Acronym Help

[Maat Mons]

Okay, so I've got an idea for a system of ability scores.

• Str/Con Combo: In this hypothetical system, the extent to which a character focuses on offense or defense is not represented by ability scores.
• Dex Equivalent: And unlike D&D, the dexterity stat will govern to-hit with everything.
• Int/Wis/Cha Combo: Just the one mental stat.
• Stat for Spellcasting: Instead of each class using a different one.

Now, my first thought was yo call them Strong, Skillful, Smart, and Spooky. But I feel like that has a few problems. for one thing, those are adjectives, and I think it makes more sense for attributes to be nouns. For another thing, they all start with the same letter. and while that has a nice sibilance to it, it complicates abbreviations. So I started seeking synonyms.

I'm looking for words that would clearly communicate what the stat represents, even to people unfamiliar with the system. So, for example, the Str/Con stat shouldn't have a name that would lead people to assume it's just a Strength stat, or that it's just a Constitution stat. This has turned out to be hard, especially for the magic stat. Most words I can come up with sound like they should represent some specific aspect of spellcasting.

To make matters worse, I've gotten it into my head that the stats should form some sort of acronym, especially an onomatopoeia of some sort. Can someone who's good with words help me out? Or maybe just talk me out of some of my criteria?

• Each word can't be a better fit to a different, more common stat concept.
• None of the words can start with the same letter.
• Each word needs to be the sort of thing a normal person would actually use to describe what the stat represents.
• The stats should form an acronym.

Here's what my brainstorming has yielded thus far.

• Brains, Anima, Might Finesse (BAMF)
• Brains, Agility, Magic, Fitness (also BAMF)
• Brawn, Alertness, Magic, Finesse (also also BAMF)
• Vigor, Wits, Agility, Magic (VWAM)
• Smarts, Power, Agility, Magic (SPAM)
• Speed, Power, Acumen, Magic (also SPAM)
• Fitness, Wits, Agility, Magic (FWAM)
• Brawn, Wits, Agility, Magic (BWAM)

Thoughts:

• Does anyone actually say "brains"
• Anima is an obscure Latin word, and also a concept in Jungian psychology.
• Does "agility" really sound like it should also include hand-eye coordination and reflexes?
• Okay, I'm pretty sure no one says "smarts."
• Does "speed" seem like it should govern manual dexterity?
• Does power sound like it should also include magical power?
• Is "acumen" too obscure?
• Does "fitness" sound like anything?
• Do people still use the word "brawn?"
• "Alertness" sounds like a purely perception thing, doesn't it?

[aimlessPolymath]

Magic, Intellect, Skill, Strength
Body, Occult, Precision, Genius
Wits, Esoteric, Body, Skill

Also consider Arcana, Power, Guts, Mind as possible words.

[Thanatos 51-50]

I mean, if you're looking for fun acronyms, there's MARK
Mysticism
Acumen
Reflexes
Kinesics

[JNAProductions]

Does anyone actually say "brains"

Zombies. :P

In all seriousness, I wouldn't be trying for acronyms or anything excessively fancy/wordy. Just find a good word that evokes what you want, and if you end up with words that don't necessarily sound good together, at least they're clear.

[GaelofDarkness]

These aren't very onomatopoeic, but how about.

Cognition Occultism Reflexes Energy (as in strength/con) .... CORE

Might, Adroitness, Intensity (magic), Nous (mind) ............. MAIN

Guts, Adroitness, Intensity, Nous ..................................... GAIN

Brawn, Adroitness, Nous, Esotericism ............................... BANE

Guts, Occultism, Acumen, Legerdemain ............................ GOAL

Guts, Adroitness, Mind, Esotericism/Essence/Ether ............ GAME

This has the added benefit of making it possible to call your homebrew the GAME game.

If you'll allow a repeated initial, you could have them be the characters' stats both literally and as an acronym

Smarts, Toughness, Arcana Tact/Technique ....................... STAT

EDIT: You can always have capital "T" as an abbreviation for Toughness and a lowercase "t" as an abbreviation for tact/technique. END EDIT


Having a fun acronym is all well and good - I'm afraid I may be the one who sent you down this path - but if it becomes un-fun at any point and you just feel like nothing's good enough, it's probably for the best to take a step back and maybe stick with something that's functional if not the perfectly satisfying answer you were hoping for.

[Maat Mons]

I'm afraid I may be the one who sent you down this path

You're partly responsible for renewing the obsession, but you most certainly didn't originate it.

but if it becomes un-fun

It might be feeling a little unfun.

and you just feel like nothing's good enough

Okay, yeah, it's definitely feeling like that.

