[STR] Strength How hard the player can hit, how physically strong the player is. Strength also determines how much the player can carry at once.
- General Attack rolls, Melee gains a bigger bonus from STR than Ranged
- "Saving" rolls: Determines resistance against damage
- Concentration/Focus checks - primarily for spell casters: If factors make it difficult to concentrate upon and succeed at (eg. Weather, Environmental Factors, etc.)**
[DEF] Defense Controls how much damage the player takes, how frequently the player gets hit by critical attacks
- Affects attack and critical rolls against the player
- Player's resistance to damage (Perhaps a different type of Saving roll against devastating/critical damage?)
[AGI] Agility How quick/nimble the player is on their feet, controls speed and avoidance
- Controls how far the player can move each turn, could possible affect "turn" speed
- Reflex saving rolls: Avoiding fireballs, dodging traps, attacks, etc.
[DEX] Dexterity How apt the player is with their hands, controls aim/tactility with Ranged weapons
- Ranged attack rolls (Accuracy and damage) - includes Special Abilities
[ENG] Energy How frequently the player can use their special abilities and how hard they hit, also controls the amount of mana/energy (energy points?) the player has and the rate at which it regenerates
- Will Saving rolls - Resisting non-physical threats (radiation?)
- Special Ability rolls
The dot points are a mixture of mechanics in the Guide and some of the things we discussed. However looking through it, I was thinking about the stats, here are my thoughts:
Defense is very similar to Stamina, and has little to no benefit, for anything other than a "tank" class and as a base stat it seems pretty substitutable with Stamina - We can add bonuses to damage reduction in the talent builds/incorporate the mechanics of Defense into Stamina.
It also seems like we need a "Knowledge" stat that will act as a base stat for the pragmatic Skills of wisdom, intellect and charisma that are useful in a D&D campaign (eg. Perception, Knowledge of [plants/animals/architecture/ice-cream, what ever!], Diplomacy, Bluff, Merchantile) I guess general awareness and smarts, I think we touched on this.
This way you would have
Strength - Primarily Melee stat, strength for carrying/fighting
Stamina - Increases health, all around good. Helps casters concentrate/Keeps people alive
Agility - Reflexes and speed, good for avoidance. Helps players move further/faster
Dexterity - Players tactility with their hands, Accuracy, Ranged weapon aim/damage, also good for doing small things, such as picking a lock
Energy - The caster stat (mainly) increases Special attack damage and allows them to be used more often (increase in mana), generally useful for all but the base melee classes.
*Knowledge - Pragmatism, How intelligent/observant, useful in many ways.
For example, we could give damage multipliers to those with a high knowledge of mutant anatomy against mutants as they know that they have to shoot them in the..balls
OR
Knows that the smell of onions signifies a poisonous plant or whatever.
These checks however, would require the relevant skills. So for the first example the player will have had to pick up "Knowledge: Mutant Anatomy I" prior and roll adding on his/her Knowledge multiplier, then of course you would still have to roll including the player's Dexterity to make sure that they actually hit their mark.
...and there's still this niggling feeling about having both Agility and Dexterity, maybe changing the name of one so they don't sound overly similar?
May be easier to discuss over Skype, but that is what I was thinking.
