Malfarian
2019-09-03, 12:09 PM
RPG Attributes
Goal4Post: A discussion for those interested, if you’re tired of this discussion or just not interested, please scroll on by!
MyGoal: Modify the list of standard attributes without it feeling awkward when you use them. I’m also trying to get this out of my head as it’s clogging things up there.
I am making a Dice Pool system to model combat and social encounters well. I’ve spent years playing games like Vampire the Masquerade and Exalted as well as D&D. I find myself feeling stuck in either of their paradigms for attributes. I’ve also looked at Fate (which I love, but have not played, and Song Fire and Ice) for inspiration. TBT I look at nearly every RPG system I find. I have also avoided this post for some time as I’ve seen such ugly and frustrating conversations appear. A lot of people telling others what to do, I don’t want that, I want a discussion.
System: I have a Dice Pool system, meaning that you get dice from your Attribute + Skill when making most tests.
I’ve split the attributes into two groups, Primary (active) and Secondary (passive). This is meant to reflect that you’d use your strength to take an action, but probably not your willpower or composure.
Primary Attributes
These are meant to be active attributes, all about equivalent depending on the situation. I want different archetypes to choose one as their primary or main attribute. This is part of the driving force for perception NOT being in the list. I also do not have an innate empathy or intuition stat, that’s mainly for balance. I want all the stats to be roughly worth taking for a character type.
Strength - A measure of your physique and your ability to use your body effectively for feats of strength. (For example, A halfling might not have the muscle mass of a human, but they have innate muscle memory and adaptability to generate large forces with their muscles.)
Agility - a measure of your nimbleness, and manual dexterity. I know many people want Agility and manual Dexterity separated, I have a “Flaw” for this, meaning you’re good at one or the other, but as a default if you’re agile you’re also dexterous. I don’t want a huge list of attributes, what’s huge? idk.
Intellect - your ability to reason and understand objectively. Could be in the form of book smarts or life smarts.
Wits - your ability to think quickly and observe well ( to me I have a hard time understanding a high wits without a high perception without a physical limitation). I also have a flaw to account for those with high wits but poor perception.
Charisma - your innate charm and ability to persuade people based on emotions rather than reason.
Cunning/Guile - your ability to manipulate others to your cause, based off of reasoned arguments (though not necessarily correctly so). This also seems like it could wrap into subterfuge and trickery.
Insight - your innate understanding and ability to manipulate the magical forces holding them world together.
Here’s where I’m getting stuck. The divisions between Wits and Cunning/Guile seem quite blurred. As in it’s hard to imagine someone with high Cunning but low wits. So that would seem to imply that these should be the same stat. However from a game balance point of view, Perceptions, Wits and Cunning as one stat seems like too much. So perhaps I should split off perception, but then that feels like it’s too weak on it’s own. Sure it’s important for combat and social things, but that starts to feel “gamist” to me.
I’m also not sure where things like Command/leadership should be based off, for awhile I considered Will to be an active attribute, but when i tried my skill and attribute pairings, Will just didn’t show up for most actions.
Note about Social stuff - I don’t want a “you are telling the truth” vs “you are lying attribute”.
Secondary Attributes
Stamina/Endurance - a measure of your ability to keep going physically and overall health. You might roll this, such as a pursuit across terrain, rather than your agility, your ability to not stop seems most important to me.
Composure - a measure of your social resolve and ability to remain calm, to fit in and act like you’re supposed to be somewhere. It might be rolled but not often.
Willpower - your measure of mental resistance and self control. Could also include spiritual resistance.
Reflexes - a combination of your perception and ability to react.
What do you think of these divisions? Should I shift things here?
Goal4Post: A discussion for those interested, if you’re tired of this discussion or just not interested, please scroll on by!
MyGoal: Modify the list of standard attributes without it feeling awkward when you use them. I’m also trying to get this out of my head as it’s clogging things up there.
I am making a Dice Pool system to model combat and social encounters well. I’ve spent years playing games like Vampire the Masquerade and Exalted as well as D&D. I find myself feeling stuck in either of their paradigms for attributes. I’ve also looked at Fate (which I love, but have not played, and Song Fire and Ice) for inspiration. TBT I look at nearly every RPG system I find. I have also avoided this post for some time as I’ve seen such ugly and frustrating conversations appear. A lot of people telling others what to do, I don’t want that, I want a discussion.
System: I have a Dice Pool system, meaning that you get dice from your Attribute + Skill when making most tests.
I’ve split the attributes into two groups, Primary (active) and Secondary (passive). This is meant to reflect that you’d use your strength to take an action, but probably not your willpower or composure.
Primary Attributes
These are meant to be active attributes, all about equivalent depending on the situation. I want different archetypes to choose one as their primary or main attribute. This is part of the driving force for perception NOT being in the list. I also do not have an innate empathy or intuition stat, that’s mainly for balance. I want all the stats to be roughly worth taking for a character type.
Strength - A measure of your physique and your ability to use your body effectively for feats of strength. (For example, A halfling might not have the muscle mass of a human, but they have innate muscle memory and adaptability to generate large forces with their muscles.)
Agility - a measure of your nimbleness, and manual dexterity. I know many people want Agility and manual Dexterity separated, I have a “Flaw” for this, meaning you’re good at one or the other, but as a default if you’re agile you’re also dexterous. I don’t want a huge list of attributes, what’s huge? idk.
Intellect - your ability to reason and understand objectively. Could be in the form of book smarts or life smarts.
Wits - your ability to think quickly and observe well ( to me I have a hard time understanding a high wits without a high perception without a physical limitation). I also have a flaw to account for those with high wits but poor perception.
Charisma - your innate charm and ability to persuade people based on emotions rather than reason.
Cunning/Guile - your ability to manipulate others to your cause, based off of reasoned arguments (though not necessarily correctly so). This also seems like it could wrap into subterfuge and trickery.
Insight - your innate understanding and ability to manipulate the magical forces holding them world together.
Here’s where I’m getting stuck. The divisions between Wits and Cunning/Guile seem quite blurred. As in it’s hard to imagine someone with high Cunning but low wits. So that would seem to imply that these should be the same stat. However from a game balance point of view, Perceptions, Wits and Cunning as one stat seems like too much. So perhaps I should split off perception, but then that feels like it’s too weak on it’s own. Sure it’s important for combat and social things, but that starts to feel “gamist” to me.
I’m also not sure where things like Command/leadership should be based off, for awhile I considered Will to be an active attribute, but when i tried my skill and attribute pairings, Will just didn’t show up for most actions.
Note about Social stuff - I don’t want a “you are telling the truth” vs “you are lying attribute”.
Secondary Attributes
Stamina/Endurance - a measure of your ability to keep going physically and overall health. You might roll this, such as a pursuit across terrain, rather than your agility, your ability to not stop seems most important to me.
Composure - a measure of your social resolve and ability to remain calm, to fit in and act like you’re supposed to be somewhere. It might be rolled but not often.
Willpower - your measure of mental resistance and self control. Could also include spiritual resistance.
Reflexes - a combination of your perception and ability to react.
What do you think of these divisions? Should I shift things here?