Bulwer
2009-05-25, 07:01 PM
I was right in the middle of the target audience when the dub of Digimon Adventure (1 and 2) aired on American TV, and I really enjoyed it. I've been thinking about how best to translate the feel of the show to tabletop roleplay, and here's what I've got. I'm unsure about a lot of things, especially the point values involved, so I'd love input, especially from people who've played more BESM d20 than I have. (that is, about 2 sessions)
The Digidestined kids shouldn't be very powerful at all, I think. 40 discretionary points might be too much, as that is supposed to be "low-powered" if they're the ones actually doing the work. Maybe 30 points?
For classes, I was thinking of allowing Adventurer, Martial Artist, Ninja, Samurai, Student, and Tech Genius. Notice: no Pet Monster Trainer. That's because the Digimon aren't really a 'class feature' of the Digidestined as much as they are a separate character. Taking 'Train a Cute Monster' should certainly be an option, though.
The Digimon should be, as the Pet Monster attribute suggests, Adventurers. Their Race should maybe be important: Virus, Vaccine, or Data, or maybe some more physically descriptive categories instead.
For the various ranks, here are thoughts on the point totals they should be made from.
{table]Fresh | 10 points
In-Training | 15 points
Rookie | 30 points
Champion | 60 points
Ultimate | 100 points
Mega | 200 points[/table]
Digivolution is the most important thing that's not covered by the BESM d20 book. I was considering a system that keeps track of Hunger and Morale to determine whether they can Digivolve, combined with the sort of fun plot token items like Crests for the higher levels. Since BESM d20 uses Fate Points, I'd say that spending one of those should be mandatory, at least for the first time a Digimon hits a certain level.
If this would ever see play, there's a lot of prep work that would need to be done constructing Digimon from points. If that work were distributed to a whole party, I'd worry about losing the fun sense of wonder that came from seeing a new form emerge when it was most needed. I'm not sure how to avoid that, but I'd love suggestions.
Does anyone have any thoughts as to how to make this work? I'd love any input, even if it's just a voice of support.
The Digidestined kids shouldn't be very powerful at all, I think. 40 discretionary points might be too much, as that is supposed to be "low-powered" if they're the ones actually doing the work. Maybe 30 points?
For classes, I was thinking of allowing Adventurer, Martial Artist, Ninja, Samurai, Student, and Tech Genius. Notice: no Pet Monster Trainer. That's because the Digimon aren't really a 'class feature' of the Digidestined as much as they are a separate character. Taking 'Train a Cute Monster' should certainly be an option, though.
The Digimon should be, as the Pet Monster attribute suggests, Adventurers. Their Race should maybe be important: Virus, Vaccine, or Data, or maybe some more physically descriptive categories instead.
For the various ranks, here are thoughts on the point totals they should be made from.
{table]Fresh | 10 points
In-Training | 15 points
Rookie | 30 points
Champion | 60 points
Ultimate | 100 points
Mega | 200 points[/table]
Digivolution is the most important thing that's not covered by the BESM d20 book. I was considering a system that keeps track of Hunger and Morale to determine whether they can Digivolve, combined with the sort of fun plot token items like Crests for the higher levels. Since BESM d20 uses Fate Points, I'd say that spending one of those should be mandatory, at least for the first time a Digimon hits a certain level.
If this would ever see play, there's a lot of prep work that would need to be done constructing Digimon from points. If that work were distributed to a whole party, I'd worry about losing the fun sense of wonder that came from seeing a new form emerge when it was most needed. I'm not sure how to avoid that, but I'd love suggestions.
Does anyone have any thoughts as to how to make this work? I'd love any input, even if it's just a voice of support.