If you scroll down in the Powers list you will find a long series of powers that are all variations of the basic Energy Blast. Now I am trying to build it so a blast of cosmic ray and a spray of ice shards, or a fire blast, or a laser or an acidic glob are all based around the same set of ideas/rules.
Now should all of these be called "Energy Blast, xxxxx" or Something else?
Maybe "Damage Blast"? (sounds dumb to me but maybe it will grow on me.)
Maybe "Power Blast"? (This may be the best as its general wording is good)
Maybe something I haven't thought of yet....
Any words of wisdom from my miniscule number advisors out there? There are at the time of posting this 4 people who visit this site (one of which may be me).
Sunday, March 8, 2009
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You're dealing with two competing priorities here.
ReplyDeleteUseful mechanical description (e.g. making it clear what the power does) vs. color (e.g. sounding cool).
Since you're building a generic power system I'd say go with the former. Let players decide what to actually call their powers. Pyroboy's Damage Blast 3 might be a bigass fireball, whereas Sonic Man's might be a concussive pulse generated by clapping his hands together. Mechanically they're the same thing, colorwise very different.
Another question: What's the reward system look like?
ReplyDeleteYour reward system will, more than anything else, determine how your game is played. Players will do what they get rewarded for. D&D rewards killing things and taking their stuff, which is why D&D is almost always some form of a dungeon crawl. White Wolf's RPGs reward exploring & resolving plots created by the Storyteller. Both are very typical structures, used by lots of RPGs. There are lots of other reward systems out there though - some reward the players for introducing their own complications and then overcoming them, etc.
Very true, I can't argue with that.
ReplyDeleteAs for rewards there will be 2 systems one for RP..a karmic reward thing I'll get into in the next day or two and another for action somewhat like the Storyteller system.
ReplyDeleteMainly the exp will be spent like storyteller system.
As for Karmic rewards they will be used somewhat like force points in the starwars games. If you do something that reifroces your character's main motivations you get points which youc an spend to boost yourself for a turn/action. If you do something that is against your main motivations then the GM can use them agaisnt you.
-sorry a little drunk, typing skills already bad, made wrse by alcohol.
The thing to think about with the reward system - what do you want the players to do?
ReplyDeleteNot the characters, the players.