Raymond Berry Profile Any interesting information? Berry overcame several physical ailments during his football career, a fact he became famous for, What were some of his ailments? bruised nerves near the sacroiliac joint occasionally caused misalignment in his back, which in turn affected his legs How did it affect his legs? caused one to become slightly shorter; it was not a permanent condition. How was it fixed? To alleviate this, he wore a back brace for 13 years in the NFL. Did it affect his playing? Berry was famous for his attention to detail and preparation, which he used to overcome his physical limitations. Did he have any other physical problems? Due to his poor eyesight, Berry wore contact lenses when he played. Did the contacts cause any problems? Because the lenses would often slip when he did rapid eye movements toward the ball, he tried many different lenses,
What were his best attributes as a player?
What were Raymond Berry's best attributes as a player?
Berry overcame several physical ailments during his football career, a fact he became famous for, but one that according to Berry was often exaggerated by the media. He was skinny and injury prone, such that when his college teammates saw him for the first time they sarcastically dubbed him, "Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy". Reportedly, because one leg was shorter than the other, Berry had to wear padding inside his shoe in order to walk properly. However, according to Berry, this was not entirely true. In actuality, bruised nerves near the sacroiliac joint occasionally caused misalignment in his back, which in turn affected his legs and caused one to become slightly shorter; it was not a permanent condition. To alleviate this, he wore a back brace for 13 years in the NFL. That he required specialized shoes was a myth, which Berry says was perpetuated by an overzealous information director with the Colts when Berry tried to compensate for his condition by putting something in his shoe during training camp.  Due to his poor eyesight, Berry wore contact lenses when he played. Because the lenses would often slip when he did rapid eye movements toward the ball, he tried many different lenses, which led sportswriters to believe he must have had major eye problems. "I tried all kinds of lenses till we got what we wanted," he said. "I even had tinted lenses for sunny days, so I could watch the ball come right across the sun."  Berry was famous for his attention to detail and preparation, which he used to overcome his physical limitations. Considered slow for a wide receiver, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds. Rather than speed, he was renowned for his precise pass patterns and sure hands; he rarely dropped passes, and he fumbled only once in his career. He would squeeze Silly Putty constantly to strengthen his hands. He and Unitas regularly worked after practice and developed the timing and knowledge of each other's abilities that made each more effective. The reason for this, according to Berry, was that the two did not think on the same wavelength. "Every season we had to start all over on our timing, especially the long ball," said Berry. "He knew he had to release the ball when I was eighteen yards from scrimmage for me to receive it thirty-eight yards out. I knew I had to make my break in those first eighteen yards and get free within 2.8 seconds." He also relied on shifty moves, and by his count, he had 88 different moves to get open, all of which he practiced every week.  Even in his adult years, Berry was soft-spoken and reserved. He preferred not to draw attention to himself, and was described by sportswriter Jim Murray as "polite as a deacon, as quiet as a monk." Both as a player and as a coach, he was studious, serious, and orderly; "He was too straight and narrow--but a great guy, a hell of a guy," former Colts teammate Art Donovan said of Berry. "He was a little peculiar, to say the least." CANNOTANSWER
Rather than speed, he was renowned for his precise pass patterns and sure hands; he rarely dropped passes,
Raymond Emmett Berry Jr. (born February 27, 1933) is an American former professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a split end for the Baltimore Colts from 1955 to 1967, and after several assistant coaching positions, was head coach of the New England Patriots from 1984 to 1989. With the Colts, Berry led the NFL in receptions and receiving yards three times and in receiving touchdowns twice, and was invited to six Pro Bowls. The Colts won consecutive NFL championships, including the 1958 NFL Championship Game—known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played"—in which Berry caught 12 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown. He retired as the all-time NFL leader in both receptions and receiving yardage.

As a head coach, Berry led the Patriots to Super Bowl XX following the 1985 season, where his team was defeated by the Chicago Bears, 46–10.

After catching very few passes in high school and college, Berry was drafted in the 20th round of the 1954 NFL Draft by the Colts and was considered a long shot to make the team's roster. Diminutive and unassuming, his subsequent rise to the Pro Football Hall of Fame has been touted as one of football's Cinderella stories. He made up for his lack of athleticism through rigorous practice and attention to detail, and was known for his near-perfect route running and sure-handedness. Berry was a favorite target of quarterback Johnny Unitas, and the two were regarded as the dominant passing and receiving duo of their era.

