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Stat Progression Naming Convetions
And what it means for you!

Hello!

I'm throwing this post together to address with the community at large our reasoning with regards to stat progression names, what they mean (in general terms), and what staff expectations are of you (the players) with regards to RPing those stats day to day.

First, let me say that discussion about this, while welcome, should be done from the standpoint of 'the way things are, is the way they are currently'. That means, not to mince words, that if an admin tells you that your stats are not good enough to attempt a certain task, have a certain job, expect a certain outcome, or that they do not believe you are appropriately RPing your lack of charisma or over abundance of muscle, you should adjust your play accordingly.

There is only one person currently on the staff that had both a hand in choosing the stat progression naming conventions and in making arguments for and against other naming conventions. That person if you hadn't guessed, is our fearless leader, Johnny.

All other admin who address this issue with players and staffers alike are doing what has been set forth by Johnny, and upholding his wishes with regards to the naming conventions, how we expect players to RP their stats, and how that information is presented to the players when requested. Please respect that when orders come down from the top, while internal debate may take place among the admin staff--what is currently in place supersedes anything that might be wished for or requested.

In other words: please don't shoot the messenger.

Now, all that out of the way, let's discuss in non information breaching terms, what 'average' actually means and how you can gauge your stat progress.

As it was explained to me, there are 65 million+ people living in the city. Most of them are poor, undereducated and will amount to nothing with their lives. If you have a stat that is 'Average', then you are average compared to those millions upon millions of equally statted ambient population members who are amounting to nothing with their lives-- barely eeking out an existence. They survive off of the sparse food shipments delivered by armored food trucks to the Mix, by corporations that could really give a fuck less who lives or dies on Red. Or they subsist off the half eaten trash that corpies throw off the skywalk for laughs.

You are not average by today's standards. For all intents and purposes, the Mix is a Third World Country-- and while intelligence has very little to do with where you are born (aside from perhaps, the nurture effects of poor nutrition on brain development), education in the Mix--aside from the kind you get on the streets--is at something close to absolute zero.

Your typical mixer player character may have average intelligence due to lack of education. If you disagree that you are just a run of the mill mixer among a throng of other mixers, by all means, devote UE to boosting that stat. RP reading books on the grid, sneak into the library on Green and dodge the WJF guards and Librarians while furthering your knowledge of the world and strategy.

If you agility is 'average' then you are certainly able to trade blows with the average malnourished street scum you find yourself surrounded by. That doesn't mean that 'gangers' are average though. They are above average. They are predators. Should you wish to not be prey, by all means, devote UE to agility, or strength, or endurance. RP doing pushups or jogging or jumping rope.

If your charisma is average or your character is ugly-- devote UE to charisma and RP washing your face to remove pimples. Brush your hair to make it shine. Buy better clothes. Bath more often. Get a haircut. All things that are valid and valuable in game roleplay that can justify your progression of stats.

For all you corpies out there thinking "but i am not from the mix, how can my character be compared to these millions of citizens doing nothing with their lives while I live in my ivory tower of opulence surrounded by personal tutors and flash learning systems" I will point out that corpie stats generally start out much different than Mixer stats. Corpies are all charisma and intelligence. If you are 'average' in intelligence, you are still average as compared to the millions of other citizens of the city that are vying for your place in the food chain. Take the same measures to improve your stats and skills and RP it according to what is themely for your character.

Every player character (and most NPCs) in the game are special snowflakes. They stand out from the backdrop of sweaty moving bodies and cries for help in the darkness. Each character is already, in their own way, above average. Your stats, as your character develops, are an expression of that specialness. Your character has a huge amount of potential, many of it, as yet unrealized. Roleplay is clearly the defining factor in a characters uniqueness and specialness. However, another, less important (if you ask me) way of measuring your character, is the progression of your stats.

Average might be confusing to see. I understand. I even agree. I've argued a few times that we should change the stat progression names. I think it's a great topic for the next Town Hall. However that doesn't mean it will change, even if discussed. A good argument might win the day though.

The best progression measure I can give, is the UE Curve. For those of you that have hit it with one of your stats, you already understand. For those of you who haven't, there comes a time in your raising of a stat, that it will cost more than 1 (or 2 for Strength and Luck) UE that it does early on.

Look at 'average' through the lens of 65 million other people. Don't settle for it. It's probably not enough. As you progress you will find more and more reason to raise many of your stats well past average and perhaps past the UE curve itself.

When you hit the UE Curve, you can consider yourself 'average' with regards to the other PC and NPC characters in the game.

Until such a time as the stat naming conventions change (if that ever occurs) I know that all of you will continue your best efforts to RP your stats accordingly, as well as educate--using the examples and justifications I have provided in this post OR this post itself--other players who don't yet understand our reasoning behind the current naming conventions.

Thanks!

-- S

To help alleviate confusion around this, we have changed 'Average' to 'Ordinary'. This should remove any notions about it relating to the mathematical definition of 'Average'.