Revision as of 13:17, 20 March 2016

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Purpose

This page is for discussing the terminology employed in the game. This is for mechanical as well as philosophical reasons. Each game has its own jargon and lingo, and to have a cohesive experience we need this jargon to be clear and thematic. Anyone who is participating should create new sections and comment as they like on any part of the page.

Traits

Currently, Future Imperfect employs 8 Traits. These traits are divided into two categories of 4 each: Physical and Uncarnate.

Physical Traits

The following are the 4 physical traits. Are these names the best? Do they accomplish what we want? Could we improve?

Strength

This is a pretty standard word. Are we ok with that? No need to reinvent the wheel unnecessarily. Synonyms: brawn, prowess, forte, power, potence

Dexterity

Again, pretty standard. Synonyms: deftness, agility, coordination

Reflexes

Synonyms: Speed, quickness, reaction

Fortitude

Synonyms: Toughness, constitution, hardiness

Intangible Traits

Acuity

This implies sharpness of focus and perception, but also a little bit of discernment as well. This is rarely used in games and yet is clear and accurate.

Knowledge

By having a knowledge trait and no intelligence, we get around the player pretending to be something he clearly isn't. In a way we also imply that science is a function of education rather than intellect, and that is ok. I like the idea of cleverness, but I think that is exactly what the player supplies, no matter what the character intellect.

Presence

Synonyms: Bearing, willpower

Essence

Synonyms: Spirit, soul

Master

It seems normal to call someone a game master, but somehow stripping out the game makes it more powerful. The intended implication is that within a crew, the master may be in charge, he is one of the crew. He isn't segregated away like the officers. The master is one of them, almost like the Roman concept of "first among equals".

Crew

Even if the players are not going to be on a ship, using the term crew has implications that are stronger than the usual terms like group or party. This serves to drive home the central idea of Future Imperfect, that the story is there to be created by all.

Heroes

This is a much stronger term than character.

NPC

How about calling them extras?

Enemies

How about calling them antagonists?