes

An attribute describes to what extent a character possesses a natural, in-born characteristic common to all characters in the game. Attributes are also called statistics, characteristics or abilities. Most role-playing games use attributes to describe characters’ physical and mental characteristics, for example their strength or
wisdom Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledg ...
. Many games also include social characteristics as well, for example a character's natural
charisma Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects. Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...
or physical appearance. They often influence the chance to succeed in a
skill A skill is the learned ability to act with determined results with good execution often within a given amount of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills. For example, in the domain of w ...
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 of
percentile dice Dice notation (also known as dice algebra, common dice notation, RPG dice notation, and several other titles) is a system to represent different combinations of dice in wargames and tabletop role-playing games using simple algebra-like notation such ...
). In some games, attributes represent linearly increasing ability (e.g. in '' Tunnels 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 the ''
DC Heroes ''DC Heroes'' is an out-of-print superhero role-playing game set in the DC Universe and published by Mayfair Games. Other than sharing the same licensed setting, ''DC Heroes'' is unrelated to the West End Games ''DC Universe'' or the more recent ...
''/'' Blood of Heroes'' system, where +1 to Strength doubles a character's lifting capacity). Some games work with only a few broad attributes (such as ''Physical'' or ''Mental''), while others have a greater number of more specific ones. Most games have about 4–10 attributes. 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 original '' Unearthed Arcana''), or even ignored altogether (for example, Intelligence and Charisma in a
hack and slash Hack and slash, also known as hack and slay (H&S or HnS) or slash 'em up, refers to a type of gameplay that emphasizes combat with melee-based weapons (such as swords or blades). They may also feature projectile-based weapons as well (such a ...
adventure). In many games, a small set of primary attributes control a larger number of derived statistics such as Armor Class or magic points. During character creation, attribute scores are usually determined either randomly (by rolling
dice Dice (singular die or dice) are small, throwable objects with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. They are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, role-playing ...
) or by distributing character points. In some games, such as ''
World of Warcraft ''World of Warcraft'' (''WoW'') is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment. Set in the '' Warcraft'' fantasy universe, ''World of Warcraft'' takes place within the world of Azer ...
'', 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 spending
experience points An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experien ...
gained during the game, or as part of the process of " levelling up".


Advantages and disadvantages

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 to balance 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 encouraging min-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

Character points are abstract units used in some
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...
s during character creation and development. Early role-playing games such as ''
Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...
'' assigned random values to a
player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
's attributes, 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 notably ''
GURPS The ''Generic Universal RolePlaying System'', or ''GURPS'', is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting. It was created by Steve Jackson Games and first published in 1986 at a time when most such systems ...
''. 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 or ''mechanics''), 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 as ''Champions'', these points are
experience point An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experien ...
s; in others, such as ''
Ars Magica ''Ars Magica'' is a role-playing game set in 'Mythic Europe' – a historically grounded version of Europe and the Levant around AD 1200, with the added conceit that conceptions of the world prevalent in folklore and institutions of the High ...
'', there is a more complicated relationship between experience points and character points.


Powers

A power represents a unique or special quality of a character. In many games, powers are binary on-or-off qualities as opposed to attributes and
skills A skill is the learned ability to act with determined results with good execution often within a given amount of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills. For example, in the domain of w ...
which are usually numeric quantities. The main exception to this is
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
RPGs, where superpowers are often treated as a sort of skill. Superpowers may also use the same rating scale as the primary statistics.


Skills

A skill represents the learned
knowledge Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is distin ...
and
abilities Abilities are powers an agent has to perform various actions. They include common abilities, like walking, and rare abilities, like performing a double backflip. Abilities are intelligent powers: they are guided by the person's intention and exe ...
of a character. Skills are known by various names, including proficiencies, abilities, powers, talents and knacks. During character creation, a
player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
'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 to attributes, very few games fix a player's skills at the start of the game, instead allowing players to increase them by spending
experience point An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experien ...
s 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 as ''
GURPS The ''Generic Universal RolePlaying System'', or ''GURPS'', is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting. It was created by Steve Jackson Games and first published in 1986 at a time when most such systems ...
''), each skill has a specific base attribute to which it is always added; in others (such as ''
Ars Magica ''Ars Magica'' is a role-playing game set in 'Mythic Europe' – a historically grounded version of Europe and the Levant around AD 1200, with the added conceit that conceptions of the world prevalent in folklore and institutions of the High ...
''), a skill can be added to different attributes depending on how the skill is being used. Some games (such as '' Feng 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 of '' Shadowrun'' 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 game '' Avalon: The Legend Lives'' is noted for being the first text based multi user role-playing game to offer a developed profession and skills system . 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.


