Post by Woofy on Feb 19, 2011 21:08:21 GMT -5
Those who ave been in X-brats games I've run in the past know of the greatness and subsequent confusion that can develop from a two part character augmentation system I employ. This isn't your run of the mill style game and I thought that before I got too deep into character preludes and such that I'd explain a little about how these systems are going to work. Don't worry, there will be additional postings before game time, and it will all make much more sense then anyways. This is just a brief overview.
The two systems I use are called Personal Points and Team Points. As you can guess from the names, they are acquired through both individual play and group effort. Here's the catch to both of them. Such points are earned based on a criteria that only the Ref of the game (in this case, me) knows. There will be a standardized evaluation process to determine who gets points and when, but I will not publish (at least not now) what that criterium is. Believe me, there is a good reason for this, namely that I want the players focused more on the game and their character than on getting the next point so they can customize. It needs to be a little more organic.
To give a little more depth to the concepts, I'll describe what they are able to do and how I'm going to keep track of them. This part may seem a bit anal, but it is necessary. It will all be made clear.
First off, the Personal Points, or perps. This system is designed to fill in the gray areas of character development. When KS designed the original Heroes Unlimited, the idea was "lets make it fast and easy and not worry about the small stuff." That's going back to the old Blue Book Heroes Unlimited days. In HU2, things got more clearly defined for many of the character classes, but left open to interpretation in others. With the explosive popularity of X-men through the late 80's and early 90's (and still into today), I felt there was a missing piece in the mutant's section. And, well, let's face it, X-men technically have their own game in the former TSR and now WotC system.
Enter the perps. This is designed to help you tool your character's power development into interesting and new ways. This is to simulate training, areas of focus, specialty uses for your powers (including attacks) and to keep things generally interesting. It also helps fill in the gaps that the general rules leave out reguarding teenage characters who are still developing into heroes instead of adult heroes already set to go do what they do.
Some uses of perps include but are not limited to:
- increasing range, damage, duration, or area of effect of a given ability.
- increase the character's natural defense stats (AR, SDC, HP) through physical training.
- learn an important skill
- upgrade a hand to hand style (yes, can be done)
- learning a specific maneuver (like a sambo flying leg takedown, or a savate thigh breaker kick or muy thai elbow strikes)
- one time attfibute raises (very carefully monitored)
- weapons training (WP's or Kata)
These point uses reflect an amount of time spent either learning the particular skill or practicing it until it is second nature. We are talking about hours of time spent every day for periods lasting from days to weeks to possibly even months. As a hard, fast rule, ALL Personal Point expenditures MUST be approved by the Ref. It sould be noted that perps are rollover points. That is, if you earn some and decide not to use them yet, they wait until you earn more or decide on a course of action for them. This is because the value of different character development bonuses is going to differ, depending on the item you wish to spend points on.
Next up we have Team Points, or temps. And as the shortened form implies, these points are not rollover. These are use or lose, and the decision on how they are used is a group one. That's right, every member of the team will benefit from these points and has a right in determining how they are spent. Each player gets a vote and can make the case for one bonuse package over another.
Temps are used to simulate group training, education, and life at Xavier's SGY in general. This is the way that charcters in this system will develop additional skills, learn to fly the Black Bird, figure out alien technology, work out the particulars of team work maneuvers for combat (such as the famous Fastball Special) and such. I know that might be a shock, that HU characters will be actually developing skills. For the most part, the HU system is more about going after bad guys. But the S in XSGY still stands for School.
The temps will be announced when they are earned, and when deemed appropriate to the education process at Xavier's. Think of them as term points or semester change overs. It's when the "class" gets to shift to different subjects. When you see the temps points selection chart, you'll understand what I mean. It's like middle school, high school and college all over again.
Now, before you get the wrong idea, temps skills aren't taught at full level, not like the book has them at anyways. There's a learning curve. Some temps classes are advanced, some are more like survey courses. The party must decide as a group how and where to spend the points. Once there is an agreement, or at least a compromise, it is set in stone.
I can tell you that this system is very effective at getting a variety of skills and team based abilities in short order to the entire class. While the perps are for more personal development, the temps are for getting the whole class through. It sounds complicated, but if handled properly (and we've had plenty of badly handled ones in the past to know this) these systems can make the game really interesting.
Those used to power gaming should note that this system is more for refining uses of abilities, logically. This is not a way that your character can develop super powers they didn't start out with that make no sense to the character. For example, if you start out with mostly energy based powers, you are not likely to develop a sudden healing factor. Similarly, psychic mutants will not be able to just suddenly have supernatural strength and sprout wings at the ankles through use of these points. Not witout a good backstory or character driven reason for it, anyways, and it will take some serious convincing to do.
I like to think I'm a reasonable person. I also like the challenge of trying new things and to see what creativity can be sparked through role play. These are the reasons I started X-brats in the first place, and why I set up these systems. I hope that they will be used in the spirit of that. The fun is in learning you already possess greatness and showing it, not in simply having it.
Besides, teenagers have it rough, man. No rougher than adults, but they are just getting into the adult world and that transition, along with the trials of puberty, social changes in schools, discrimiation and other such world evils, well.....
