Real Life Stats

[genshou]

There are 32 000 members of this website.

That means, straight odds-- the rules we use for NPC cannon fodder, not heroes-- that 148 of us should have an Intelligence score of 18. Some 889 of us, on average, will have some score of 18.

That's not adjusting for the fact that we're not actually a straight demographic sample. For instance, to post here, a person generally has to understand the concept of roleplaying games, and they have to be capable of reading and writing the English language at around the sixth-grade level. (Rough guess.) That's going to rule out those of us with Intelligence scores between 3 and 5 at least, and possibly between 3 and 7.

Now, you might point out that, as a forum dedicated to a geek hobby, we're probably going to have smaller physical ability scores than the general population. On the other hand, martial arts is also a geek hobby-- and a disportionate number of roleplayers are members of the armed forces, meaning that they're required to uphold a rather more strict physical standard.

Of course, I have no way of measuring or modeling what effect that will have on our demographics-- but considering there's far fewer than 889 posts on this thread, and only a couple of people have seriously claimed to have an 18 in anything, we're far short of our quota.

Thank you Korymir the Rat!

I'm getting tired of those who are in the camp that seems to believe everyone should have lower ability scores or they are conceited. How am I conceited simply for recognizing that I'm a cut above the "ordinary man", at least as far as ability scores go? I recognize my own foibles and realize I would never actually be adventuring (I have some personal issues and lack the ability to "keep the ball rolling"), but then again maybe that's just a difference between the motivating forces of fantasy and the real world.

How different would my personality be if I grew up in the Forgotten Realms? That was the premise behind having my character do anything besides sit at home and post on EN World all the time.

 

[genshou]

I think you've struck onto something that bridges the two camps. The people who are tossing around 18's on this and that are probably quite talented in specific areas, and then using those areas to measure. The people who are giving more conservative numbers are probably looking at all of their respective strengths and weaknesses on a subject and figuring what that would be.

I really doubt that anyone would score significantly above average (assuming average to be 25) on _everyone's_ scale.

Now see, that's where I differ in how I figured out my ability scores. Our group considered all the aspects that a given score represents. For instance, if I based Dex off of the nimbleness of my fingers, and Cha solely off of my ability to hit it off with almost every new person I meet, those would both probably be 17-18. And if Con were based solely on my ability to fight off illness, it'd probably be an... 8.
Similarly, my Strength of 10 is only applicable if I exist in a fantasy setting, where no hero ever has a bad back. 'Course that was caused by an injury, so it's not an inherent, from-birth quality as the ability scores are. But still worth taking note of (ie, if I were an adventurer I would have a 10 Str for making attacks, busting down doors, jumping and swimming, etc.; but have the lifting capacity of about a... 6 ).

 

[Baragos]

I don't think people who give high scores to themselves are necessarily full of it, I just think that there's a kind of stat inflation...a 13 is pretty good, 15 is very good...so no reason necessarily to assume one has 17+ in stats unless one is really really really good in that "stat".

I know I posted 17+ for INt on the previous page, but that was going with the assumption that IQ 145 = 17+. If going by the IQ/10 I would fall at 15 (perhaps close to 16), making me creatable with the standard set. And while I think every person is remarkable in some way, I don't have any allusions of grandeur.

 

[genshou]

Well than i would have about a Str.23 cause my max brench press is roughly 275lbs

Actually, LordBOB, you're grossly overestimating your Strength score. The best way to calculate it is to take your max power clean, multiply by 4/5, and compare the result to the heavy load column. I haven't lifted weights with any really heavy lifters, but I've noticed that this value is a fairly accurate representation in max bench press most of the time for those bench pressing up to 240 lbs. Most of the time. So, if we just go by your max bench press, that would put you at Str 18 (just barely above Str 17).

Then of course the question arises: what about those who can benchpress 460 lbs.? Do they have a 21 Str? Or are they just really good at benchpressing, as would be represented by a feat that increases carrying capacity? It's arbitraries such as this that make assigning ability scores to real-world people such a hassle.

 

[genshou]

There's also an argument to be made that the IQ to INT conversion should simply be to slash IQ by 10. Very few people would get offended if someone announced that they had a 14 INT.

Ok, let's do that. My new Int score?

18

 

[genshou]

I hate to say it...but a realistic analysis of one's strong points is not hubris.

And is false modesty any more endearing?

The only real trouble is that we can't know if Genshou is realistically evalutaing him/her/itself. Why don't we just give this individual the benefit of the doubt? All people are *not* created equal. Some people *are* just more capable at least in quantifiable ways. This has nothing to do with their moral value.

Of course, I'm elitist, reactionary, and viciously anti-PC.

Am I conceited for saying I'm "better" than everyone else? Most likely. And that's regardless of whether or not my superiority is a fact.

When you have a high Int and low Cha, you fall into an archetype. When you have a high Int and low Wis, you fall into an archetype. When you have a high Wis and low Int, you fall into an archetype. When you have a high Wis and low Cha, you fall into an archetype. When you have a high Cha and low Int, you DEFINITELY fall into an archetype. When you have a high Cha and low Wis, you fall into an archetype.

But what if you have high Int, Wis, and Cha? You don't fit into any of the examples like being a know-it-all, an absent-minded genius, a power behind the throne, wise but reserved, etc. So how am I to describe myself? With only five words. I am what I am.

