Statistics

Statistics In General
In Last Res0rt, you can do just about anything and have any career you want -- but what you physically are isn’t so easily changed. All characters in Last Res0rt have a few different types of stats:
 * Potential Stats are innate talents, which means a character has the potential to perform a certain level of actions. Potential Stats can be improved through various means, including exercise, technological gadgetry, or medical implants.
 * Refinement Stats are gained through education and practice, they can do some level of their potential actions without screwing up... most of the time, anyway. Refinement stats can be improved through diligent training and experience.
 * Sensory Stats are all about the limits of your body -- what you can actually sense (and what you can’t) is what you can act on, and can mean the difference between life and death! Sensory stats can be improved through medical or technological means, but are hardest of all to improve upon.

In the above chart, each Refinement statistic is next to its associated Potential. It is important to note, that a Refinement statistic can't rise above it's associated Potential. Certain aspects of game play, such as skills, modifications, or special bonuses, may bring a Refinement above it's Potential, however. These bonuses are recorded as "+x" to the base statistic, not as a direct addition. This will be further covered in the Species section.

The universal average is a rating of 5. That doesn't mean that every person has a 5 in every stat, only that, half the time, a given person will have at less than that, and half the time, they'll have more. Your average citizen will often average slightly lower than that, across all their statistics.

A short list of what each stat accomplishes
Intelligence is how well a person reasons, calculates, or remembers. It also influences the number of skill points a person receives. Wisdom is related to experience, and retaining a sense of self. It also influences the capacity to concentrate, and to control yourself. It also enhances a character's Stamina Pool, and is used to ignore mind-altering effects.

Charisma is an ephemeral quality that makes a person stand out, and plays an important roll in any interpersonal interaction. It can also be used to preform, and to obfuscate. Sterlings depend on this statistic to fuel their Bright Ideas. Communication is about clarity - the most effective way to express a given thought. It's also used to understand others - even if the message is hidden. A Being may not know more language families than their communication score, and is used when trying to communicate across different/new dialects within a language family.

Force is the statistic of brute applications of muscle and sinew. It governs all actions in which a burst of strength are called for. It also enhances the effectiveness of melee combat. Finesse is using strength cleverly, and in a controlled fashion - clever fingers and steady hands. This is the main stat for effectively landing blows, at any range.

Speed is the general capacity for speed - controlling how far and fast a person can travel. It also controls the number of Simple Actions a character can access on a combat turn. Agility covers maneuvering while in motion - acrobatics, climbing. It is used to avoid being hit, and may be required for certain performances, such as dancing.

Health is a general measure of your physical condition. It is mostly used to define the maximum number of wounds you can receive before dying in some unfortunate manner. Hardiness is related to enduring, and endurance - how long you can travel before you need to rest, or fighting through physical ailments, like poison. It also increases your Stamina Pool, and is involved in ignoring pain.

The five sensory stats are more or less what you would expect, and are used to learn about a situation. Is that your fugitive, hiding in the shadows? Sight check. Am I eating poison? Taste Check. In addition, certain abilities, such as Toning, are effected by Sensory statistics (Hearing opposes Toning). While many treat these statistics as less useful, a clever character can turn them into a potent tool, ferreting out large amounts of information and gaining an advantage over their competition.