After his playing career, Berry coached wide receivers for the Dallas Cowboys, the University of Arkansas, Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, and Patriots. He became the Patriots' head coach in 1984 and held that position through 1989, amassing 48 wins and 39 losses. In recognition of his playing career, Berry was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973. He is a member of the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the best players of the NFL's first 75 years and a unanimous selection to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the best players of the NFL's first 100 years. His number 82 jersey is retired by the Indianapolis Colts and he is a member of the Patriots' 1980s All-Decade Team.

Early life and college
Raymond Emmett Berry Jr. was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, on February 27, 1933, and spent the majority of his childhood in Paris, Texas. At Paris High School and in college, Berry caught very few passes. He did not start on his high school team until he was a senior, even though his father, Berry Sr., was the coach. After high school Berry played one year of junior college football at Shreiner Institute (now Schreiner University) in Kerrville, Texas, during the 1950 campaign. He helped the Mountaineers finish its most successful season in 10 years with a record of 7–3. He then transferred to Southern Methodist University (SMU). In three seasons for the SMU Mustangs football team, Berry received only 33 passes total. Sportswriters attributed his lack of receptions to his poor eyesight, but during the early 1950s, colleges specialized in the running game. As Berry said, "I didn't catch many passes because not many were thrown". He also played outside linebacker and defensive end for the Mustangs, despite weighing only  even by his senior year.

Professional playing career

Berry was drafted by the Baltimore Colts in the 20th round as the 203rd overall pick of the 1954 NFL Draft.  Considered  a long-shot to make the team roster,  he was used sparingly as a rookie, catching only 13 passes. By his second NFL season he became a permanent starter when the Colts acquired quarterback Johnny Unitas. Over the next 12 seasons together the two became one of the most dominant passing and catching duos in NFL history. Berry, who did not miss a single game until his eighth year in the league, led the NFL in receptions and receiving yards three times and in receiving touchdowns twice.

In 1957, Berry caught 47 passes for 800 yards and six touchdowns, leading the NFL in receiving yards for the first time. Against the Washington Redskins that year in near-freezing weather, Unitas connected with Berry on 12 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns, staging what the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called a "spectacular show". He was recognized as a first-team All-Pro by The Sporting News and earned second-team honors from the Associated Press (AP). The following season, he recorded 794 receiving yards and led the league with 56 receptions and nine touchdowns. For his efforts, Berry was invited to his first Pro Bowl, and was a first-team All-Pro by the AP and several other major selectors. The Colts finished atop the Western Division with a record of 9–3 and faced the New York Giants in the NFL Championship Game.

One of Berry's most notable performances was in that 1958 NFL Championship Game, known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played", in which he led the Colts to the franchise's first title with a then championship record 12 catches for 178 yards and a touchdown in the Colts' 23–17 victory over the Giants. At the end of regulation, he caught three consecutive passes for 62 yards to set up the Colts' tying field goal. He also had two key receptions for 33 yards during the Colts' final game-winning drive in overtime.  His 12 receptions would remain an NFL championship game record for more than half a century, topped by one by Demaryius Thomas in Super Bowl XLVIII after the 2013 season.

Berry led the NFL in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns in 1959, becoming the fourth player to record a "triple crown" in receiving. His 14 receiving touchdowns set a Colts single-season franchise record that stood unmatched for over four decades. He was invited to his second straight Pro Bowl, and earned first-team All-Pro honors from the AP, UPI, the Newspaper Enterprise Association, and the New York Daily News. The Colts won back-to-back championships in an encore with the Giants, 31–16. In that game, Berry caught five passes for 68 yards, second on the team behind halfback Lenny Moore's 126 yards on three receptions.

In 1960, Berry recorded his only 1,000-yard season, catching 74 passes en route to career highs in receiving yards (1,298) and receiving yards per game (108.2). Each of those totals led the NFL that year by a wide margin; no other player had more than 1,000 yards, and the next highest yards-per-game average was 81.0. He had a mid-season string of six straight games with over 100 yards, during which he caught 50 passes for 920 yards and eight touchdowns. Berry again was a Pro Bowl invitee, and earned first-team All-Pro honors from all the same selectors as the previous year, including unanimous All-Pro recognition by UPI sportswriters.

Following this zenith, Berry did not have the same statistical success over his final seven seasons, but remained a consistent target for Unitas. His 75 receptions in the 1961 season was second-most in the league, and he finished 10th in receiving yards, but failed to record a touchdown for the first time since his rookie year. He scored the first touchdown of the 1962 Pro Bowl on a 16-yard reception from Unitas in the first quarter. His streak of Pro Bowl invitations ended at four, but he rebounded to appearances in 1963 and 1964, the latter his final. The Colts returned to the postseason in 1964, where they were shut out 27–0 by the Cleveland Browns in the 1964 championship game.

