In RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons, it is often possible to create characters by assigning points or values to attributes. High attributes are desirable, but new characters do not enough points to afford that goal. As a result, players may pick a single stat to push as low down as they dare, freeing points from it to assign elsewhere. That low stat is sometimes known as the dump stat.
Whereas dump stat is a reasonably ubiquitous term, I noticed different phrases being used to describe the highest attribute characters had over the course of several online conventions.
What name would you give that one heroically high attribute? Is it ‘high stat’?
I took this question to the Facebook Group Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition and asked it in an open poll.
Open polls are fraught with bother as anyone can add their own suggested answer for other people to vote on. It was a risk I was willing to take, and despite “Harambe lives in open polls” securing 17 points and “Prime Requisite” landing 15, I did get usable data.
The opposite of dump stat is “main stat”, according to the D&D community.
Here are the (sanitised) poll results
| What’s the opposite of dump stat? | Votes |
|---|---|
| Main stat | 224 votes |
| Primary stat | 158 votes |
| Key stat | 24 votes |
| Flex stat | 3 votes |
| Hero stat | 1 vote |
| Pump stat | 1 vote |
Creative Commons credit: All muscle by Jowain92.
What do you think? Sound off in the comment section below.
