Is there a mod to where your stats raise over time in game?
Nope.
There is a mutation category that allows for increasing your stats, though.
Additionally, there are good ol’ Granades, which work like grenades, but release happy colorful explosions that may increase your stats.
I think, anyway. The one time I got my hands on one, I threw it at a zombie like an idiot. 
Personally, I’m hoping there are options to increase stats for non-mutants eventually, but it’s quite likely that stats are considered your character’s intrinsic potential in different areas, which is why skills improve but stats don’t.
I dunno. We’ll see.
Just look out for those bees…
“Not the bees”?
I wouldn’t object to something like Nethack, where various non-specific actions train a stat, but neglecting/failing/doing something contrary to that stat can lower it. Obviously there should be a set limit for a normal human, I’d imagine 12 or so, to make Alpha seem more appealing.
14 is great-condition human. Stats can max at 20.
Nethack-style pisses me off as it encourages repetitive grinding and since its checks are random, there’s no way to tell how you’re doing or whether you’ll actually improve anytime shortly. It’s a slot machine: keep doing things and maybe you’ll get a payoff. Or not!
I’d like to see a system like IVAN’s (Iter Vehemens Ad Necem - A Violent Road to Death), where you’re sure to gain stats if you use the proper skills (swing heavy weapons, gain arm strength, carry heavy loads, gain leg strength) but the progress toward the stat gain is invisible.
@Nighthawk - that’s a proven concept, and it’s certainly more interesting when playing the game than being spoken of. Other RLs, however, follow another RPG logic or else…
Having a choice between mutations and CBMs is quite a stern one - even with only several stats to raise, actually. Since there is another link between technology and health (hospitals), I figured - one could get more or less successful treatment one time or another. It’s a “wishing well” of sorts, where your character’s body receives the treatment and adapts, accordingly. I think this sort of an upgrade, or a jinx, could mix things up a bit without messing up the whole dynamic.
FYI, I’ve considered inviting a 10-ish generation of steroid shot into CataDDA, the one that could introduce a boost-pool for one stat at a time. It could be interesting, given that the prolonged boost ends at some point rendering the character more or less capable depending on skills used to “drain” the actual pool; your character could even choose not to engage in such activities, and the follow-up could be a sort of limited tolerance to steroids as the chosen stat remains the same…
And then I remembered - CataDDA doesn’t have a Stamina mechanism suitable for this variant of “pool”, so it’s worth more as a concept (on paper) than an actual suggestion on the forums.
This could be solved by implementing player/creature levels and xp, but probably wouldn’t be easy to implement. I imagine a system similar to The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Player increases individual skills and you keep track of how many skill levels player has obtained. After so many skill levels, increase player level and give them a few stat points to play with. So basically each individual skills would have it’s own xp table. There would also be a player level table. This table would determine how many skill levels are required for a player level.
This obviously doesn’t take into account that zombies/critters would have to change to keep the challenge.
You hit the zombie hulk!
Zombie hulk instantly disintegrates, leaving you covered in a fine red mist.
EDIT:: I want something in-game that will do this. Even if it’s damn near impossible to find and one-time use. Reward from the temple maybe?
EDIT:: So it just dawned on me that my initial ( half-asleep ) implementation difficulty may be drastically under estimated. I know hardly any of the codebase though, so can someone with a bit more experience shed some light? How much of the codebase do you think something like this could span? What existing systems could benefit from player levels?
EDIT:: Another thought that just hit my TODO list: I used to play ( still do every now and then ) Anarchy Online. The game was set in a more distant future, but the stuff I’m talking about could be made today. ( And is… )
Booster Shots. Temporary stat increase. Make it unrepairable and make it’s bonus based on how damaged it is. ( Which in-itself could be another improvement Hmm… )
Item benefit based on how damaged item is. Medkit less effective when damaged. Or even odd effects when damaged. Damaged plastic bottle? Leave a water trail and slowly drain the bottle.
Levels, in any form, are very much a no-go. The leveling system in Elder Scrolls in particular was one of the worst things about the game.
If we do use-based stat increases (which I’m not against in principle), it will be based on exercising the individual stats the same way as it is with skills.
There’s no good reason to tie together stat and skill advancement, least of all by a level system.
K.G. is pretty much on-spot with the assumption following TES3 playability - running a (very, VERY preset) TES-based system on a couple of RPG sessions, I had to reinvent the level-up system. At that very moment, I thought that dismantling the original one could lead to a streamlined GURPS mod, clinging onto every action the character(s) make in order to modify the base used to multiply the pool(s).
As much it was “splendid” to have your skills boost your way into levels, the sensible solution was to have challenge rating shape the EXP portion meant for the skillset, and the reward (quest-wise, or dungeon-wide) value yield the payoff in level. For me, leveling up meant choosing traits and boosting some skills through points spent at trainer’s.
Character levels always had some sort of heroism flavor in just about any fantasy RPG I’ve encountered. Your 5th lvl knight was no longer some adventurer driven by lust for fame and riches, he also had some notoriety effect to the villains. Yet another example - a jorneyman human wizard fuels a specific kind of hatred in draw priests and mages, because he’s supposed to belong to a certain “order” - a cultivity if you wish. This is exactly what CataDDA lacks - the knowledge of adepts, schollars and devotees who belong to a certain cause. The actual level shows for your character’s reputation, much more than a mere display of power translated into stats.
What’s really significant here is - if you create a setting that throws a bunch of 100hp monsters at your 100hp character, you create a treshold for players to follow; they’ll charge as long as they’re healthy and know when it’s time to bail. Is it fair to track the player’s skills in order to introduce monsters weighing 300hp each, capable of delivering massive ammounts of harm? Also, is that the moment you start thinking about combat, building stamina and endurance, and a way to strenghten your hp base from a pool of points?
And this is why CDDA throws jabberwocky’s at you potentially from the get-go. <_>
14 is great-condition human. Stats can max at 20.
Nethack-style pisses me off as it encourages repetitive grinding and since its checks are random, there’s no way to tell how you’re doing or whether you’ll actually improve anytime shortly. It’s a slot machine: keep doing things and maybe you’ll get a payoff. Or not![/quote]
I’m with you, we have enough frustrating slot-machine bullshit with the mutation system as it is.
A system where stats are risen based on activity or work outs. Something similar to real life like training or reading a book.
[quote=“Nighthawk, post:4, topic:7220”]Additionally, there are good ol’ Granades, which work like grenades, but release happy colorful explosions that may increase your stats.
I think, anyway. The one time I got my hands on one, I threw it at a zombie like an idiot.
Personally, I’m hoping there are options to increase stats for non-mutants eventually, but it’s quite likely that stats are considered your character’s intrinsic potential in different areas, which is why skills improve but stats don’t.
I dunno. We’ll see.[/quote]
Are the affects permanent?
Let me show you, not tell you.
Granades are entertaining and all, but I’d love it if there was a category of items (with similar, if not more rarity) that were guaranteed stat boosts. I’d say keep them low amounts. I’m thinking +1 to maaaybe +3 at artifact level rarity or so. Not sure where they’d drop though. The “rare” itemgroup I guess?
Granades really should be put into artifact spawns. A grenade giving off huge stat boosts should be magical in caves, not stuck in a military crate.