After consecutive seasons recording 700+ receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 1965 and 1966, Berry missed half of the 1967 season due to injuries and caught only 11 passes for 167 yards. He announced his retirement shortly after the season's end. He completed his professional playing career having caught 631 passes for 9,275 yards (14.7 yards per catch) and 68 touchdowns. At the time, he held the NFL career records for receptions and receiving yards, and his receiving touchdowns were tied for fourth most with Don Maynard.

Coaching career
After retiring from playing, Berry joined Tom Landry's Dallas Cowboys coaching staff as receivers coach. In 1970, after two seasons, Berry took a job with Frank Broyles at the University of Arkansas as receivers coach. In 1973 Berry joined Don McCafferty with the Detroit Lions as his receivers coach. In 1976, Berry joined former SMU teammate Forrest Gregg as his receivers coach with the Cleveland Browns. Berry joined the New England Patriots as receivers coach under Chuck Fairbanks in 1978. He stayed on with new coach Ron Erhardt until Erhardt and his entire staff were fired following a 2–14 1981 season. Berry left football and worked in real estate in Medfield, Massachusetts, until the Patriots fired Ron Meyer in the middle of the 1984 season and hired Berry to replace him. Under his leadership, the Patriots won four of their last eight games and finished the season with a 9–7 record. Berry's importance to the team was reflected less in his initial win–loss record than in the respect he immediately earned in the locker room – according to running back Tony Collins, "Raymond Berry earned more respect in one day than Ron Meyer earned in three years".

In the 1985 season, the team improved further, posting an 11–5 record and making the playoffs as a wild card team. They went on to become the first team in NFL history to advance to the Super Bowl by winning three playoff games on the road, defeating the New York Jets 26–14 (the second postseason win in franchise history), the Los Angeles Raiders 27–20, and the Miami Dolphins 31–14. It was the first time the Patriots had beaten the Dolphins at the Orange Bowl (Miami's then-home stadium) since 1966, Miami's first season as a franchise. The Patriots had lost to the Dolphins there 18 consecutive times, including a 30–27 loss in Week 15 of the regular season. Despite their success in the playoffs, the Patriots were heavy underdogs to the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XX. They lost 46–10 in what was at the time the most lopsided defeat in Super Bowl history. "We couldn't protect the quarterback, and that was my fault. I couldn't come up with a system to handle the Bears' pass rush", Berry acknowledged.

The following season, Berry's Patriots again recorded an 11–5 record and made the playoffs, this time after winning their second division title as an NFL team. However, they lost in the first round of the postseason. It would be Berry's last postseason appearance in New England, and the Patriots' last playoff berth altogether until 1994. They narrowly missed the playoffs with an 8–7 record in 1987 (a strike-shortened season) and a 9–7 record in 1988, in which quarterback Doug Flutie went 6-3 as a starter. However, Berry benched Flutie in the season finale against the Denver Broncos until the final seconds. The Patriots lost 21-10 and Flutie left for the CFL less than two years later. Then in Berry's last year as a coach, the Patriots finished the 1989 season 5–11. New Patriots majority owner Victor Kiam demanded Berry relinquish control over personnel and reorganize his staff; Berry refused and was fired. His regular-season coaching record was 48–39 () and he was 3–2 () in the playoffs.

After a year out of coaching, Berry joined Wayne Fontes' staff with the Detroit Lions in 1991 as their quarterbacks coach, and then held the same position the following season on Dan Reeves' staff with the Denver Broncos. Reeves was fired after that season, along with his entire coaching staff.

Profile
Berry overcame several physical ailments during his football career, a fact he became famous for, but one that according to Berry was often exaggerated by the media. He was skinny and injury-prone, such that when his college teammates saw him for the first time they sarcastically dubbed him, "Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy". Reportedly, because one leg was shorter than the other, Berry had to wear padding inside his shoe in order to walk properly. However, according to Berry, this was not entirely true. In actuality, bruised nerves near the sacroiliac joint occasionally caused misalignment in his back, which in turn affected his legs and caused one to become slightly shorter; it was not a permanent condition. To alleviate this, he wore a back brace for 13 years in the NFL. That he required specialized shoes was a myth, which Berry says was perpetuated by an overzealous information director with the Colts when Berry tried to compensate for his condition by putting something in his shoe during training camp.

