I do statless or soft stats - hard stats are generally a hard pass for me. Although that really depends on how they're presented ... but really I'd rather write collaboratively than fall back on stats to figure things out.

i was just having this discussion the other day. i've really been enjoying the tabeltop i was playing, and it got me to thinking how much i really enjoy the random element of dice. can you imagine a game of d&d where players get to decide whether they succeed or fail at a task? it'd be no fun at all. the dice are a necessary component - not entirely to keep things "fair" - but also to add some surprise and critical thinking to the encounter.

to be honest, i love losing, and i love when my character is forced to think of another route to accomplish a goal, or have to deal with the consequences of failure altogether. it's a great opportunity for growth, and i gain a lot from it.

but i don't necessarily like deciding, "let's just say they fail." having the dice play a part in whether they succeed or fail adds a lot to the experience, but outside of a GM run tabletop, i like to have some say in what all that failure entails. by not throwing hitpoints on, i think it allows people to determine how the failure effects their character. losing hp feels more like salt in the wound than like something that contributes to the narrative.

it's definitely not for everyone. i know plenty of folks who bolt at the sight of numbers. but for me? i really do enjoy what rng brings to a scene.

voted for soft stats, but i feel like my ideal is somewhere between soft and hard. i like dice. i like stats. i don't like health points, energy pools, or cooldowns - most of the time. on the rare occasion, a cooldown adds to the tension of a thread, but it seems like something best reserved for BIG game-changing actions rather than every action having a timer of its own.

edit: after further thought, worth clarifying. it also depends very much on the site. sometimes stats really aren't necessary at all. i mostly find them helpful for combat or competitions.

I voted for statless, though I'd probably also be fine with soft stats. Statless requires a certain level of trust that people aren't going to try to out-powerplay each other. My qualms with soft stats are that it has the potential to 1) disadvantage latecomers if players can use site points to buy more stat points, and/or 2) end up with characters only getting to do a limited number of cool things based on what every thread participant's relative stat distribution is. (And you don't need stats to incorporate random outcomes, only a dice roller! Stats are only needed then if you want to have a consistent system to make certain characters more or less likely to succeed at a given action for the sake of "fairness" or "accuracy", but that raises problem 2) above. Maybe if failing spectacularly for the sake of telling a better story were encouraged by the site culture?)

Hard stats to me sounds like trying to play D&D over the internet, and the longer I RP and the more I get into indie RPGs, the more I realize I don't have the patience to number crunch combat and optimize stats, even when I'm playing with a small group of people who are ostensibly already my friends - I can't even imagine how mind-numbing it'd be with a huge group of people who aren't.

I’ve gravitated towards soft stats for a while. When done well, it can serve well to aid character development, or balancing in some scenarios, or just give ideas!! When I think of soft stats, I think of anything ranging from magic power levels to game relevant weaknesses and strengths. Magic power level systems were heavily ingrained in some of my early RP forums, so I still have a soft spot for them when they’re the only thing. I also like the “nobody is special and everyone is unique” approach.

Statless is good with me too. I generally trust people not to flippantly powerplay. As long as everyone’s on the same page and explanations make sense. I can see the problems that arise doing this, it’s some sword of creative freedom vs. accepting the possible conflict that can range from simple misunderstandings to intended maliciousness. So, I can understand the shift towards soft stats or some other kind of conflict resolution system. Even on sites without stats, I remember there being dedicated judges and reviews for any in-character fights, usually consisting of a combination of members and staff. Sometimes those judgments were anonymous.


If we’re talking dice rolls, or coin flips, those can work in any context, I don’t really bind the concept of them to the existence of a stat system. They’re fun. And I’m indecisive!!! So they help me decide what actually happens, even for mundane things. Adds spontaneity atop my already-preferred spontaneity.