Terra

We've been discussing actually adopting more stringent guidelines in regards to character creation and I'm putting this thread up to gauge interest/disinterest in such among you all.

I for one am potentially an oddball, as I enjoy rules. Even if they may only come up once in awhile during RP. I like structure and order (OOC, at least). So, yeah. Let me know what you guys think, if you're for or against it. I'll lay out some examples if there's some interest. Or edit this post soon to provide some for perusal.

Please by all means, lay out some examples, I like rules some times. They give me more things to accidentally break and try and fix. lol

Wall of text inc.

Being an old-school tabletop player, I would very much appreciate more structure, but I think most people on RPR are used to lax rulesets. I know I was certainly liberal with stat points when I plugged them in for Malik.

I think there are two directions you can take this: 1) use some kind of point-buy system and restrict the amount of points we can use, or 2) allow us to police ourselves with strict guidelines in place.

#1 is obviously more systematic, but the difficulty is that some people prefer to play "low-level" characters who have room to grow, while others want to play characters in positions of power. Not everyone can be a megacorp CEO, but there are undoubtedly players who might want to be one (and might be really good at it!) Also, some players might be highly specialized (4-5pts in melee and brawl) while others are impossibly well-rounded. So this is something you'll want to address. One option might be to have a recommended range for stat purchases (e.g. 15-25), with a strict upper limit that can only be raised through IC progression.

I've seen some groups do this successfully with combat, where they implement experience points and allow you to gain exp when you fight in official tournaments. That's relatively straightforward because you gain a specified amount of XP for winning and a specified amount for losing. It'll be more difficult to implement that outside of structured combat situations, I think.

Option #2 is essentially a step above an honor system. You list some recommended guidelines for stat distribution, clarify what each stat level represents, and maybe make some sample character sheets to illustrate what a typical VS powerful character should look like. If players overstep the boundaries, just point out areas where the stats need to be lowered. More flexible, maybe?

I'm a D&D, and Warhammer Nerd(and quite proud about it) so the want for rules for rules I understand. But I do like the ideals of option #2, that's the reason that I am so well rounded, I was told don't got too over board, but be kind of in the same points area as my character, by Nikki, so that's what I did. I like the way it turned out. However I like the idea of gaining points through certain events, I would further extend it, however, to the possibility of loosing a point.

For instance imagine what happens to your breathing ability when you get a cold. Or the effect on your marksmanship if you were to have broken something or faced a loss that could possibly demoralize your character. It's just an add on I guess. I don't quite remember where I was going with that. sorry

In the end, a storyteller can always say "this is too strong", or "you can/can't play this character as it is now" if they have a special concept. You guys seem to be in favor of option 2, so maybe we can just go by 'guidelines' instead of 'strict rules'? Myself, I like rules, it makes things a little more interesting and challenging, but I understand flexibility is also healthy.

We want to know what you guys would prefer, though, so that's why we're asking!

Maybe a healthy mix then, strict rules for certain parts of character creation(and for outside of character creation too) but some parts should have flexibility, like depending on 'who' you are playing as ('crime lord', 'daughter of CEO', 'truck driver', etc.) certain things should be made more or less flexible for your character.

Essentially since we're building off of WW's system, I mainly was looking to incorporate some of it's character generation systems in regards to the attributes/skills/ect, with a bit of added leeway given that no one here is playing a bright-eyed, fresh-faced farmgirl(Or boy) last I checked. Most of everyone's characters fall under the category of..




So, we'd be allowing for some added points here and there that would represent their upbringing/training/ect. But still maintain at least some semblance of order as it were.


As for advancing skills through roleplay, yes. Definitely. As well as through ST'd events of course. Changes/additions/advances to your characters after pivotal moments in one plot or another, whether it's personal or on a bigger scale that includes everyone. But, again, it's up to everyone. Not going to put anything in place that the majority of you dislike.

Oh no, rules are great. I'm all for more rules - just wanted to bring up some possible concerns to encourage discussion, because Char Creation is where people will have the most difficulty, I imagine. As Nikki said, if someone's character is too OP, there's a lot of community policing as we can just tell them to tone it down (even if temporarily).

I also like Quinton's idea of possibly losing skills through roleplay, though obviously it should be something you work out with the player.

Advancing skills through roleplay, though - YES. Can't wait to see where you go with this.