nerdvana Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 I know that BRP uses both terms. I am purely asking about the collective term for the basic character traits (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, etc). So, when developing what would become BRP, Greg Stafford went with the term "Characteristics". However, Gygax went with "Attributes" which (based on my personal experience of 30+ years gaming) seems to be more common. Does anyone know why this difference began? Where it may have started if I haven't found the sources in my mini-description above? etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nclarke Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Copyright I would guess, not that the vast majority of gamers actually know squat about copyright law they just think they know what it is and how it stops pirating. Quote Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerdvana Posted August 2, 2014 Author Share Posted August 2, 2014 Huh. Ok. Not something I would think could be copyrighted, but that is an interesting theory nclarke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soltakss Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 RQ always used Characteristics for STR/CON/SIZ/INT/POW/DEX/CHA and Attributes for derived things, such as Hit Points/Strike Ranks. As to why this is different from D&D, I haven't a clue. Maybe because they are different games and wanted to differentiate themselves? Maybe because it makes sense for the two to have different terms. Quote Simon Phipp - Caldmore Chameleon - Wallowing in my elitism since 1982. Many Systems, One Family. Just a fanboy. www.soltakss.com/index.html Jonstown Compendium author. Find my contributions here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vile Traveller Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Who knows why - I would have assumed it was because different writers had different ideas about how best to describe their version. There are plenty of games that use the same word so I doubt it was a copyright thing even if that were possible. D&D / AD&D uses the term 'abilities', not attributes, by the way. Every gamer I've ever played with calls them 'stats', anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atgxtg Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 I doubt it was a conscious decision to differiate the two systems. Probably just what came to Steve Perrin's mind when he was creating the system. Quote Chaos stalks my world, but she's a big girl and can take of herself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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