Just find a good word that evokes what you want, and if you end up with words that don't necessarily sound good together, at least they're clear.

People keep talking sense...



It's just that, once I started considering the possibility of two groups of stats, and every roll adding together one stat from each group, an idea for the look of the stat block came into my head:





I think it was the exclamation mark that really got its hooks in my brain.

Of course, the second set proved to be even more resistant to acronyming than the first.

[GaelofDarkness]

It's just that, once I started considering the possibility of two groups of stats, and every roll adding together one stat from each group, an idea for the look of the stat block came into my head:





I think it was the exclamation mark that really got its hooks in my brain.

Of course, the second set proved to be even more resistant to acronyming than the first.

That's an amazingly cool idea that I have absolutely zero idea how to advise you on crafting. It seems like something I could wrestle with for a long time and not come up with a satisfying solution for. I do love the feel of it though.

[Hish]

• Brains, Agility, Magic, Fitness (also BAMF)

This one stuck out as being the best. Brains doesn't sound awkward. Agility doesn't entirely cover manual dexterity, but the term "dexterity" doesn't really cover agility, and everyone got over that. If Magic is supposed to be agnostic about what type of magic it is, Magic seems to be the best term. Fitness is likewise the best term on that list at combining strength and constitution.

And as an added bonus, if you do use POW on the other axis, both axes are old batman sound effects.

I agree that you probably shouldn't worry too much about it. You already have several solid set ups, and in the end whatever you choose will work just fine.

[Saintheart]

Hmmm.

Str/Con Combo: In this hypothetical system, the extent to which a character focuses on offense or defense is not represented by ability scores.
Int/Wis/Cha Combo: Just the one mental stat.
Stat for Spellcasting: Instead of each class using a different one.
Dex Equivalent: And unlike D&D, the dexterity stat will govern to-hit with everything.


BUMP: Brawn, Understanding, Magic, Precision.


Str/Con Combo: In this hypothetical system, the extent to which a character focuses on offense or defense is not represented by ability scores.
Stat for Spellcasting: Instead of each class using a different one.
Int/Wis/Cha Combo: Just the one mental stat.
Dex Equivalent: And unlike D&D, the dexterity stat will govern to-hit with everything.

BONE: Brawn, Occult, Nous, Exactitude

(Your character has "good BONEs"!)

[Maat Mons]

This one stuck out as being the best. Brains doesn't sound awkward. Agility doesn't entirely cover manual dexterity, but the term "dexterity" doesn't really cover agility, and everyone got over that. If Magic is supposed to be agnostic about what type of magic it is, Magic seems to be the best term. Fitness is likewise the best term on that list at combining strength and constitution.

I'm not sure if it's the fact that you game me specific reassurances on individual words I was considering using, or if it's because taking your advice leaves me with the same abbreviation I was using before this latest round of dithering (it used to be Brains, Anima, Might, Finesse), but I think you've convinced me. I'll declare Brains, Agility, Magic, Fitness to be the winner... tentatively... for the time being.

Anyway, with that decided (sort of), does anyone want to offer suggestions for the other axis? The best individual words I've come up with so far are Offense, Defense, and Utility. But that doesn't really spell anything, at least not anything that looks right in front of an exclamation mark.

I can't think of many synonyms for any of those words, or even any synonyms, in the case of Utility. Trying to work from the other side isn't going too well either. The only onomatopoeias Ive managed to brainstorm are POW, RIP, UGH, ZAP, and ZIP.

If it helps, here's a chart showing examples of the sorts of things that each combo would govern (in vaguely D&D-ish terms).

[Bruno Carvalho]

If it helps, here's a chart showing examples of the sorts of things that each combo would govern (in vaguely D&D-ish terms).

Now, do it again, using the BANG ! POW example, and theming it as "Wild West" (fantastical Wild West?). Then we're done.

[Maat Mons]

While I do think the BANG / POW combo is... let's call it "punchy," I'm not really satisfied with any of the ability names I've come up with for that.

Brains, Athletics, Numen, Grace
Brains, Agility, Numen, Grit
Brains, Arcana, Nimbleness, Girth
Brawn, Arcana, Noggin, Grace
Bulk, Acumen, Nimbleness, Gnosis
Brawn, Agility, Neurals, Gnosis

Potency, ???, Warding
Protection, Offense, ???

[Nifft]

Practical / Offense / Withstand

Protection / Ordinance / Wits

PANIC / OMG / WTF

[Maat Mons]

Practical

Well, having the second axis be adjectives could be interesting, given that the first access consits of nouns. "Make a Practical Athletics check." "Make an Offensive Grace check." "Make a Warded Brains check."

