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Exe Experiments With Stats And Such: Random hocus

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Exelixi Lesbarian from Alchemist's workshop Since: Sep, 2011 Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
Lesbarian
#1: Aug 8th 2012 at 1:32:24 PM

Recently, I spoke to my friend Blackmoon about the system he's coming up with- as a legit kenjutsuka, he's determined to have somewhat-realistic swordsmanship,with melee characters having abilities based on the philosophies of heir martial art. He asked me about the Liechtenauer-tradition Bloßfechten practitioner, one thing led to another, and we made love on the couch ended up spending several hours discussing RPG stuff.

Er, there was a point here. The conversation brought up memories of an old idea I had that never really went anywhere.

What if, instead of a set of predefined classes being based off... Whatever the fuck classes are based off of, a character's abilities were determined by a more detailed choice? Nothing like GURPS detail, but a little more complicated than standard D&D pick-a-class-and-assign-points thing. So, here is the first breath of an idea- and probably also its death knell, me being me.

Note that each asterisk (*) will contain a note for further thought etc.

Stats

In D&D and basically everything derived from D&D (so, a whole lot of shit), there are six main statsFor those unfamiliar

. These stats can be divided into Physical (Strength, Constitution, Dexterity) and Mental (Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma). This is the system I will be using. *

In a similar vein to Legend Game System, characters will each have two main stats- an Offensive stat and a Defensive stat. Which stats these are is the first mechanical step in character generation. Basically, pick two stats, any two stats, and put them down. As with every system, each stat will have different things that work off it, in exactly the way you'd expect (most of the time).

Power source.

Now that we've figured out how your character does things, we must determine what they do. There will be a variety of power sources, each with its own defining characteristics and abilities it grants. Each character will choose either one or two- player's choice. Power sources... Would depend on the setting, largely. Still working on that bit.

Features

The big things that determine your character's identity. Each Power Source will have two Features for each Stat. A character will choose a total of four Features- two from each Power Source if they have two, otherwise, they'll gain both Features for both their Key Stats from their Source.

The equivalent to prestige classes and the like would be... Well, they'd have a snazzier name, but the operating term is Dual Features. These would require two Power Sources and you'd spend two Feature slots on them.

I'm still working out what Features- and, Hell, what Sources should exist.

As an example

Let's say I make a character. Let's call him Bob the Barbarian.

Now, naturally, I'm going to make a character called Bob the Barbarian a cunning alchemist and subtle assassin. Naturally.

So, I'm going to choose Wisdom as Bob's Offensive Stat, and Dexterity as his Defensive Stat. His Power Sources will be... Martial and Hermetic Magic. He'll choose two Features from each of his Sources... So let's say he takes a Martial/Dexterity Feature to let him deal precise damage with lignt weapons like daggers and rapiers, a Martial/Wisdom feature to let him scan his opponent's movements and react accordingly, a Hermetic/Wisdom Feature to let him make salves, potions, et cetera, and a Hermetic/Dexterity feature to let him more effectively use the concoctions he makes on the fly.

That all make sense so far?

Mura: -flips the bird to veterinary science with one hand and Euclidean geometry with the other-
Muramasan13 Since: Nov, 2009 Relationship Status: Not war
#2: Aug 8th 2012 at 2:22:40 PM

Perfect sense. I assume the Legend prohibition on having the same stat for your Offensive and Defensive modifiers applies?

Smile for me!
Exelixi Lesbarian from Alchemist's workshop Since: Sep, 2011 Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
Lesbarian
#3: Aug 8th 2012 at 2:36:12 PM

Yes, you explicitly choose two different stats.

The save system would also be reworked, so that it's a matrix instead of either/or (IE, an Intelligence-based Will and a Dexterity-Based Reflex). I'm still working out that exact formula, but gods damn it I want to be able to make an Intelligent and Dextrous character that doesn't suck.

