Post by David Okum on Jul 22, 2011 23:34:26 GMT -5
Character Creation is probably the hardest thing I've had to figure out for the DK system. It is at it's heart, a boardgame/wargame skirmish system and has hold-overs from that. Creating a way to define characters seemed like a natural thing, but it turned out to be quite challenging.
First off, I thought I'd use a point-based system, but that got fiddly right from the get-go. I wanted this game to be quick and rules-lite.
A points system seemed too particular and would take too long to sort out. Considering how deadly the combat system was, I wanted players to be able to make characters 'on the fly' if need be.
So the ideas of a "level" seemed to make this easier. It basically does the same thing as points, but simplifies the process.
There are only two "stats": Ability, which represents the overall quality of the character and Wounds, which represents how many injuries a character can sustain before the figure is taken out of play.
To define the abilities of the character further there are also Talents. Talents represent skills, training, natural abilities, social status, connections and perks of the character.
This is further fleshed out with gear, or equipment the character uses.
With a point based system I wanted to avoid a class-based character creation stage, but as I researched the era, archetypes or classes became more of an option.
I really wanted a Class List and an Everyman List of Talents, that is, Talents specific to the archetype or class concept and Talents available to anyone.
The other important factor was that I wanted Magic to be implied and psychological, not real. I was greatly inspired by the Marshall McLuhan quote here “I wouldn’t have seen it if I hadn’t believed it.” I wanted it to play up coincidence and faulty logic.
Next: A Class Act
First off, I thought I'd use a point-based system, but that got fiddly right from the get-go. I wanted this game to be quick and rules-lite.
A points system seemed too particular and would take too long to sort out. Considering how deadly the combat system was, I wanted players to be able to make characters 'on the fly' if need be.
So the ideas of a "level" seemed to make this easier. It basically does the same thing as points, but simplifies the process.
There are only two "stats": Ability, which represents the overall quality of the character and Wounds, which represents how many injuries a character can sustain before the figure is taken out of play.
To define the abilities of the character further there are also Talents. Talents represent skills, training, natural abilities, social status, connections and perks of the character.
This is further fleshed out with gear, or equipment the character uses.
With a point based system I wanted to avoid a class-based character creation stage, but as I researched the era, archetypes or classes became more of an option.
I really wanted a Class List and an Everyman List of Talents, that is, Talents specific to the archetype or class concept and Talents available to anyone.
The other important factor was that I wanted Magic to be implied and psychological, not real. I was greatly inspired by the Marshall McLuhan quote here “I wouldn’t have seen it if I hadn’t believed it.” I wanted it to play up coincidence and faulty logic.
Next: A Class Act