I think in terms of the game's mechanics and the given name of the various attribute scores, I generally don't ever look too far into the meaning behind the words given. Â I don't think characters generally go around asking each other to quantify how strong or how pious they are. Â I can't think of any RP exchange where that would have any bearing on an attack either. Â Things - at least from my practical experience in the past - are much more reliant on what makes sense.
In FFXI I recall that "Attack" power was a factor of the Strength attribute of the character combined with their aptitude with whatever weapon they were using, but if you think about it wholly and logically, more precise hits could potentially do more damage. Â Being able to tilt the blade of a weapon to attack a creatures neck would be far more damaging than a strike to its leg, for example. Â And this, to me, seems more a factor of manual dexterity than strength.
As far as I'm concerned, 'Piety' could have been called anything else - Wisdom, Faith, Willpower, Self-Control, FactorX - and still have the same impact. Â I think when looking at it from a RP angle, we shouldn't be getting too hung up on these sort of metrics and how they are named.
I don't like to get into philosophical debates about what mana or aether is specifically though, preferring to just regard it as something magical that can loosely be quantified. It probably doesn't hurt that my character isn't really scientifically-aligned or feel any desire to know how these sort of things work. It is something of a pet-peeve of mine when theorycrafting happens and others are expected to fall into a particular line of thinking as a result of that. If it's something that derives specifically from the lore and cannot be disputed, than that's great. But speculation often breeds dismay and contempt (moreso when others are expected to fall in line with it) and I'd prefer to avoid it where possible from an OOC standpoint. IC, if a scientifically-oriented character wants to speculate on things like this however I think that is fine and well. (Sorry for the mini-rant.)
In FFXI I recall that "Attack" power was a factor of the Strength attribute of the character combined with their aptitude with whatever weapon they were using, but if you think about it wholly and logically, more precise hits could potentially do more damage. Â Being able to tilt the blade of a weapon to attack a creatures neck would be far more damaging than a strike to its leg, for example. Â And this, to me, seems more a factor of manual dexterity than strength.
As far as I'm concerned, 'Piety' could have been called anything else - Wisdom, Faith, Willpower, Self-Control, FactorX - and still have the same impact. Â I think when looking at it from a RP angle, we shouldn't be getting too hung up on these sort of metrics and how they are named.
I don't like to get into philosophical debates about what mana or aether is specifically though, preferring to just regard it as something magical that can loosely be quantified. It probably doesn't hurt that my character isn't really scientifically-aligned or feel any desire to know how these sort of things work. It is something of a pet-peeve of mine when theorycrafting happens and others are expected to fall into a particular line of thinking as a result of that. If it's something that derives specifically from the lore and cannot be disputed, than that's great. But speculation often breeds dismay and contempt (moreso when others are expected to fall in line with it) and I'd prefer to avoid it where possible from an OOC standpoint. IC, if a scientifically-oriented character wants to speculate on things like this however I think that is fine and well. (Sorry for the mini-rant.)
"One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others." Â ~ Lewis Carol
Eva's Journals  |  Eva's Wiki Page (coming soon)  |  RP Handbook
Eva's Journals  |  Eva's Wiki Page (coming soon)  |  RP Handbook