I think I can confidently say that anybody here who gives themselves an 18 in any stat is either overestimating themselves, or downright full of it.

Whereas this is a horrifyingly narrow-minded view of things.

 

[fuindordm]

Of course, I have no way of measuring or modeling what effect that will have on our demographics-- but considering there's far fewer than 889 posts on this thread, and only a couple of people have seriously claimed to have an 18 in anything, we're far short of our quota.

In that case, here is my revised self-appraisal:

Str 10 Dex 8 Con 14 Int 18 Wis 13 Cha 12

Ben

 

[fuindordm]

But what if you have high Int, Wis, and Cha? You don't fit into any of the examples like being a know-it-all, an absent-minded genius, a power behind the throne, wise but reserved, etc. So how am I to describe myself? With only five words. I am what I am.

How about 'My name is Bond. James Bond."

Oops, that's six words.

I would expect anyone with very high Int, Wis, and Cha to be simply a very high-functioning, well-adjusted version of the average person, generally speaking

But then on the other hand, I could easily imagine an RPG villain that was a sociopathic mastermind using these stats. You get a high Cha from supreme (nearly solipsistic) self-confidence and ruthless manipulation, and high Wis from high awareness and resistance to suggestion.

Even the high Int, low Wis etc. pairings that you mention can support multiple archetypes. Personality and history are the key determinants of character, not the stats. The stats simply represent how good you are at certain things within the game, to wit:

Strength: well duh. But as genshou points out, carrying capacity can be decoupled from raw power to some extent. That *would* make a good feat.

Dexterity: quick reflexes, aim, overall body control, balance and grace. I wouldn't put hand-eye coordination in there, though--this is a basic human talent, and learning how to type fast/ace Quake/juggle/whatever are all highly specialized skills that almost everyone can learn if they do it enough. I type fast and learned how to juggle, but it doesn't change the fact that I pick up any physical skill more slowly than average. I even studied kempo and tae kwon do for a while, but that hasn't changed my overall dexterity.

Con: resistance to disease, endurance, ability to stay conscious after suffering injury. Oh, and mental focus for some obscure reason.

Int: ability to pick up new skills quickly, memory (Knowledge skills), ability to focus on meticulous research or labor (Craft, Decipher, Forgery), affinity to magic (untestable) Note that I pick up new mental skills quickly, but not new physical skills. There should probably be a rule that bonus skill points for high Int can only be used on Int, Wis, or Cha based skills... maybe there should be a separate pool of bonus skill points for Dex that can be spent on athletic skills.

Wisdom: perception, willpower, resistance to magical influence (untestable), piety (!) or intuition (better). Realistically, the only one of those I'm good at is the Willpower/resistance category, and while I consider myself somewhat spiritual, I'm certainly not intuitive. Averaging all of these together, it's probably a wash for me.

Charisma: talent at social interation, personal magnetism, genetic inheritance from magical creatures (I'm 1/16 Irish!)

Int and Wisom give the most trouble, since these scores measure things in-game that we have no way of measuring outside the game. Now if only I could go learn how to cast spells, then I would know for sure what my Int was--all I have to do is see how many bonus spells I get.

Ben

 

[arscott]

INT is easy, since IQ testing directly measures Intelligence as the concept is commonly understood (brains/smartness/quickwittedness).

Ig. No it doesn't. Beyond this point we get on the verge of politics, so I won't go farther. But as an educator, I have to strongly disagree with the above statement.

There are two major arguments I usually hear regarding test results, be they IQ tests, SAT tests, or something else entirely. The first is that they're often biased for or against certain social, cultural and economic groups. The second is that they use inappropriately narrow definitions of intelligence, focusing on "book smarts" and ignoring creativity, interpersonal intelligence, etc.

The first argument can be safely ignored because it essentially boils down to politics, but I think it would be a mistake to ignore the second. Because the overly narrow "book smart" definition of intelligence that the tests are decried for, is arguably the same definition of intelligence used by D&D.

On another note: It's not the people who claim they have 18s that are full of themselves. It's the people who claim they don't have 8s.

My Stats (Best Guess): Str 9, Dex 11, Con 6, Int 17, Wis 10, Cha 12.

 

[genshou]

How about 'My name is Bond. James Bond."

Oops, that's six words.

I would expect anyone with very high Int, Wis, and Cha to be simply a very high-functioning, well-adjusted version of the average person, generally speaking

But then on the other hand, I could easily imagine an RPG villain that was a sociopathic mastermind using these stats. You get a high Cha from supreme (nearly solipsistic) self-confidence and ruthless manipulation, and high Wis from high awareness and resistance to suggestion.

Meh–I don't care if it's five or six.

You could definitely describe me as either "high-functioning, well-adjusted" or "sociopathic mastermind"... depending on whether or not I'm a GM at the time

Now if only I could go learn how to cast spells, then I would know for sure what my Int was--all I have to do is see how many bonus spells I get.

Ben

So is that how characters can manage to figure out what their Int was? I always thought they had to take 10 and 20 on skills repeatedly and break down the number of ranks by comparing the number of feet they could jump with their raw physical power as well as how far their trained skills exceed the capabilities of untrained skills. But your solution is simpler and requires a lot less metagaming on the character's part (not to mention, my method can't be pulled off by low-Int characters, who are too busy trying to whack-the-goblin instead of worrying about the truly important things in life).