[Donjon] Renaming attributes

[Sonja]

I find the current list of attributes very confusing and even sexist, e.g. virility/manliness means strength? :)

In my games I plan to change the attribute names to something more straightforward like Strength, Intelligence, Perception, Dexterity, Stamina and Charisma.

Sonja

[Mike Holmes]

The silly names for the attributes were a conscious design choice, Sonja. I take it you intend to play a very serious game of Donjon?

Mike

[Sonja]

Well I just want something that's user-friendly and direct. I think you can still play silly, but I like to have a simple terminological interface, especially for players whose first language may not be English. :)

[Mike Holmes]

Ah, and for whom the silliness of using a term like Adroitness may be lost anyhow. I see.

I think it's ironic that Stamina is more accessible than Constitution. :-)

Mike

[Sonja]

I think Constitution is a good word too. Everybody knows it because of D&D. What did you mean by that irony?

[James_Nostack]

Sonja, just for reference, Donjon's attributes are sort of an RPG in-joke.  Back in the day, there were a million games that were basically ripping off D&D.  D&D characters have attributes; therefore, obviously, if you're going to design an RPG it would need attributes as well!  And D&D had six, so your game would have to have six!  But your game would be completely and totally different because the six attributes you used would have--get ready for mind-blowing creativity at avoiding lawsuits--different names!!!!!!!1  Most of which were kind of stupid-sounding and confusing.

Clinton presumably knew this, and since he was deliberately ripping off D&D as a joke, gave the attributes--gotta have attributes!--asinine names.  The stupidness isn't a bug, it's a feature.

However, I pretty much agree with you: I'm so used to D&D that figuring out six different abbreviations that do basically the same thing isn't worth the joke.  So I just use the regular stats.  Since Donjon is open source, or creative commons, or whatever the licensing term is, you could even print up and sell a new version using the old stats.

(I agree with you, by the way, that "Virility" would be a sexist term.  I presume, though, that you're aware that in the early versions of D&D women characters weren't allowed to have high Strength scores, because, y'know, chicks are weaker?  So, at least to me, Donjon's usage isn't so much sexist, but a snide reference to the sexism of the source material.  But also: people who play Donjon are Manly Men, by definition.)

[Ricky Donato]

(I agree with you, by the way, that "Virility" would be a sexist term.  I presume, though, that you're aware that in the early versions of D&D women characters weren't allowed to have high Strength scores, because, y'know, chicks are weaker?  So, at least to me, Donjon's usage isn't so much sexist, but a snide reference to the sexism of the source material.  But also: people who play Donjon are Manly Men, by definition.)

And Sonja, just in case you are also not a native English speaker, James is joking here. :-)