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<blockquote data-quote="Theory of Games" data-source="post: 9647593" data-attributes="member: 7042201">I recently rediscovered the Freeform Universal ttrpg which doesn't use ability scores. It's all narrative and it's a fun, easy system that uses 1d6 for task resolution: &quot;even&quot; rolls = different degrees of success, while &quot;odd&quot; rolls = different degrees of failure.It's so much more narrative: in books and film, no one knows how much a character can lift or how many hit points they have or what their I.Q. is. Characters just DO THINGS and the story tells us what the characters can do. There's no numbers getting in the way. FU allows that same freedom. I mean there's the physics of the setting and the group decides what kinds of expectations that creates, but there's no ability scores or saves or any of that archaic math associated with most ttrpgs. A FU group could easily RP a fantasy tale set in any D&amp;D setting because at its heart tabletop roleplaying is a narrative experience. The math came from wargames and isn't necessary to tell great stories.I agree abilities matter. What I was getting at is the math that defines the abilities doesn't. Ability scores are just mathematical fluff.IME abilities in ttrpgs can be defined narratively as opposed to using numbers, and a more narrative system &quot;moves faster&quot; because of it. Or could move faster - there's unspoken systematic variables here.I agree we need abilities, but that IMO words (narration) define abilities and what they do better than numbers. Staying with Freeform Universal vs. D&amp;D: if a player wants their PC to lift something heavy, with D&amp;D the GM's usual response is &quot;What's the character's Strength score?&quot; Then there's the micro-game of mathematics as the GM and player figure out if the PC can &quot;do the thing&quot;.With FU, if a player wants their character to lift something heavy, as long as it doesn't upset the setting expectations of what that kind of character could do, the player just narrates Thangor lifting the 300-pound sack of gold.Sure, we've rolled for things for decades because D&amp;D and nearly every other ttrpg have these numeric obstacles to negotiate in order to tell the PCs' story. IME that meta-game of &quot;1d20 + Ability score + magic bonus + blahblahblah&quot; not only isn't necessary, but it impairs the experience of playing the role of your character.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Theory of Games, post: 9647593, member: 7042201"] I recently rediscovered the Freeform Universal ttrpg which doesn't use ability scores. It's all narrative and it's a fun, easy system that uses 1d6 for task resolution: "even" rolls = different degrees of success, while "odd" rolls = different degrees of failure. It's so much more narrative: in books and film, no one knows how much a character can lift or how many hit points they have or what their I.Q. is. Characters just DO THINGS and the story tells us what the characters can do. There's no numbers getting in the way. FU allows that same freedom. I mean there's the physics of the setting and the group decides what kinds of expectations that creates, but there's no ability scores or saves or any of that archaic math associated with most ttrpgs. A FU group could easily RP a fantasy tale set in any D&D setting because at its heart tabletop roleplaying is a narrative experience. The math came from wargames and isn't necessary to tell great stories. I agree abilities matter. What I was getting at is the math that defines the abilities doesn't. Ability scores are just mathematical fluff. IME abilities in ttrpgs can be defined narratively as opposed to using numbers, and a more narrative system "moves faster" because of it. Or [I]could move faster[/I] - there's unspoken systematic variables here. I agree we need abilities, but that IMO words (narration) define abilities and what they do better than numbers. Staying with Freeform Universal vs. D&D: if a player wants their PC to lift something heavy, with D&D the GM's usual response is "What's the character's Strength score?" Then there's the micro-game of mathematics as the GM and player figure out if the PC can "do the thing". With FU, if a player wants their character to lift something heavy, as long as it doesn't upset the setting expectations of what that kind of character could do, the player just narrates Thangor lifting the 300-pound sack of gold. Sure, we've rolled for things for decades because D&D and nearly every other ttrpg have these numeric obstacles to negotiate in order to tell the PCs' story. IME that meta-game of "1d20 + Ability score + magic bonus + blahblahblah" not only isn't necessary, but it impairs the experience of playing the role of your character. [/QUOTE]

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