A Character within a Place has several statistics which are tracked with memories. These statistics have a base starting value determined by their CLASS, and are augmented by their Improbable Island game race, the number of Drive Kills they have, by their equipment, by their CLASS LEVEL, by the use of COMBAT DRUGS, and by BUFFs and DEBUFFs they receive during combat. The statistics tracked by the Ring's system are:
MELEE ATTACK VALUE - this is for hand to hand combat, armed or unarmed. Equipping a SLOT 1 WEAPON will increase this value. Your CLASS and race and number of Drive Kills will affect this value. Various BUFFs and DEBUFFs will influence this value dynamically during an encounter. Certain types of GEAR or ARMOR may also affect this value.
RANGED ATTACK VALUE - this is for ranged combat. Equipping a SLOT 2 WEAPON will increase this value. Because characters with a low number of Drive Kills are inherently weaker than those with many, the use of ranged weapons serves as an equalizer that allows them to stay 'competitive' in an encounter versus a character who by virtue of their Improbable strength and prowess does not even need a weapon to create mayhem. Various BUFFs and DEBUFFs will influence this value dynamically during an encounter. Certain types of GEAR or ARMOR may also affect this value.
SPECIAL ABILITY VALUE - this is for CLASS based special actions that may be taken during a combat encounter. Each CLASS gets five SPECIAL ABILITIES to start. At least one will be a special attack against MOOKS, one will be a special attack against BOSSES, and the remainder will BUFF the player in some way or DEBUFF their enemies as a whole or as a targeted group. The SPECIAL ABILITY VALUE is increased by equipping a SLOT 3 WEAPON, by using certain ARMOR, or GEAR, the use of COMBAT DRUGS, and even some SPECIAL ABILITIES will BUFF their own stat when used.
DEFENSE VALUE - this is for all combat, and is used when MOOKS or BOSSES counter-attack the player to determine if they get hit or not. DEFENSE is a general estimation of a player's ability to avoid injury, and can be thought of as some combination of their innate physical toughness, their agility and reflexes to avoid blows, and the protection of various kinds of armor and defensive equipment they might have equipped. This stat is increased by ARMOR, some GEAR types, player race, number of Drive Kills, and may be BUFFED or DEBUFFED during an encounter.
HEALTH - this is the “hit points” of the character. Characters whose HEALTH has been reduced to zero may no longer engage in the encounter combat mechanic. Their status within Story at this point is solely up to their narrator, but this system will allow them to end the fight successfully anyway using the ABORT option, or, if they are presently equipped with GEAR that restores HEALTH, to trigger that item and get back into the fight. As one of my stated goals for this entire system was to inform a narrator's roleplaying rather than overriding it, the HEALTH system is Story flexible. One must restore some HEALTH before one can reenter the game's combat mechanic, however. A character's CLASS, race, number of Drive Kills, the use of BUFFS, and COMBAT DRUGS all affect this value.