I’m sick of player-facing character stats. They bog down the game with discussion I am obligated to participate in, but couldn’t give two shits about. Worst of all, they are so ubiquitous that designers often add them to a game without even considering if they are needed. I know I have.

Preface: Checking In

This is a feeling and experience I’ve been dealing with. I’m venting my frustration, and taking a moment to rant without being constructive. Maybe I’ll offer alternatives — in another post.

Note: I have a strong bias in favor of low latency mechanics. I want to engage mechanics and resolve them as quickly as possible, so we can get back to talking about the fiction. If a mechanic can integrate the fiction, even better.

Definitions

Player-facing: A part of the game mechanics the character players interact with. In contrast to parts only a game master interacts with, assuming there is a GM.

Stat (statistic): A descriptive label paired with a number that quantizes one or more capabilities of a character. Usually found in thematic clusters.

Examples include:

• Abilities (Dungeons & Dragons, World of Darkness)
• Ability Scores (Into The Odd)
• Action Ratings (Blades in the Dark)
• Approaches (Fate)
• Attributes (Dungeons & Dragons, World of Darkness, Mausritter)
• Backgrounds (Cthulhu Dark)
• Careers (2400, Barbarians of Lemuria)
• Edges (Wildsea)
• Epithets (Agon)
• Ranks (Amber Diceless)
• Skills (2400, Burning Wheel, Call of Cthulhu, Dungeons & Dragons, Wildsea)
• Stats (Apocalypse World, Stonetop)

For completion’s sake I’ll also include counting mechanics like: “take +X if Y (character aspect) is relevant”, and “take X for each Y (character aspect) that’s relevant”. Examples of those include:

• Trophy Dark / Trophy Gold (skills & backgrounds)
• Lady Blackbird (traits & tags)

Problems

1. Stats Break The Flow

Imagine you’re cruising along. The players are telling you what they do, and you’re responding in kind. A player describes in glorious detail how they attempt something risky, so you call for a roll.

The issue begins when the player utters an eldritch incantation like:

• “What do I roll here?”
• “What can I roll here?”
• “What stat do you think this is?”
• “Is this X stat or Y stat?”
• “Do I get X modifier?”

RECORD SCRATCH

Oh look, we just dumpstered our flow.

The player already described what they want to do in the fiction, but now we have to have a discussion on how to label it. I dread and despise this conversation, and I don’t want to have it anymore. Just roll the fucking dice, so we can get back to describing cool shit.

This problem can be exacerbated by:

• Players who aren’t confident in their understanding of what the group thinks is appropriate to label actions as (which stat to roll).
• Players who play in good faith, but can’t help but push for the maximum chance of success — to the detriment of the game.
• Having stats with significant overlap in their usage.

It can be mitigated, but not eliminated by:

• Having the GM ask for rolls with a specific stat. Though players can still advocate for a different stat.
• Associating fictional triggers with mechanics, and limiting those mechanics to one stat. For example: moves in Apocalypse World. As a contrast, Defy Danger from Dungeon World is an archetypal example of a move that exacerbates the problem.

2. Descriptive Labels Become Prescriptive

Consider: in a system without stats players are free to describe any reasonable action they wish — without having to label it with a stat. Now, add stats into the roll. Two things occur:

1. The player and/or GM has to spend time and mental energy figuring out how to label their action.
2. Over time the players start thinking about the labels first, and not the fiction.

If every action must fit into a set of labels, it is difficult to avoid those labels becoming the dominant paradigm of thought.

3. A Boring Method Of Character Differentiation

What does 15 STR or 3 dots in Wreck really say about a character? Not much. There isn’t any fiction attached, just a number on a one-dimensional scale.

Compare to “Strong as an Ox”, or “Serial Brick Wall Destroyer”. You can actually envision those, and talk about the character’s capabilities with natural language.

An array of stats is a corpse — a lifeless husk. If you rely too heavily on stats to differentiate characters, they end up dead on the character sheet.

Conclusion

When we break away from the fiction to engage mechanics I want to resolve them without delays. If we need to have a discussion about which mechanic to use, or if a particular mechanic applies, cool. However, that discussion should change the trajectory of the session in a significant way.

Time during a session is precious. I’d rather let someone have a bonus than waste time arguing over it. Though I’d prefer the system didn’t demand I shoulder the responsibility of adjudicating modifiers in the first place.

Going forward: I want to move beyond stats when I can, and I want to minimize their gravity when I can’t. So when you go to design a game, consider:

• Do you really need stats? Are you adding them out of reflex?
• Do stats need to impact the probability of success, or can they do something else?
• How can you differentiate characters, in a more evocative way?