Hmm, maybe "practical," "weaponized," and... I really don't know. Obviative?

Then again, the grammar surrounding discussion of individual ability scores may feel more natural if they're nouns. ... I don't know.

[jqavins]

First, I endorse Brains-Agility-Magic-Fitness. That's a solid winner. Keep that.

As for the other axis, I must ne thinking hard, 'cause I can smell the wood burning under the boiler, but I'm not getting anywhere. So how about I just toss out some words for the three categories and maybe someone else can put together a good acronym or add more synonyms?

• For the attack word: aggressive, attacking, harmful, damaging, brutal, wolloping, hurting, clobbering,
• For the defense word: defensive, protective, withstanding, surviving, escaping, evading, dodging (those last three are all too agility-specific)
• For the other one: helpful, general, utility, diverse, versatile, handy,

[aimlessPolymath]

First, I endorse Brains-Agility-Magic-Fitness. That's a solid winner. Keep that.

As for the other axis, I must ne thinking hard, 'cause I can smell the wood burning under the boiler, but I'm not getting anywhere. So how about I just toss out some words for the three categories and maybe someone else can put together a good acronym or add more synonyms?

• For the attack word: aggressive, attacking, harmful, damaging, brutal, wolloping, hurting, clobbering,
• For the defense word: defensive, protective, withstanding, surviving, escaping, evading, dodging (those last three are all too agility-specific)
• For the other one: helpful, general, utility, diverse, versatile, handy,

Good thought, that gives us A, E(not the best, as you noted), and U as vowels.

Offense gives us O.

Maybe General, Offense, Defense?
Protective, Offense, Utility
Helpful, Offense, Withstand
Aggressive, Creative, Tactical (It's a stretch, but I like the acronym)?

[Maat Mons]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll add in a little of my own brainstorming.

• General, Offense, Warding (GOW)
• Protection, Offense, General (POG)
• Protection, Hostility, Utility (PHU)
• Utility, Guard, Hostility (UGH)
• Offense, Mitigation, General (OMG)

[Nifft]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll add in a little of my own brainstorming.

• Protection, Hostility, Utility (PHU)

You could add a luck-type stat ("Chance") on the end.

[Maat Mons]

Pronounce "fuss," obviously.

[Nifft]

Pronounce "fuss," obviously.

"My love for you is like a truss, BERSERKER.
Are you want to making fuss? BERSERKER."

"Did he just say, making fuss?"

-- -- --

You could also go Offense / Defense / Skill for ODS.

"Never tell me the ODS!"

[Gorum]

Attack / Defense / Special Attack / Special Defense ( Pokemon)

[Bohandas]

Dexterity, Understanding (Int/Wis), Numinousness (Spellcasting), Guts (Str/Con): DUNG

EDIT:
Brawl (attack), Uphold (defense), Minister (utility): BUM

Of course this only works if the desired mood is a lighthearted and silly one

EDIT:
Bandage (healing/utility), Attack, Defense: BAD

EDIT:
Guts (Str/Con), Wisdom (Wis/Int), Agility (Dex), Runes (Magic): GWAR
Interfere (utility), Combat, Protect (Defense): ICP
(how metal is your game?)

EDIT:
Enchantment (Magic), Dexterity (Dex), Ingenuity (Int/Wis), Tonicity (Str/Con): EDIT

EDIT:
More seriously:

Bulwark (defense), Attack, Minister (utility): (BAM!)
or
Brawl, Absorb (defense), Mastery (utility): (BAM!)

[Maat Mons]

Versatility, Offense, Protection (VOP)
Versatility, Offense, Defense (VOD)
Versatility, Wrath, Protection (VWP)
Wrath, Utility, Defense (WUD)
Edit:
Offense, Utility, Protection (OUP)

[Nifft]

Protection, Offense, ???

Protection / Offense / Whatever (POW)

You use the Whatever category for everything that is neither Protection nor Offense.

[Gorum]

Protection / Offense / Whatever (POW)

You use the Whatever category for everything that is neither Protection nor Offense.

"I don't see what would be the correct skill to roll."
"Just roll whatever."

Seriously tho, replace whatever by Will, then add Energy and Resist Magic and you've got POWER.

[Gorum]

"I don't see what would be the correct skill to roll."
"Just roll whatever."

Seriously tho, replace whatever by Will, then add Energy and Resist Magic and you've got POWER.

Heck, Protect vs. Offense, Energy (magic) vs Resistance, and Willpower is a ressource you spend to give a bonus to rolls.

It's a good acronym, and stats are ordered in a way that makes some sense (Physical / Will / Mystical).

[jqavins]

Defense, Offense, Help

DOH!