So You Want to Talk Stats?

[musashi]

Yeah, I think Endurance is fine the way it is. I also don't think it needs to determine your encumbrance at all, that's handled in a different way already. I mean to say: the more encumbered you are, the more stamina it takes to move you room to room, so the more stamina you have, the longer you can walk. Wa-la. Endurance helps lug heavy junk around.

[jstorrie]

I feel like I don't really notice high endurance (unless it's DORF high, at which point I chug buckets of cleaning fluid and laugh) but I sure as hell notice LOW endurance. Low move sucks and low hp REALLY sucks.

Likewise I don't really notice high wisdom unless it's ELF HIGH, but I sure feel it and hate it when my wisdom's really low.

Overall though I think stats are generally fine. Increasing the component of character HP which comes from endurance is the only tweak I'd ask for, since it feels nearly entirely race-dependent right now. Retuning poison saves might be in order since I don't seem to notice much resistance to poison on non-dwarves/muls/giants, and I would kind of like it if a half-elf with AI endurance or a human with EX/AI endurance got some noticeable poison resistance.

But notice how I said 'feel' through my whole post? That's because this is all anecdotal experience. Take it with a brick of salt.

[Xagon]

Regarding poisons, there are ways to boost your resistance to them that aren't just having a high endurance stat. Use your imagination.

All in all, I think I've been convinced that Endurance isn't has helpful a stat as strength or agility might be. For humans, the difference in HP between poor and AI is somewhere between 40-50, and I can live with an average between that. Yes, having shitty movement sucks, but it's not so bad when you can abate most of the penalty by wearing movement-enhancing items. Poison resistance would be a big one, but there are ways around that, as well if you're truly dedicated.

Strength provides damage and carrying capacity, important for.. damaging things and wearing armor. Super important for any combat type. I have an inkling that it collaborates with one's accuracy in combat, similiar to how it affects your attack bonus in D&D as well.

Agility directly provides to AC, provides offensive bonuses to archery and probably throw, and helps with a menagerie of evasive maneuvers, as well as gives you additional inventory space.

Wisdom is.. wisdom.

Endurance is your Fortitude save and constitution modifier. Agility is your reflex save, applies to damage, applies to dodge AC, and applies to inventory management. Strength goes into offensive combat maneuvers and also to inventory management. I think my next combat character is going Agi < Str < End < Wis.  Save or Die spells and effects just aren't common enough in my playstyle to warrant something else.

[Cind]

I sort of wish I could play a mantis for an hour with AI agility, dodging arrows shot by tribal elves in the same room and laughing.

[Is Friday]

I sort of wish I could play a mantis for an hour with AI agility, dodging arrows shot by tribal elves in the same room and laughing.

You wouldn't dodge them.

[Cind]

I sort of wish I could play a mantis for an hour with AI agility, dodging arrows shot by tribal elves in the same room and laughing.

You wouldn't dodge them.

I believe you.

[Yam]

I sort of wish I could play a mantis for an hour with AI agility, dodging arrows shot by tribal elves in the same room and laughing.

You wouldn't dodge them.

I believe you.

You would parry them!

[musashi]

I sort of wish I could play a mantis for an hour with AI agility, dodging arrows shot by tribal elves in the same room and laughing.

You wouldn't dodge them.

I believe you.

You would parry them!

While simultaneously spamming kick, bash, and disarm.

[CravenMadness]

I've seen a mantis disarm someone, and then -catch- their weapon and use it against the person...

[Talia]

Are we getting too IC? Are we derailed? Yes, I think we are, on both counts.

[X-D]

Derailed? They are talking about stats, So I don't agree myself...IC...Well, the mantis anecdote has been mentioned likely hundreds of times on the GDB over the last 12 years...at least I have seen it more then twenty times with no comment from staff.


Though, this thread does seem to have run its course.

[Zoan]

The moral is, less dorfs, moar elfs.

[jstorrie]

I'm about to play something cool, so in the collegial spirit of this thread, please cross your fingers for my statroll.

[Xagon]

I can see how it could be a good idea to attribute endurance to "worn" weight capacity, perhaps by making it a percentage of your "strength" carrying capacity. It'd take into account the realism of becoming adjusted to wearing heavy armor, or distributing weight across your body. The system already accounts for this to a degree, but I doubt it's based off of endurance.

[Karieith]

Let's say someone gets approved for a really cool/important role. Like a Sergeant or a Templar or something, and they make the toon and then get incredibly unlucky on the stat roll even when they prioritize how they feel they need to.

Would staff fix their stats to something more reasonable or do they too have to cope with the cruel fate of the RNG?

I can understand the average joe just having to suck it up when they roll all average in every stat, but when you're supposed to be a badass I'd like to think that could be accommodated.

[Wasteland Raider]

The way the dice roll are the way the dice roll, whether you be a Byn Sergeant, a Joe Grebber, or an evil  vestric sorcerer warlord.

There have been some fantastic, long-lived role PCs out there with nothing above "very good" (and one or more far below that).