General This could help with understanding Characteristics...

[Timerover51]

I like Gary Gygax's concept of Intelligence and Wisdom.

Wisdom: For game purposes wisdom ability subsumes the categories of
willpower, judgment, wile, enlightenment, and intuitiveness. An example of the
use of wisdom can be given by noting that while the intelligent character will
know that smoking is harmful to him, he may well lack the wisdom to stop (this
writer may well fall into this category)

This is taken from the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide, copyright 1979, 1st Edition.

 

[bookwyrm]

@Spinward Scout is the OP Ability List Link to help with Ability Scores in a gaming context? (sorry if this is a silly question)

I ask because, while the ability scores in a game are based on reality, they are a reality used as a game mechanic, and therefore there might be differences.

If I remember, CT has 6 (7 with Psi) Ability Scores, T20 has 8 (9 with Psi), and T5 has each of the Ability Scores with 2 sub-Abilities to deal with minor differences between a base human and aliens/critters (that looks like literary calculus to me for some reason) with physical, mental, environmental differences from the human norm. (I only know of this from the CotI forum, so I might be off a bit with the T5 stuff, and it's been a long time since I was using CT)

Ability Scores tend to be focused and rarely bleed over into other Abilities, although there are some situations where the better of 2 Abilities can be used to do something.

in T20, Intimidation uses Charisma as a base, a force of personality to intimidate information out of someone. although not mentioned, I think Social could work to intimidate someone who has a fear or respect for a high Soc Noble interrogator. In Neverwinter Nights, a PC game based on D&D, Strength was the base for Intimidation, with the threat of physical violence used to lower an enemies guard. I also thought of it being used in T20 as the threat of physical pain to get information, you know, the looming hulk of a person cracking their knuckles while the dapper looking guy tries to convince you to spill the beans, or the Venerable Elder (I'm using the example of characters from Elizabeth Moon novels) who uses their considerable position in the family to figure out just who is pilfering money from the Family Conglomerate (don't mess with The Elder, you WILL regret it...). And Interrogation is actually a different game mechanic from Intimidation in T20, with the former being more physical and the latter being more psychological in nature.

 

[Spinward Scout]

is the OP Ability List Link to help with Ability Scores in a gaming context? (sorry if this is a silly question)

Yeah. just to remember what to use each Characteristic for. They're mostly pretty obvious. Except the debate we've been having between INT and EDU.

 

[kilemall]

In my usage SOC is used as the base in
most situations for intimidation, just as much as something like carousing or leader. It’s the ability to read others emotions and just as importantly have the discipline to act optimally to affect them positively or negatively which makes it different from charisma.

Deception is another skill using SOC.

That’s different in my schema from interrogation, which I bundle into a merged skill called Investigation. It’s the primary science/detective skill, of which interrogating is a part of. That uses INT or EDU, depending.

 

[Condottiere]

I don't recall where I saw this, but you had a main characteristic, and a bunch of subcharacteristics associated with it, and then you raised and lowered them to taste.

I'm pretty sure it was a computer game, which is why raising or lowering one subcharacteristic effected the others, unless you selectively isolated them.

 

[Spinward Scout]

I don't recall where I saw this, but you had a main characteristic, and a bunch of subcharacteristics associated with it, and then you raised and lowered them to taste.

Last Unicorn Games' Star Trek used that. They called them Edges, if I remember right.

 

[Condottiere]

Some call it fine tuning personality.

Others min maxing.

 

[bookwyrm]

Yeah. just to remember what to use each Characteristic for. They're mostly pretty obvious. Except the debate we've been having between INT and EDU.

I find that most game systems (at least the ones I've used) do a good job of explaining how the different Abilities are to be used. The problems that arise come from situations where the Ability you are supposed to use doesn't feel/look right. A Character might try to use Int to convince someone to do something/change their mind through Logic & Information, Soc to use their position, Chr to use their charming personality, Edu to use their vast knowledge, Str to use physical force... I was just now thinking of a low Soc & Chr Character with high Dex who might be a no morals type of person who has a mesmerizing way of convincing people to see things their way while spinning/tossing a very sharp & ugly looking something in their hand while their underlings keep you from trying to get away... for example