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I'm posting from the perspective of a biased "RP-elitist" type who doesn't like the numbers mostly because I don't have the patience to figure them out, let alone the desire to try. So please consider the source while you read this <grin>
If everyone has the formulae, then everyone will know that the encrypted massive buldoodie flamberge is "the" best possible weapon to use in combat against the most types of critters in the game. And so everyone who hunts, will want the encrypted massive buldoodie flamberge. No one will experiment to figure out what suits their character best, no one will care that it's this hideous shade of green that clashes with their red and silver uniform.
If everyone knows *exactly* what it takes to be -the- most armored, -the- most agile, -the- most powerful, then everyone will do whatever the criteria is given in ordered to get it. You won't have people "being stuck" with a lousy stamina roll but a really awesome strength roll. You won't have people spending oodles of coins on what -looks- to be a massive damage protecting magickal resistant pair of flying boots, because everyone already knows they're crap and the REAL massively damage protecting magickal resistant pair of flying boots are actually disguised as a pair of pink linen slippers.
If the players are informed by the staff of the game what is what, in which order, to what extent, with which stats, why would anyone bother trying to discover it on their own?
And the people who -do- want to discover it on their own would be hurt by those who already know this stuff, because if they happen to pick up the "vorpal pebble of deth and destrukshun," the "powergamers" will be on their back to PK them and the player will stand there wondering why in the world anyone would want to kill them over a tiny little pebble.
I don't see how knowing numbers can -help- in an RPI kind of game, and I can see how it could possibly -hurt.- And so in my opinion, it just doesn't seem to belong in an RPI.
In a hack-n-slash maybe it's different. I wouldn't know since I don't play them. But in a game that is advertised as a RP game, a pay-for-play in fact, it's the numbers that appear to have caused so many serious RPers to leave and find their gaming enjoyment elsewhere over the past several years.
And it's that "knowing the numbers" that has led to that game's tweaking and re-tweaking and re-tweaking skills and classes to the point where they couldn't go back to the basics even if they wanted to, the system became completely broken, and they had to roll out a whole new version of the game.
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