The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games - Michael J. Tresca [44]
A character’s six ability scores in Dungeons &Dragonshave largely remained intact across gaming mediums: strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence, wisdom, and charisma. Strength, dexterity, and constitution—the physical attributes of the character—have generally been preserved as is, with the exception of different wording for constitution. Intelligence, wisdom, and charisma makes less of an appearance in other gaming mediums, depending on the style of the game and level of engagement the player identifies with the character.
The Middle-earth Role Playing Game has traits that correspond almost directly with Dungeons & Dragons: strength, agility, constitution, intelligence, intuition, and presence. The one-to-one ratio is provided as part of a conversion chart between the two systems (Coleman 1993:225). The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game has strength, nimbleness, vitality, perception, wits, and bearing. Notably, there is no intelligence score equivalent (Long 2002:47).
Strength was defined in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons as physical endurance, stamina, and power. It assumed that human adult male characters were in good shape due to the necessity of hard labor in a medieval world. Dexterity represented everything from agility to speed, precision to reflexes. Constitution was a reflection of a character’s physique and fitness (Gygax 1979:15).
Intelligence assumed mnemonics and learning skills in addition to comprehension of the written word. Wisdom, probably the least defined trait, represented willpower, wile, enlightenment and intuitiveness. Gygax delineated wisdom from intelligence with an example of a smoker who knows smoking is harmful but lacks the wisdom to stop. In later editions, wisdom also came to represent perception. Finally there is charisma, which Gygax emphatically stated was not just physical appearance but also personal magnetism.
One of the members of my role-playing group explained why he enjoys role-playing such a low-intelligence character as Calactyte (Cal), a lizardman barbarian:
He was the epitome of brawn over brains. Just absolutely simple and stupid. But that was also what made him such a fun character to role play. He was big and dumb but he also had a big heart. He was always willing to fight for, defend and protect other members of his party. Had he been more intelligent perhaps he’d have know better than to run head first into battle when his crew was clearly outnumbered. His attempts at puzzle solving were often hilarious, but because he tried so hard, it made him hard not to love. He always got an “E” for effort. I personally love the idea of playing characters with some form of weakness. While roleplaying Cal I would often have to stop myself and ask, “Would Cal be smart enough to say that?” or “Would Cal even think that?” It’s more challenging but a heck of a lot of fun [Joseph Tresca 2010].
Characters gain power through experience points, defined as ability in their chosen profession. Experience points can be gained from defeating opponents and solving problems through “professional means” (1978:106). In earlier editions of Dungeons & Dragons, experience points were given for acquiring treasure as well. Gygax defended this choice by explaining that the acquisition of experience points for gold collected was a reflection of a character’s “off hour” activities that included studying and training. The “experience points for treasure” rule was stripped away from Dungeons &Dragons’ fantasy descendants as well as subsequent editions of the game.
One rule Dungeons & Dragons was not known for was skills. A staple of role-playing games today, skills were non-existent in the Original Dungeons & Dragons boxed set. Secondary skills were introduced in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master’s Guide, but they were described in very broad strokes with little advice as to how to use them (Gygax