Character points are abstract units used in some role-playing game

Role-playing game

A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...

s during character creation

Character creation

Character creation is the process of defining a game character or other character. Typically, a character's individual strengths and weaknesses are represented by a set of statistics. Games with a largely fictional setting may include traits such as race and class...

 and development.

Early role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...

assigned random values to a player character

Player character

A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...

's attributes

Attribute (role-playing games)

An attribute is a piece of data that describes to what extent a fictional character in a role-playing game possesses a specific natural, in-born characteristic common to all characters in the game. That piece of data is usually an abstract number or, in some cases, a set of dice...

, 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. Later games such as GURPS

GURPS

The Generic Universal RolePlaying System, or GURPS, is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting...

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.

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 GURPS, these points are experience point

Experience point

An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...

s; in others, such as Ars Magica

Ars Magica

Ars Magica is a role-playing game set in Mythic Europe, a quasi-historical version of Europe around AD 1200 with added fantastical elements. The game revolves around wizards and their allies...

, there is a more complicated relationship between experience points and character points.

Examples

For example, a fantasy role-playing game might describe a character through three traits: combat prowess, magical aptitude, and thievery skills. A player has nine points to distribute, each trait has a minimum value of one point and a maximum of five points.

• For a balanced character the player could assign three points to fighting, three to thievery, and three to magic.
• To create a warrior the player could assign five points to fighting, one to thievery and three to magic. While a superb fighter, the character's thievery skill is poor and may present problems when stealth is needed.

It may also be possible to allocate some points toward special properties, like influential family relations or better equipment.