Questions about Stats for a personal worldbuilding project

Hello Circles!

In short,
  • setting is Science-Fantasy leaning heavy into Fantasy.
  • Multiple races across 8 flat worlds that float on the Waters of Creation (infinite magic ocean).
  • A very active Spirit world as hidden 9th world.
  • Magic users are children and descendants of these children of deities who pulled a Zeus.

Alright. So I'm working on a lite system with no dice and no health bar to combat godmodding, powerplaying, metagaming, etc... AND to see my character progress with shiny points. :D
The system is just stats and skills that can both be improved on by spending XP.

So instead of dice I'm using 2 point pools. Fatigue for physical actions and skills, and Magic for magical actions and skills. Spending these points gives the character an automatic success but the points are limited.

Alright. Stats!

I've been mulling over them for too long so I thought maybe asking on a roleplay forum might help me get a clearer picture.

I would like for my stats to be something that will be used frequently enough by both common folk and magic users. Stats have XP bars that are divided into 5 tiers. T1 being weak/crippled and T5 being Supernatural. These Tiers are used as guideline in how to roleplay a character (without godmodding). Stats not only determine how well you do something but they also influence which items a character can use or which skills they can use. For example someone with weak strength may not be able to carry heavy armor. I have no preference in how long this list should be or what the balance is between physical, mental or social. But here's what I have.

  • Strength = melee, brawling, carrying, lifting, climbing, etc...
  • Speed = Dodging, How fast do you run, reflexes, reload speed, etc...
  • Perception = senses, accuracy, how observant is the character, notice details, etc...
  • Willpower = discipline, fight through pain, resist mental attacks, resist vices, resist/stay true to nature, not giving up, etc... Low will means the character give up easily or gives in to vices easily, etc...
  • Composure = keep emotions under control, hide your intentions/motivations, how well can you 'read' people? Low tiers means other people can 'read' you like an open book.
  • Manipulation = How well can you persuade people to do things for you, intimidation, deception, etc...Low tiers means the character is easily convinced by others.

Any other ideas? name changes? Merging? Adding? Removing?
Or do you have other questions? : 3
 
So I have some limited experience with an RP that had/has a similar system. What you have is a good starting point, but I think that there needs to be more detail on how progression happens/xp distribution as well as how the action points (for lack of better term) interact with the stats you listed.

1. When you don't have anymore points, how do you determine if an action will succeed? Is it by being over a certain stat threshold? How well written the post is? Etc.

2. How do you earn XP? Can you increase the number of points you have as well?

3. What stat(s) does magic draw from? Most games will have it either be a separate thing or tie it to an existing, mental trait (ex: INT, CHA, WIS in DnD).

Personally, I've actually had more issues with power playing and godmodding when there aren't dice or hit points. Since there are fewer hard numbers, it is harder to determine who succeeds over another character. If two characters with mostly equal stats face each other and both spend points to succeed their actions then who or what determines the "winner"? Will it always be the character with higher stats? If so, that does not give much room for an underdog to come out on top (unless they are actively hoarding their points).

As an, example an RP I participated in held an IC fighting tournament and during one of the matches, neither side would concede. When the mods intervened, they ended up giving the match over to the player who was more well-liked by the staff by citing a 3 point stat difference (entirely disregarding writing quality). I'm not saying that you'll play favorites but it is just as easy to defend powerplaying without dice/hp than with it.

Finally, there are many, many stats you can add but also many that you can consolidate. I would think deeply about what traits will be used the most during challenges/encounters. After listing out all those traits, see which ones you can group together vs what need their own category.

Imo, strength and speed are very distinct from one another, but things like how easily you can be manipulated, composure, and willpower could be consolidated into "discipline." I advise looking up some TTRPG systems for inspiration.

I might add more thoughts when I'm awake but this is my initial assessment.
 
You have no idea how excited I am to answer these questions! \o/

1. When you don't have anymore points, how do you determine if an action will succeed? Is it by being over a certain stat threshold? How well written the post is? Etc.

If you run out of points then you can't perform any actions. They represent your character's stamina and life energy. If you run out of them then its the same as being too tired to lift your sword, being out of breath or your magic no longer working because you've spend it all. And if your character can't perform actions then there's no need to compare stats.

A players writing ability should not get in the way of success, or gaining XP. Ever. And stats are guidelines for roleplaying. Objects like a large rock won't have target numbers. You just use common sense to know that a T2 strength character won't move that rock because they are too weak no matter the points they spend. But a T3 or higher can because it makes sense.

2. How do you earn XP? Can you increase the number of points you have as well?

Yes you can indeed increase your pools. You can also use those same XP points to increase your stats and unlock skills and even upgrade skills into better versions of it.

