I need a bit of help in defining 3 terms for my game (Tactical Ops)
Think of them as attributes you roll if you make your PC behave in a certain way.

At the moment thay are defined as Force and Finesse and Caution , but I'm not happy with them at all, they produce quite some confusion at the table.
So here is what they should represent ... hope you guys can help me figure out some fitting names:

One is for when your PC acts in an open, simple and straightforward way to reach his goal.
ex.. I want to hit you = I walk towards you and punch you in the face

One is for when your PC acts in a more convoluted and complex way, maybe performing a little chain of tasks or intermediary steps to reach the final goal.
ex.. I want to hit you = I cut the rope holding the chandelier dangling over your head

One is for when your PC acts in a defensive way, he's covering his ass first and foremost while still trying to do something useful toward his main goal.
ex.. I want to hit you = I take cover, defending myself and soaking up blows until there is an opening and then I strike you

NOTE: I almost forgot!
Don't get deceived by my simple examples... all 3 attributes are meant to be equally usable in a Physical, Mental or Social arena to perform any kind of action.

So Force is also meant to fit a way of performing a mental actions (like sheer number crunching or straight-line logic) as well as a social actions (like going right to the girl and say "Hey Sexy").

Just to clarify ^_^

how about

Direct
Indirect
Defensive

I can consider cases where "defensive" is part of an "indirect" plan, how does that work out?

If you are defending yourself, be it in a simple or complex way, you are defending.

about the names... I would like to find a somehow "more natural" way of calling them.

As in I'm using Physical Force or Mental Caution or Social Finesse ... but with terms that better describe what I'm actually meaning, as explained before.

I know, I want a drunk wife and a full casket ... but one can try :-)

Get Some, Look Sharp, Lie Low.

If it's possible to win at such a question, I think Marshall did!

Marshall wrote:
Get Some, Look Sharp, Lie Low.

you Strike, you Maneuver, and you Pull Through

For option two, is Roundabout an option?

And for option three, Retreat or Withdraw keeps your military jargon and suggests a cautious maneuver to get yourself back and away.

Thanks everyone for the support, the search is now over :)

The final results are:
- Direct
- Crafty
- Defensive

Overt
Covert
Defensive?

Or just the direct, indirect, defensive.

Boldness
Slyness
Readiness

I revise my suggestion:

Cleverness instead of Slyness.

I could also see this working in a martial arts context where different animals represent the different approaches.

Like you could choose turtle, or rat, or lion. There could be way more than three, actually.

Overt
Covert
Tactical

dindenver wrote:
Overt
Covert
Tactical

Hasimir0 wrote:

dindenver wrote:
Overt
Covert
Tactical

mmm ... I'm giving this option a serious thought -_^

(I wrote this ages ago but only just got my stuff together so I could access the site again)

Hmm, maybe you could think from the perspective of people who normally choose those options, and name them on that basis:

Simply
Cleverly
Safely

This set has the nice effect of defining the others negatively; the clever option may not be safe or simple, the safe option might not be clever or simple, the simple option might not be clever or safe.