Makes you just wish to sit at home with your PS9 and let the world forget you. But we know that can't happen. So welcome to the Uncanny X-Brats, folks! Leave your plausible deniability at the door, sign the waver (so the lawyers earn their dimes) and let's see where the road takes us.
More to come.
Robby
The two systems I use are called Personal Points and Team Points. As you can guess from the names, they are acquired through both individual play and group effort. Here's the catch to both of them. Such points are earned based on a criteria that only the Ref of the game (in this case, me) knows. There will be a standardized evaluation process to determine who gets points and when, but I will not publish (at least not now) what that criterium is. Believe me, there is a good reason for this, namely that I want the players focused more on the game and their character than on getting the next point so they can customize. It needs to be a little more organic.
To give a little more depth to the concepts, I'll describe what they are able to do and how I'm going to keep track of them. This part may seem a bit anal, but it is necessary. It will all be made clear.
First off, the Personal Points, or perps. This system is designed to fill in the gray areas of character development. When KS designed the original Heroes Unlimited, the idea was "lets make it fast and easy and not worry about the small stuff." That's going back to the old Blue Book Heroes Unlimited days. In HU2, things got more clearly defined for many of the character classes, but left open to interpretation in others. With the explosive popularity of X-men through the late 80's and early 90's (and still into today), I felt there was a missing piece in the mutant's section. And, well, let's face it, X-men technically have their own game in the former TSR and now WotC system.
Enter the perps. This is designed to help you tool your character's power development into interesting and new ways. This is to simulate training, areas of focus, specialty uses for your powers (including attacks) and to keep things generally interesting. It also helps fill in the gaps that the general rules leave out reguarding teenage characters who are still developing into heroes instead of adult heroes already set to go do what they do.
Some uses of perps include but are not limited to:
- increasing range, damage, duration, or area of effect of a given ability.
- increase the character's natural defense stats (AR, SDC, HP) through physical training.
- learn an important skill
- upgrade a hand to hand style (yes, can be done)
- learning a specific maneuver (like a sambo flying leg takedown, or a savate thigh breaker kick or muy thai elbow strikes)
- one time attfibute raises (very carefully monitored)
- weapons training (WP's or Kata)
These point uses reflect an amount of time spent either learning the particular skill or practicing it until it is second nature. We are talking about hours of time spent every day for periods lasting from days to weeks to possibly even months. As a hard, fast rule, ALL Personal Point expenditures MUST be approved by the Ref. It sould be noted that perps are rollover points. That is, if you earn some and decide not to use them yet, they wait until you earn more or decide on a course of action for them. This is because the value of different character development bonuses is going to differ, depending on the item you wish to spend points on.
Next up we have Team Points, or temps. And as the shortened form implies, these points are not rollover. These are use or lose, and the decision on how they are used is a group one. That's right, every member of the team will benefit from these points and has a right in determining how they are spent. Each player gets a vote and can make the case for one bonuse package over another.
Temps are used to simulate group training, education, and life at Xavier's SGY in general. This is the way that charcters in this system will develop additional skills, learn to fly the Black Bird, figure out alien technology, work out the particulars of team work maneuvers for combat (such as the famous Fastball Special) and such. I know that might be a shock, that HU characters will be actually developing skills. For the most part, the HU system is more about going after bad guys. But the S in XSGY still stands for School.
The temps will be announced when they are earned, and when deemed appropriate to the education process at Xavier's. Think of them as term points or semester change overs. It's when the "class" gets to shift to different subjects. When you see the temps points selection chart, you'll understand what I mean. It's like middle school, high school and college all over again.
Now, before you get the wrong idea, temps skills aren't taught at full level, not like the book has them at anyways. There's a learning curve. Some temps classes are advanced, some are more like survey courses. The party must decide as a group how and where to spend the points. Once there is an agreement, or at least a compromise, it is set in stone.
I can tell you that this system is very effective at getting a variety of skills and team based abilities in short order to the entire class. While the perps are for more personal development, the temps are for getting the whole class through. It sounds complicated, but if handled properly (and we've had plenty of badly handled ones in the past to know this) these systems can make the game really interesting.
Those used to power gaming should note that this system is more for refining uses of abilities, logically. This is not a way that your character can develop super powers they didn't start out with that make no sense to the character. For example, if you start out with mostly energy based powers, you are not likely to develop a sudden healing factor. Similarly, psychic mutants will not be able to just suddenly have supernatural strength and sprout wings at the ankles through use of these points. Not witout a good backstory or character driven reason for it, anyways, and it will take some serious convincing to do.
I like to think I'm a reasonable person. I also like the challenge of trying new things and to see what creativity can be sparked through role play. These are the reasons I started X-brats in the first place, and why I set up these systems. I hope that they will be used in the spirit of that. The fun is in learning you already possess greatness and showing it, not in simply having it.
Besides, teenagers have it rough, man. No rougher than adults, but they are just getting into the adult world and that transition, along with the trials of puberty, social changes in schools, discrimiation and other such world evils, well.....
Makes you just wish to sit at home with your PS9 and let the world forget you. But we know that can't happen. So welcome to the Uncanny X-Brats, folks! Leave your plausible deniability at the door, sign the waver (so the lawyers earn their dimes) and let's see where the road takes us.
More to come.
Robby