Lies, Damn Lies and Character Statistics

[Evil_Lawyer]

I've been writing a game of late, and I've been trying to do away with character stats, because in LARP I think that they can be a bit of a hiding to nothing, as people who bulk out physical stats and then find it hard NOT to play their own social and mental stats (sometimes overwhlming those of the character).

I've been wondering if any of you know of any systems which completely do away with physical stats. My system so far does so, but only in context of the game type I'm planning on writing and running.

A

[Peril Planet]

A larp system, or more "conventional" rpg system? My game FU has descriptors that may or may not describe physical traits, depending on the desire of the players. It also doesn't use numbers to define characters. You can get it at

Does that help?

[Evil_Lawyer]

Thanks mate my idea for a system in equal measure has similar feels ot it and radically different style and crunch to it.

EEL

[Chainsaw Aardvark]

Eclipse Phase strongly separates the physical and mental attributes, since it explores trans-human concepts and you can basically re-sleeve your consciousness into new bodies as required. It might be a little difficult to LARP an uplifted octopus or a sapient spaceship - but if you can find players who are willing to try to do so...

BESM splits things into a "Body, Mind, Soul" trifecta. Most other elements of the character are then determined by positive or negative atributes - ie a fast but easily injured who is good at physical activity might have "body seven, movement speed level 2, not so tough 3". Absolute numbers are rather nebulous compared to defined abilities. However, since its based on cartoons/anime, it might be hard to simulate a lot of the material... (Telekinesis, water walking, ninja jumping...)

Doing away with just about all attributes is a neat game called "". Unlike my prior game suggestions, this would be a beautiful LARP.

Perhaps you might want to come at this from a different angle. A setting/theme that takes a lot of the focus off the attributes. Something cyberpunk could leave the players in an unfamiliar place, so its OK if its their mental focus - they're still going to be a bit lost. For that matter, hearken back to the old-school dungeon concept, where its more player's versus the traps and thinking it through than in character knowledge.