The nature of attributes
There is no uniform consensus on what ability scores are, even if many role-playing games have them, but games that use them have a common theme. According to the BBC Cult TV website "All characters have Attributes — basic physical and mental abilities."[1] and in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game "Each character has six ability scores that represent his character's most basic attributes. They are his raw talent and prowess. While a character rarely rolls a check using just an ability score, these scores, and the modifiers they create, affect nearly every aspect of a character's skills and abilities."[2] In some games, such as older versions of Dungeons & Dragons the attribute is used on its own to determine outcomes, whereas in many games, beginning with Bunnies & Burrows[3] and including more modern versions of D&D, the attribute works with a skill to affect the overall outcome.