Due to his poor eyesight, Berry wore contact lenses when he played. Because the lenses would often slip when he did rapid eye movements toward the ball, he tried many different lenses, which led sportswriters to believe he must have had major eye problems. "I tried all kinds of lenses till we got what we wanted," he said. "I even had tinted lenses for sunny days, so I could watch the ball come right across the sun."

Berry was famous for his attention to detail and preparation, which he used to overcome his physical limitations. Considered slow for a wide receiver, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds. Rather than speed, he was renowned for his precise pass patterns and sure hands; he rarely dropped passes, and he fumbled only once in his career. He would squeeze Silly Putty constantly to strengthen his hands. He and Unitas regularly worked after practice and developed the timing and knowledge of each other's abilities that made each more effective. The reason for this, according to Berry, was that the two did not think on the same wavelength. "Every season we had to start all over on our timing, especially the long ball," said Berry. "He knew he had to release the ball when I was eighteen yards from scrimmage for me to receive it thirty-eight yards out. I knew I had to make my break in those first eighteen yards and get free within 2.8 seconds." He also relied on shifty moves, and by his count, he had 88 different moves to get open, all of which he practiced every week.

Even in his adult years, Berry was soft-spoken and reserved. He preferred not to draw attention to himself, and was described by sportswriter Jim Murray as "polite as a deacon, as quiet as a monk." Both as a player and as a coach, he was studious, serious, and orderly; "He was too straight and narrow—but a great guy, a hell of a guy," former Colts teammate Art Donovan said of Berry. "He was a little peculiar, to say the least."

Honors
In 1973, Berry was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. He is a member of the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, compiled in 1994 by the Hall of Fame selection committee and media to honor the NFL's best players of the league's first 75 years, and the 1950s All-Decade Team. In 1999, he was ranked 40th on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. Berry's number 82 jersey is retired by the Colts, he is a member of the Patriots' 1980s All-Decade Team as a coach, and he is enshrined in the Baltimore Ravens Ring of Honor.

Personal life
Berry is a professed born again Christian and a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He considers his faith to be a "huge part" of his life. As of 2009, he lives with his wife in Tennessee. On February 5, 2012, at Super Bowl XLVI, Berry carried the Vince Lombardi Trophy to midfield to present it to the New York Giants, who had just defeated the New England Patriots. He was given the honor due to the game being played at Lucas Oil Stadium, the home stadium of his former team, the Colts, who had moved to Indianapolis in 1984.

Coaching record

References

Bibliography

External links
 
 

1933 births
Living people
American football wide receivers
Arkansas Razorbacks football coaches
Baltimore Colts players
Cleveland Browns coaches
Dallas Cowboys coaches
Denver Broncos coaches
Detroit Lions coaches
New England Patriots coaches
New England Patriots head coaches
Schreiner Mountaineers football players
SMU Mustangs football players
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Western Conference Pro Bowl players
United States Army soldiers
People from Paris, Texas
Sportspeople from Corpus Christi, Texas
Coaches of American football from Texas
Players of American football from Texas
National Football League players with retired numbers
A statistic (or stat) in role-playing games is a piece of data that represents a particular aspect of a fictional character. That piece of data is usually a (unitless) integer or, in some cases, a set of dice.

For some types of statistics, this value may be accompanied with a descriptive adjective, sometimes called a specialisation or aspect, that either describes how the character developed that particular score or an affinity for a particular use of that statistic (like Specialisations in Ars Magica or Attribute Aspects in Aria).

Most games divide their statistics into several categories. The set of categories actually used in a game system, as well as the precise statistics within each category, vary greatly. The most often used types of statistic include:

 Attributes describe to what extent a character possesses natural, in-born characteristics common to all characters.
 Advantages and disadvantages are useful or problematic characteristics that are not common to all characters.
 Powers represent unique or special qualities of the character. In game terms, these often grant the character the potential to gain or develop certain advantages or to learn and use certain skills.
 Skills represent a character's learned abilities in predefined areas.
 Traits are broad areas of expertise, similar to skills, but with a broader and usually more loosely defined scope, in areas freely chosen by the player.

There is no standard nomenclature for statistics; for example, both GURPS and the Storytelling System refer to their statistics as "traits", even though they are treated as attributes and skills.

Many games make use of derived statistics whose values depend on other statistics, which are known as primary or basic statistics. Game-specific concepts such as experience levels, alignment, character class and race can also be considered statistics.

Types

Attributes 

An attribute describes to what extent a character possesses a natural, in-born characteristic common to all characters in the game. Attributes are also called statistics, characteristics or abilities.