Traits

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 the ''traits'' "
History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
", "
Squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...
" and " Oenology". In terms of a more fine-grained system of statistics, a single ''trait'' would often be represented by a group of
skill A skill is the learned ability to act with determined results with good execution often within a given amount of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills. For example, in the domain of w ...
s, one or more advantages and
attribute Attribute may refer to: * Attribute (philosophy), an extrinsic property of an object * Attribute (research), a characteristic of an object * Grammatical modifier, in natural languages * Attribute (computing), a specification that defines a prope ...
s, or a combination thereof. The first major role-playing game to use traits was '' Over the Edge''. Some systems, such as '' Castle Falkenstein'' and ''
HeroQuest ''HeroQuest'', sometimes written as ''Hero Quest'', is an adventure board game created by Milton Bradley in conjunction with the British company Games Workshop. The game was loosely based around archetypes of fantasy role-playing games: the ...
'', use traits as the only type of statistic, although they may use some other term for them, such as abilities.


Derived statistics

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-world
units of measurement A unit of measurement is a definite magnitude of a quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law, that is used as a standard for measurement of the same kind of quantity. Any other quantity of that kind can be expressed as a multi ...
(such as kilograms or
metres per second The metre per second is the unit of both speed (a scalar quantity) and velocity (a vector quantity, which has direction and magnitude) in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the speed of a body covering a distance of one metre in a ...
). Derived statistics are often used during combat (e.g.
hit point Health is an attribute in a video game or tabletop game that determines the maximum amount of damage or loss of stamina that a character or object can take before dying or losing consciousness. In role-playing games, this typically takes the f ...
s, Armor Class and
initiative In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a ...
). 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's race and
class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...
. In addition, certain in-game methods such as spells or magical items might raise or lower these statistics temporarily.


Interdependencies between statistics

Some games define various interdependencies between statistics of different categories, as well as within categories. The most common are: ; Prerequisite : Only if statistic ''A'' has a value of at least ''x'', statistic ''B'' may exceed value ''y''. (Where ''y'' is often 0 or ''none''.) For example, a character class may require certain minimum attribute scores, or a spell may require a minimal level of magical talent. Learning some esoteric skill often requires knowledge of another one at an "expert" level or possession of a certain advantage: In '' GURPS Martial Arts'', for example, "cinematic" or "mystical" martial arts abilities require a special advantage, ''Trained by a Master''. ; Limitation : If statistic ''A'' has a value of at least ''x'', then statistic ''B'' cannot exceed value ''y''. This is the opposite of ''prerequisite''. (Only if statistic ''A'' has a value of ''at most'' ''x'', statistic ''B'' may exceed value ''y''.) For example, a character class may be disallowed for certain races, or one of the game effects of a disadvantage (say, ''Unfit''), could be to limit a certain attribute (''Constitution'' or ''Health'' in the example) to a certain maximum value (no more than ''average''). ; Bonus ''or'' base value : If statistic ''A'' has a value of ''x'', then the value of statistic ''B'' is increased by (or starts at) ''y''. The term ''base value'' is preferred if ''y'' = ''x'' or if ''y'' is large compared to ''Bs value. Higher scores in an attribute often grant bonuses to a group of skills. ; Derivation: If statistics ''A'' and ''B'' have values of ''x'' and ''y'', respectively, then the value of statistic ''C'' is a ''
function Function or functionality may refer to: Computing * Function key, a type of key on computer keyboards * Function model, a structured representation of processes in a system * Function object or functor or functionoid, a concept of object-oriente ...
of (x, y)''.


References

{{Reflist, colwidth=40em, refs= {{Cite web , last=Bartle , first=Richard , date=2015-12-15 , title=Legacy Reviews of MUA and MUDS , url=http://mud.co.uk/richard/imucg4.htm , access-date=2015-12-14 Role-playing game terminology