Shadan

Thank you for posting this! I have been P&P gaming since I was 5, and I've done this very exercise several times, and have learned that it can be very entertaining experience to translate oneself into stats and have them move about in the game world... (in fact - I would often require it of players who demonstrated difficulty separating their personality from that of their character, and I would literally have them role-play an encounter WITH their character to help them define the differences between the two personalities) Now for the brutally honest part... (But before I get to it, a word of caution; when you read these, you're likely to consider that I am A. Lying B. Delusional or C. Trying to impress you - Let me state for the record beforehand that I am D. none of the above. As I have stated - I have done this many times and have only come to these figures by actual testing or by common sense comparison) STRENGTH: 16 or 17(possibly higher - I can't find my PH to check the scale, and I can't remember off the top of my head) I don't work out, but I have lived a life of manual labor and a hard life on the streets. DEXTERITY: 19 (honestly - I can catch arrows between 60 - 75% of the time - I am irregularly agile for someone my size. I've been a practicer of martial arts and keep myself fairly limber Of course, this stat may also be influenced by a certain caffinated beverage that seems to have replaced most of my blood... CONSTITUTION: 15 to 18 (depending on my lifestyle - currently, I'm at about a 16 due to too much time in front of the computer, but when living in the woods or other regularly strenous lifestyle, it usually slides back up to around an 18) INTELLIGENCE: 17 (going off the scale that Einstein is at least a 19) WISDOM: 20+ (just don't ask how I got it. unless you're ready for a serious yoda-esque uber-spiritual discussion.. LOL! (And no, I am not the kind of person you want to get in an arguement with either... CHARISMA: This has always been the hardest one to self-define, and I tend to think that it is the most chageable of all the stats - I myself can range from around a 17 (in a really good mood on a "good hair day"), but I average around 13 or 14 (suffering serious point loss from blunt tactlessness)... but at 4 am without caffine, I'd be suprised if I graced a 5... LOL! Now before folks start laugh incredulously at my stats, there are a few things to understand: 1st: I'm a pretty big guy (6' 4", about 265#s) who's led a very physically demanding life well beyond the norm. (Imagine a soldier on active duty/ at war for 20 years, and you'll understand the physical stats) 2nd: I'm a career rogue scholar (like being in college FT - if I'm not doing something physically active, I'm usually engaged in academics or research, or otherwise seeking to expand my skillset / knowledge base) 3rd: I'm pretty much living proof that D&D is entirely fantasy, because I'd definately be a multi-class human that progesses very slowly in all of them... Then again, who knows, I know I've got Irish blood in me, maybe theirs some Elf in there, too... LOL! 4th: I've lived anything but an average life, and have lived as many real-world adventures as I have in the misty world of the imagination... (They're where my best ideas come from!) Some day, I'll write a book about it... (And knowing my luck, someone would classify it under fiction... LOL! I honestly wouldn't believe it myself if I hadn't lived through it... [which is also one of the things that contributed to the heightened WISDOM atttribute - I learned alot of very valuable lessons by making lots of mistakes and learning things the hard way) Also, I would like to state for the record that I think many of you are underestimating yourselves! Remember, the D&D scale is set for roughly mideval times... Back then, mental stats of 7 to 10 were "average", whereas in the modern era, the average is a bit higher... However, conversely, the average physical stats back then were easily in the 13 to 16 average range, whereas these days it would be closer to 8 to 12... (Most people just aren't as physically active, because we don't have to be to survive, usually - there are a few rare exceptions [i should know, I'm one of them]) I'm not sure if people have an accurate sense of INT - there are alot of different kinds of "smarts" out there - most "IQ tests" are complete BS - a good indicator of your intellect is the amount of time it takes you to figure something out - the less time it takes, the higher the number... (In my experience, most "regular" gamers are actually at the high end of