Most role-playing games use attributes to describe characters’ physical and mental characteristics, for example their strength or wisdom. Many games also include social characteristics as well, for example a character's natural charisma or physical appearance. They often influence the chance to succeed in a skill or other tests by addition to a die roll or by determining the number of dice to be thrown. As a consequence, usually a higher number is better, and ranges can be as small as 1–5 (for numbers of dice) or as great as 1–100 (when adding to results of percentile dice). In some games, attributes represent linearly increasing ability (e.g. in Tunnels and Trolls, where a character can lift 10 lbs per point of Strength) whereas in others a small increase can represent a major gain in ability (e.g. in the DC Heroes/Blood of Heroes system, where +1 to Strength doubles a character's lifting capacity).

Some games work with only a few broad attributes (such as Physical or Mental), while others have a greater number of more specific ones. Most games have about 4–10 attributes.

Most games try to give all attributes about the same usefulness to a character. Therefore, certain characteristics might be merged (such as merging a Charisma-type and a Willpower-type attribute into a single Personality attribute), or split into more attributes (such as splitting physical "Comeliness" from Charisma in the original Unearthed Arcana), or even ignored altogether (for example, Intelligence and Charisma in a hack and slash adventure). In many games, a small set of primary attributes control a larger number of derived statistics such as Armor Class or magic points.

During character creation, attribute scores are usually determined either randomly (by rolling dice) or by distributing character points. In some games, such as World of Warcraft, the base attribute scores are determined by the character’s race and class (however the vast majority of stat points will be obtained through end-game gear/equipment). Because they represent common, in-born characteristics and not learned capabilities (as skills do), in many games they are fixed for the duration of the game. However, in some games they can be increased by spending experience points gained during the game, or as part of the process of "levelling up".

Advantages and disadvantages 

An advantage is a physical, social, intellectual, or other enhancement to a character. In contrast, a disadvantage is an adverse effect. Advantages are also known as virtues, merits or edges and disadvantages as flaws or hindrances, or by the abbreviation "disads".

Many games encourage or even force players to take disadvantages for their characters in order to balance their advantages or other "positive" statistics. Disadvantages also add flavor to a character that can't be obtained solely by a list of positive traits. Advantages and disadvantages often have a thematic element to them. They often provide a direct relationship between how someone wants to role-play their character and a tangible "in-game" enhancement to skill or ability rolls.

Systems of advantages and disadvantages are often criticized for allowing or even encouraging min-maxing, where a player strives to take disadvantages which have little or no tangible effect on play while using the character points gained from those disadvantages to pay for powerful advantages.

Character points 
Character points are abstract units used in some role-playing games during character creation and development.

Early role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons assigned random values to a player character's attributes, while allowing each character a fixed number of skills. As a result, characters were at the same time wildly unbalanced in terms of attributes and heavily constrained in terms of skills. Champions (1981) introduced a points-based system of purchasing attributes and skills as a means of improving game balance and flexibility. These points are known as character points, and it has become a feature of numerous later games, most notably GURPS.

Usually, a player is allotted a number of points for character creation. A character's attributes (such as high intelligence), skills (such as fixing a car or mechanics), or powers (such as flying) can then be bought for a certain number of points. More powerful abilities or a greater degree of power will require more "spending" of character points. Later, character points can be earned and spent to improve attributes or skills, or to buy new skills or powers. In some games, such as Champions, these points are experience points; in others, such as Ars Magica, there is a more complicated relationship between experience points and character points.

Powers 
A power represents a unique or special quality of a character.

In many games, powers are binary on-or-off qualities as opposed to attributes and skills which are usually numeric quantities. The main exception to this is superhero RPGs, where superpowers are often treated as a sort of skill. Superpowers may also use the same rating scale as the primary statistics.

Skills 

A skill represents the learned knowledge and abilities of a character. Skills are known by various names, including proficiencies, abilities, powers, talents and knacks.

During character creation, a player character's skills are generally chosen from a long list. A character may have a fixed number of starting skills, or they may be paid for using character points. In contrast to attributes, very few games fix a player's skills at the start of the game, instead allowing players to increase them by spending experience points or during "levelling up". Since some skills are likely to be more useful than others, different skills often have different costs.

