The biggest problem with stats as they currently are is that they only apply when comparing the stat against others of the same exact race. There is no solid method of comparing the stats of 2 different races.
Then there is the issue of the stats not actually being used for anything other than to determine bonuses. Why even have them at all? Except that they are a part of Rolemaster…
Stats
There is al a lot of oddity involved when folks try to give monsters the same stats as PCs. In one of the Companions for RM2, they did just this, for every creature, and while things like strength and constitution work out very well, the mental stats don’t, and that is primarily because of sentience. Non-sentient creatures need to be treated differently than sentient creatures and races.
Stat Basics
Personally, I think that Racial Stat Mods should affect the stat itself, rather than the bonus directly. This will make the stats more meaningful when compared against one another.
- Generating Stats – The player should generate his stats in ways and methods similar to the current methods. Be it random rolls or point buys. However, stats should not be able to exceed the racial potentials.
- Stat Potentials - To determine the Racial Potenials, you just take 100 plus the Racial Stat Modifier. Therefore a Halfling with a Racial Strength mod of -10 and a Racial Agility mod os +15 would have potentials of 90 (100 + (-10) = 90) and 15 (100 + 15 = 115) respectively.
- Stat Gains – I am not too sure about this. I don’t think it shoul dbe random, but spending DPs might be too much as well. A Compromise might be a roll to determine how many points (1-5) the player gets to assign to his stats (raising them). But put a limit of no more than 1 point per each stat per level. So, if he rolls for 5 points, each of 5 stats will increase 1 point.
Not sure that I like the randomizing element though. Raising 1 stat by 1 point each level might be good. It allows for constant increases, but not at a rate that allows for too much increase too fast.
It might be better to go with something in between, like allowing 2 points per level or 3. So long as the stat gains are steady, that would be okay.
- Development Points - I am firmly of the opinion that DPs should most definitely be severed from Stats altogether. With having them tied to the stats, you get double bonuses and double negatives. Characters with high stats have more DPs and better stat bonuses, while those without high stats have lower stat bonuses and lower numbers of DPs, meaning that they have less skill ranks in skills as well.
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