the scale in comparison to non-gaming folks) Also - I think most people don't gauge their CONs correctly, because they've never pushed themselves to their limits (let alone on a regular basis!) Here's a "quickie list" of modifiers you all might be able to use to re-consider your scores: Modifier Factor +1 CON Good diet (as in "fairly healthy" - avoiding fast food, healthy snacks) +2 CON Specialized diet for your body type/lifestyle ("super healthy") -2 CON Typical Gamer diet (pop, chips, pizza, fast food +2 CON Regular physical activity (This could be walking the dog, exercise, etc.) +3 CON Any type of military training, lifestyle of hardship or demanding physical labor -1 CON If you spend more than 40 hours a week in front of the TV or Computer -2 CON If you smoke +1 INT If you watch the news regularly and wonder what stories aren't covered by it +1 INT If you read at least 3 books a year +2 INT If you read 10 books or more a year +3 INT If you love to read constantly or compusively find yourself enjoying research and engaging in it regularly +1 INT If you're the member of your party who always helps figure out puzzles +2 INT If you anticipate what the GM/DM has up their sleeve next and don't say anything about it openly. +1 INT If you "fudge" on your taxes without getting caught +3 INT If you went higher than Statistics in school, or got good grades in a scientific course of study AND can still remember at least 70% of what you learned. +2 INT If you have lived on the streets, been involved in criminal activity w/o getting caught, or are a true-blue hacker of the caliber that can crack average systems +3 INT If you can hack defense nets or other highly secure systems -2 INT If you did methamphetamines during a year (note that this modifier is cumulative - that stuff destroys your brain!!!) -1 INT If you watch more than 20 hours of TV a week -2 INT If you watch more than 40 hours of TV a week +2 INT If you can understand other people's point of view/perspective (yes, this means most P&P RPGers usually have a more articulate & flexible mind) +2 INT If you GM/DM regularly +1 INT If you are a programmer (even if it's just HTML/web pages) +2 INT If you know Unix, Perl, etc. like the back of your hand. +2 INT If you like,or regularly visit the local Library -1 WIS If you've ever bought into a pyramid scheme, get-rich-quick scheme, or regularly find yourselve been taken advantage of. -2 WIS If you own more than 20 pairs of shoes... (sorry ladies... -1 WIS If you occasionally argue with your spouse or significant other -3 WIS If you regularly argue with your spouse or SO +1 WIS If you didn't vote to re-elect the current President of the United States* -2 WIS If you entirely abstain from voting +1 WIS If you GM/DM regularly +1 WIS If you donate to charitable causes -1 WIS If you regularly find yourself trying to impress others +2 WIS If you study in-depth spiritual beliefs other than your own +1 WIS If you've studied your own spiritual belief system in-depth +4 WIS If you keep a journal regularly and read back through it occasionally +1 WIS If you keep more than 30 books on hand or nearby for easy reference -2 WIS If you regularly engage in criminal activity +2 WIS If you are an artist who actually gets paid. -2 WIS If you find yourself making the same mistakes repeatedly throughout life without ever really figuring out why. +1 WIS If you are still single after the age of 30 +2 WIS For every child you have (note: this modifier is cumulative for each child) +2 WIS If you currently, or ever have, held a position in a public office (Unless your name is G.W. Bush, in which case you are not eligable for this modifier*) +1 WIS If you have played more than 4 different alignments with integrity (or w/o it if one of them was Chaotic Neutral or Evil) +3 WIS If you have ever played as a True Neutral with integrity. +1 WIS If you have ever played as a member of the opposite sex with integrity and respect applied to the gender. Anyways, these are merely suggestions that should help out with the guesswork for squeezing yourself into these attributes. Obviously, if you take all the modifiers literally, you'll end up with totally skewered stats, but if you pick 3 to 5 of the most relevent ones, you'll probably be closer to the mark in your self-assessments,,, GIVE YOURSELVES SOME CREDIT (where credit is due)! (* I truly apologize if these political statements offended anyone, but I don't apologize for having said them - consider me highly offended for having to put up with him for a second term, and we'll call it even and go back to just being Americans...