You gain XP through an achievement style system. The achievements are like mini-goals you give your character to work towards throughout the story.
They could be related to milestones in life (marriage, kids, get rich, grow old, die, lose your virginity, get revenge on your bullies, etc.)
They could also be related to Skills (improve them, master them, craft an item x amount of times, steal a 100 cheese rolls)
They could be related to the story arc itself (save the princess, kill the dragon, steal the hoard)
They can be anything you want, go crazy! Whatever you think fits for your character, do it! It gives people things to do while writing that main story arc, it also creates an excuse to make the world seem richer with all the things you can do.

So what happens when you gained an achievement? Let's say your character just single handed defeated a giant. You could reward them with a fancy title 'Giant Slayer' that can give you some renown to the local towns/villages in the are. Which in turn can open some networking or give you discounts, or gain the trust of the local criminal gang. The XP I was going to keep it small between 1-5 depending on how difficult it was to gain this achievements. Then you can use those points to unlock skills, improve stats, etc...

What I am hoping for however is that people try to kind of roleplay the sudden stat and skill increase in a natural way. Think of these achievements as a journey as well. What did they do to achieve that goal? Did they train a lot 'behind the scenes' then maybe give them some skills that fit that scenario. Did they interact with a lot of women? Then maybe give them a better social stat. etc...

3. What stat(s) does magic draw from? Most games will have it either be a separate thing or tie it to an existing, mental trait (ex: INT, CHA, WIS in DnD).

The pools don't draw from any stat, they are kind of their own stat if that makes sense? Magic in my setting comes from within, your own soul energy, spiritual power because magic is related to the spirit world. Magic users (as in the ones that are born with it) use this pool for well, magic. But people without innate magic can use enchanted items. And then you spend magic points to activate that item.

Personally, I've actually had more issues with power playing and godmodding when there aren't dice or hit points. Since there are fewer hard numbers, it is harder to determine who succeeds over another character.

Dice are annoying to me because based on some character backgrounds they should be trained in for example sword fighting. But the randomness of the dice makes it that my warrior is suddenly fumbling around if I'm having a bunch of bad rolls. Which breaks the immersion for me who's trying to play a seasoned warrior. Not a rookie fresh out of the training grounds. And also the whole back and forth breaks immersion as well for me. I swing my sword and roll to hit, 12, but now I have to wait for a GM to tell me what that result means. They tell me what it means and then I just repeat what's being said. It takes my creativity away. With a point pool I can just say that my warrior is training in swordfighting and I have the stamina to do it. So I'm going to spend my point and then just write out my scene without a dice or gm telling me what my warrior is supposed to do. -O- want to decide, not the dice, not the GM. With a pool all i got to do is just pay the price and then write whatever I want. The story keeps moving forward and players can still discuss OOC how they want the story to go because it's still freeform roleplay like usual just with points.

Hit points, I don't really hate them but I always found it annoying when for example watching podcasts of people throwing their entire party at a bad guy, attacking simultaneously, and the dude is still standing because his hit points aren't low enough. What happened to the concept of being outnumbered? What happens when multiple swords and fireballs launch at you? You can't catch them all unless maybe you raise a shield large enough, or a magic shield. And its not like the party is lining up in a line, they would be surrounding the guy from all around. So the immersion again breaks for me. And then there's the 'they're bloodied. ooooh, the boss is really hurting now' but the dude is again still standing and swinging their dark axe and fireballs like its nothing. Why? because their hit points didn't hit zero yet. What happens if a ranger decides to just snipe the boss with a crossbolt? Or some magitech rifle? That HP needs to hit zero if a bullet hits his brain I don't care how high a level that boss is.

If two characters with mostly equal stats face each other and both spend points to succeed their actions then who or what determines the "winner"? Will it always be the character with higher stats? If so, that does not give much room for an underdog to come out on top (unless they are actively hoarding their points).

Okay, let's say both characters do indeed have the same strength numbers and both have points to spend. If they were to clash swords purely based on strength then you would write a scene about 2 characters parrying their swords all the time. Neither of them budging. Then the character needs to figure out a different way to defeat him other then using their strength stat. What if C1 decided to use their Speed stat to quickly dodge C2's attack and then quickly swing their own sword, decapitating C2. C1's speed was superior than C2's, they may not have been strong enough to push through a parry but they were faster at swinging their sword and finding an opening. Or have their party members fight the C2 as well. 2v1 then. Let's see how strong they are then fighting 2 people at once!

And underdogs can always retreat and try again, maybe not with the same opponent but still. It'll give them a new achievement to work towards. Get stronger. Character's don't always have to win, they just need to learn and develop. And if people are hoarding points then the story won't advance. This isn't tabletop where you let others do all the work for you. You're collaborating on a story together. If you're not a team player then people will just lose interest in roleplaying with you.

Imo, strength and speed are very distinct from one another, but things like how easily you can be manipulated, composure, and willpower could be consolidated into "discipline." I advise looking up some TTRPG systems for inspiration.

Discipline! That sounds cool.
 
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