Mura: -flips the bird to veterinary science with one hand and Euclidean geometry with the other-
NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#4: Aug 8th 2012 at 4:21:04 PM

Sounds a lot like Power Source becomes your de facto class, as it determines your Features (ie, class features) and you can combine them (ie, multiclassing) in certain builds. Or am I missing something?

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
Exelixi Lesbarian from Alchemist's workshop Since: Sep, 2011 Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
Lesbarian
#5: Aug 8th 2012 at 4:28:26 PM

You've basically got it.

This I feel would make "multiclassing" a lot easier and more balanced than it ever has been. All in all, there would be at least a dozen Features for each Source, and you can pick two Sources- that's a total of 24 options to choose from, minimum.

Mura: -flips the bird to veterinary science with one hand and Euclidean geometry with the other-
NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#6: Aug 8th 2012 at 5:38:57 PM

So what would character advancement look like? As you become more powerful, do you get access to more Power Sources and/or Features? Do the Features you already have become more powerful? Are there other things that you get besides Features?

I'd be tempted to tie each Source into one of The Six Stats, and then only allow characters to take Sources that match the stat they've selected for offense or defense. For example, I decide I want to play Bob the Barbarian. I take Strength as my offensive stat and Wisdom as my defensive. For my Sources, I decide on Martial Prowess (tied to strength) and Primal Nature (tied to wisdom). Now my barbarian can take smashy-hitty type Features and wild/animalistic type Features, which feels pretty barbarian-y to me.

Not sure if that sort of thing is what you have in mind or not, but that's what comes to mind for me, anyway.

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
Exelixi Lesbarian from Alchemist's workshop Since: Sep, 2011 Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
Lesbarian
#7: Aug 8th 2012 at 5:42:29 PM

I'd say your Features become more powerful as you advance. There would also be stat advancement, and feats or similar things, and probably magic items depending on the setting.

Mura: -flips the bird to veterinary science with one hand and Euclidean geometry with the other-
Exelixi Lesbarian from Alchemist's workshop Since: Sep, 2011 Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
Lesbarian
#8: Aug 8th 2012 at 6:07:15 PM

For Sources, each Source will have several Features tied to each stat. Thus, I have more options with a given Stat than the one thing.

Intelligence, for example. The character could be a savvy tactical genius (Martial Prowess), a good old fashioned scholarly wizard (Arcsne Magic), a priest of a god of creativity and such (Divine Blessing), a particularly clever shaman (Nature)...

ETA: There would also be a create-a-Source guide, wherein you could mix and match Features from any Source as well as an array of unattached Features to make a Source appropriate to the setting. Like, say, if it's some sort of weird yet awesome magical Cyberpunk urban fantasy bonanza, I could make a Technology Source.

edited 8th Aug '12 6:09:26 PM by Exelixi

Mura: -flips the bird to veterinary science with one hand and Euclidean geometry with the other-
NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#9: Aug 8th 2012 at 6:55:47 PM

So what exactly is a Source, mechanically, then? It sounds a bit arbitrary, the way you describe it — more fluff than crunch, as it were, which is usually a mistaken when you're dealing with the mechanics of a system. There should be some commonality shared by all the Features of a given Source, or else a Source just becomes a meaningless grouping of Features.

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
Exelixi Lesbarian from Alchemist's workshop Since: Sep, 2011 Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
Lesbarian
#10: Aug 8th 2012 at 7:07:59 PM

Each Source would have a benefit based on each Stat. If you dual-Source, you get one benefit from each.

As an example, the Martial Prowess (originally just called Martial, but the Prowess bit sounds nice, thanks) Source:

Strength: You gain a bonus to damage with two-handed weapons equal to your Strength bonus.

Constitution: You ignore penalties of wearing heavy armour.

Dexterity: You gain a bonus to hit with one-handed weapons equal to your Dexterity bonus,

Etc.

Though all three of those would be better as the first "level" of a Feature than a Source ability. They'd be way more interesting.

edited 8th Aug '12 7:12:31 PM by Exelixi

Mura: -flips the bird to veterinary science with one hand and Euclidean geometry with the other-
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