Stats by their very nature define the character - for either TFT or D&D - however, in TFT, the stats have direct applications which are easy to see in game mechanics. In D&D, the distinctions aren't quite as clear.
For example, in TFT, a stat might tell you what kind of weapon you can use, or how potent of spells that you can cast. In D&D, the stats give you modifiers for various mechanics.
In D&D, a roughly quantification of your character can be achieved, even if there are stats that you may not use "in game" very often. But, this goes back to D&D's wargaming roots, in which every detail of a character needed to be quantified in some abstract way. But, in TFT, certain elements of a character are strictly for roleplaying purposes, and so no definition was made for them.
David On Apr 26, 2008, at 6:37 PM, Ray Rangel wrote:
Personally, I think that the characteristics in TFT function as a necessarypart of the game mechanics, whereas, in D&D they act more like the definition of the character. ...Hum, that may not be too clear...TFT Characteristics are defined by the character and are used to resolve actions. Characteristics in D&D do the same thing, but they also serve asthe definition of the character. ...Ok, that wasn't even clear to me...When I think of my TFT character I think of "Chad the Mighty". When I thinkof my D&D character I think of "Level 5 Human Ranger Neutral/Neutral" ...There, I think that got it! Ray Rangel ray.rangel@cox.net http://xraysvision.blogspot.com/
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