Skills usually influence a character's chance to succeed by adding to the relevant attribute. In some games (such as GURPS), each skill has a specific base attribute to which it is always added; in others (such as Ars Magica), a skill can be added to different attributes depending on how the skill is being used. Some games (such as Feng Shui) add the base attribute to the skill at character creation time; after that, it is independent of the attribute and is used instead of the attribute rather than adding to it. Most games have a fixed penalty for attempting a task without a relevant skill; older editions of Shadowrun gave a complex network of penalties for using similar skills (such as attempting to pick an electronic lock by using the Computer skill instead of the Electronics skill). The text-based roleplaying game Avalon: The Legend Lives is noted for being the first text based multi user role-playing game to offer a developed profession and skills system . Choosing a profession then conveyed a bank of general skills and guild specific ones each containing a ladder of skills which could be invested in via lessons earned through on-line play. Initially there were around 30 such skills with approximately 17 abilities in each covering a wide range from Riding, Perception, Thievery or Demonology. As of 2015 Avalon possesses 66 Skills with 2194 distinct abilities developed over its 26-year tenure.

Traits 
A trait represents a broad area of expertise of a character.

Traits are rarely drawn from a predetermined list; rather, the player chooses some description during character generation. For example, a squash-playing history professor with a knowledge of fine wines might have the traits "History", "Squash" and "Oenology". In terms of a more fine-grained system of statistics, a single trait would often be represented by a group of skills, one or more advantages and attributes, or a combination thereof.

The first major role-playing game to use traits was Over the Edge.  Some systems, such as Castle Falkenstein and HeroQuest, use traits as the only type of statistic, although they may use some other term for them, such as abilities.

Derived statistics 
Many games make use of derived statistics: statistics whose values are determined only by the values of other, "basic" statistics. They often represent a single capability of the character such as the weight a character can lift, or the speed at which they can move. Some are unitless numbers, but often they use real-world units of measurement (such as kilograms or metres per second). Derived statistics are often used during combat (e.g. hit points, Armor Class and initiative). Basic and derived statistics are also called primary and secondary statistics, respectively.

In games which use such concepts, derived statistics are often modified by the character's race and class. In addition, certain in-game methods such as spells or magical items might raise or lower these statistics temporarily.

Interdependencies between statistics 
Some games define various interdependencies between statistics of different categories, as well as within categories. The most common are:

 Prerequisite  Only if statistic A has a value of at least x, statistic B may exceed value y. (Where y is often 0 or none.) For example, a character class may require certain minimum attribute scores, or a spell may require a minimal level of magical talent. Learning some esoteric skill often requires knowledge of another one at an "expert" level or possession of a certain advantage: In GURPS Martial Arts, for example, "cinematic" or "mystical" martial arts abilities require a special advantage, Trained by a Master.

 Limitation  If statistic A has a value of at least x, then statistic B cannot exceed value y. This is the opposite of prerequisite. (Only if statistic A has a value of at most x, statistic B may exceed value y.) For example, a character class may be disallowed for certain races, or one of the game effects of a disadvantage (say, Unfit), could be to limit a certain attribute (Constitution or Health in the example) to a certain maximum value (no more than average).

 Bonus or base value  If statistic A has a value of x, then the value of statistic B is increased by (or starts at) y. The term base value is preferred if y = x or if y is large compared to Bs value. Higher scores in an attribute often grant bonuses to a group of skills.

 Derivation If statistics A and B have values of x and y, respectively, then the value of statistic C is a function of (x, y)''.

References

Role-playing game terminology Natura naturans is a Latin term coined during the Middle Ages, meaning "nature naturing" or, more loosely, "nature doing what nature does". These terms are most commonly associated with the philosophy of Baruch Spinoza. For Spinoza, natura naturans refers to the self-causing activity of nature, while natura naturata refers to nature considered as a passive product of an infinite causal chain.<ref>See Ethics, Part 1, Proposition 29.</ref>

Samuel Taylor Coleridge defined natura naturans as "Nature in the active sense" as opposed to natura naturata.

The distinction is expressed in Spinoza's Ethics as follows:
[B]y Natura naturans we must understand what is in itself and is conceived through itself, or such attributes of substance as express an eternal and infinite essence, that is … God, insofar as he is considered as a free cause.  But by Natura naturata I understand whatever follows from the necessity of God's nature, or from God's attributes, that is, all the modes of God's attributes insofar as they are considered as things which are in God, and can neither be nor be conceived without God.

Etymology
In Latin naturans is the present active participle of naturo, indicated by the suffix "-ans" which is akin to the English suffix "-ing". Naturata is the perfect passive participle.

See also
 Deus sive Natura

References

External links
 Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677)

Latin philosophical phrases
Philosophy of religion
Spinoza studies
Spinozism