Attributes potential

[trial]

This is something I have seen in ROLEMASTER and I would like to know if it is similar in BW.
In ROLEMASTER attributes have potential, you can develope your attributes up to its potential, so some people can not become as strong as other people can, no matter how hard they will work out.
It seems logical that some people have more massive body, when trained can gain more muscle then an average person can gain.

[Thor Olavsrud]

All Stats (i.e., Will, Perception, Agility, Speed, Power, and Forte) have an Exponent cap of 8. However, certain Traits can alter this. For instance, the Dwarf, Elf and Orc character Stocks have Common Traits that affect the caps.

The Dwarf Common Trait, Stout, is an example. It allows Dwarf characters to have a maximum Forte of 9 rather than 8, and a maximum Speed of 6 rather than 8.

Another example is the Trait, Frail, which causes you to subtract 1 point from either Power or Forte (your choice). Afterward, whichever one you chose has a maximum exponent of 5.

As I haven't played Rolemaster, aside from a few abortive attempts with MERP about 16 years ago, I'm not sure how important Potential was in Rolemaster. It is decidedly NOT a huge deal in Burning Wheel, as very few characters will have Traits that affect the cap (aside from Dwarves, Elves and Orcs).

Also, assuming that your are playing with a standard starting cap of 6 (i.e., you cannot create a starting character with a stat higher than 6), you would likely have to play a character for years before getting in reach of a an Exponent 8 stat.

It requires a lot of effort to raise Stats in Burning Wheel.