The sixth point from my RPG Annoyances post was that there are many aspects of RPGs that lack context for the representations they use. This article will address this point some more.
RPGs use concepts of attributes, skills, powers, etc., yet oftentimes provide no context or mapping to “real world” ideas. For example, allot of games will have an Intelligence attributes, but many games differ on what this attributes means and affects in game. Part of the problem is that intelligence has many connotations, and it probably needs to be clarified which connotation is meant by each game. One game may say intelligence affects how quickly you can assess your environment. Others might say it’s how challenging of a problem you can think about. But if they are not specified outright how is one to know what the game means?
Additionally, all of these measures have numerical ranks associated with each. Assuming that the intent of the attribute is clear, it is still a question how these numbers map onto the real-world equivalent of them. The most trivial, Strength, generally should map onto how much force one can exert. The simplest example is how much weight can one hold? The higher the number, the more one can hold. But how much? Each Strength point leads to +N more pounds or is it xN more pounds? Or is it arbitrary, requiring a numerical mapping and a table lookup to discover the answer to?
Unfortunately, one can only know what these are by amassing how the game acts on each attribute and numerical values. Yet, add-on designers and GMs later could have their own take on what attributes mean and how to utilize them, thus causing conflicting, inconsistent, and generally confusing rules. And therein lies several of the things I wish to avoid.
These two aspect could be each addressed quite simply. For attributes, make it explicit what each attribute means. Give real-life examples when possible. Give clear definitions, and disambiguations for terms like Intelligence that require them. Provide examples of their usage in game. If players initial guess about their meaning is wrong, or if players cannot quickly learn the correct meaning, you have failed, and mis-understandings will invariably arise.
For numerical measures, provide the simplest analogy possible. Most novices expect a linear scale, yet many RPGs use exponential ones. If that is needed, make that very very explicit. And for the love of keeping one’s sanity, don’t do arbitrary mappings if it can’t be helped. (If it cannot be avoided because it has some integral use in the story, then by all means use it.) People are not hear to learn totally arbitrary constructs to play, they are here to play.
Because attributes and numerical scales are not well defined, problems arise for players to learn a system, as well as for GMs creating and running sessions. By being explicit and straightforward, these errors in understanding a system would be mitigated.
[...] Lacking Context [...]