Hello, friends!

[Amethyst Zennenseski]

I'm Amethyst, or Purple Girl! Purple is awesome, hence the reason my OC's name is a purple gem. Not like that one show on Cartoon Network. I think it's CN, but I'm not sure. Moving on! Amethyst is a mirror of me, put into a fantasy environment. And has pyrophobia. What's extremely bad about that? Aukarki. Hope I have a fun time! Though, question for all, and I might not be the only only thinking this, why are numbers mandatory for your OC's skills? I get that it keeps track of your character, but why not just create a forum for posts containing a summary of sorts about your OC's progress.

[Cassian Gawyne]

Hey there and welcome to ST. As you can probably tell the site is super active and super friendly and I hope you're having fun.

As for your question I'm no GM but I'd assume it's a threefold reason.

1) There's four kinds of people in the world and one of them is called an Achiever. Some people plain enjoy being able to level their stats. Also, numbers allow for fine increments of advancemen without two much hassle.

2) Then there's balance. Numbers are objective. Five is bigger than four is bigger than three. No arguments. (Ironically I just wrote out all numbers in a post about numbers.) I may take a dim view of humanity but I've seen tons of issues arising from people lawyering why their character should be better than another in a purely descriptive paradigm. Numbers are objective. Five is better than four is better than three.

3) Convention is my last guess. Tabletop RPGs have been doing it for 40 years. It's what people know and recognize.

There's probably other reasons but that's my guess.

Counterquestion! What's an OC?

[Kaladis Anar]

Welcome I hope you enjoy yourself here.
Pyrophobia will be interesting to play out! Especially in the couple of weeks left of the extremely cold season we are in.

My personal experience of numbers.

Much like the seasons numbers give a framework for roleplay. The way I understand it, functionally numbers are a reference for moderated threads when you attempt something, and also other writers as to how well you are likely doing something. To show progression of your character over time, and to give you some ideas of what your character can do with a particular skill.

This also really helps limit the many disagreements of freeform roleplay, between two writers on what is possible for a particular character. Which is a subtext often on different boards, especially in conflict orientated threads, that you frequently find. Whereas if its spelled out in a skill sheet, at Mastery you can do this, then at Mastery you can do that.

Something i've also noticed from many sites: While I would like to tell you writers read every detail of your biography before they post to you, checking your history etc, some do, some don't and either way they are going to miss things, especially as your history gets longer. When something does come up, and they need to double check, they can skim a few numbers and get an idea of your skills in an area.

[Inali]

Welcome Amethyst! I saw your name and purple reminds me of of blue which makes me hope you'll pick an Eidisi... but I'm biased. The others have answered your questions regarding stat numbers so I won't repeat that. If you have any other questions let us know or hop in chat.

[Navik]

Since others have already answered your question, and I have nothing to add, I'll just take the chance to welcome you to Standing Trials!

Purple is indeed an awesome colour, hahaha. And pyrophobia, considering your PC's an Aukari, seems like a very interesting trait that can open up a lot of plots!

(Cassian, OC is Out of Character )