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Anonymous
Writers' block and game design 2016-10-23 21:06:11 Post No.
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Writers' block and game design 2016-10-23 21:06:11 Post No.
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I need your help, /tg/
I've got some writers' block as I craft a system in which a PC's astrological sign has an impact on gameplay. I'm taking inspiration from games like ADOM in which the PC either selects or randomly rolls their birth month, and therefore their astrological sign, and this sign provides a unique benefit.
I'm looking for suggestions and discussion of the sorts of boons you would like to see. I'm running this campaign in Pathfinder (no, shut the fuck up, this is not the place for your edition wars and bullshit), to give you an idea of the under-the-hood mechanical context.
Some guidelines I'm using for myself:
These signs should be unique in that they give benefits that the PCs can't get through their normal build currency options (like feats and traits and class features and so forth). They should also be things that all PCs will generally care about, though they can certainly be more desirable among one sort over another. Everyone might appreciate their HD landing on max when they level up, for example, though warriors get more use out of it. I'd like to not have to resort to boring static +1s and +2s -- I'd prefer that the signs allow the players to do things they just couldn't do otherwise, rather than just be "you do what you were going to do anyway but now with extra pepperoni".
The signs should be roughly on the power level of "two or three feats or class features", and it's ok if they're only situationally powerful. The PCs are already being generated at a pretty low power level, and it's ok if the players drool over their fancy options a little. I'm tinkering with "metagame" effects like minor bonuses to XP gained, randomly-timed or currency-limited "hints from the GM", and of course the boring 5th edition dis/advantage style rerolling.
I guess I'll dump some porn while I wait for the inevitable PF bashing trolls to die before real discussion starts.
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>>49922268
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>>49922268
Did you take a look at the Birthsigns from The Elder Scrolls? Some are not really usable for you, but some others might be. Per example, the "Tower"-sign grants anyone a free unlock, the "Steed"-sign improves base-speed, "Atronach"-sign makes it so you don't recover mana but instead absorb it from spells cast against you.
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>>49922992
Most of the Skyrim signs suck in the sense that they give you something you either don't need, don't want or can get through other means so you wouldn't want that sign because it would mean you couldn't take a more unique sign.
An improvement in base speed could be translated just the same to PF, though, yes. But then you're getting into the whole problem that movement speed is ok, but not impressive in the grand scheme of things since it's so easy to get through other means and it's just a "boring passive bonus" with no real gameplay interaction or impact. Because it doesn't change how the player plays the game: they're just going to make the same decisions they were going to make all along.
As a secondary concern, I would have to think about how the PCs get their signs -- should the players be able to just select one, or should they be forced to roll for it?
And that's a complicated question because it involves how the players (and by extension how all players everywhere) would feel about the method of selection, and it also involves my undecided design philosophy. I.e., is the intended tone of the campaign better served by forcing the players to roll randomly and just deal with a possibly-undesirable starsign while others possibly get a sign that suits their intended build far more neatly?
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Bonuses and penalties in certain months or enviroments. Someone with a water sign gets a bonus to swimming.
Magical colleges being restricted.
Thread posts: 22
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Thread images: 19