PDA

View Full Version : New System, Rolling for Powers, Balance???



Tormsskull
2007-06-01, 10:11 AM
Hi all,

I am in the process of developing a new RPG system that takes bits and pieces from a bunch of different games/systems I've played in the past (D&D 1st, 2nd, 3rd edition, DIKU/ROM MUDs, CRPGs & come console games, etc) and melds them into one cohesive system.

In designing this system I came upon a core issue, balance. My regular group of players are very keen on rolling for attributes, which works fine for us. However, in new system I am working on, players are able to roll for a special power/ability upon creation.

This is a visible roll, but the result is hidden. Some of the powers are obvious, and are thus told to the players upon rolling them. Others powers are secretive and do not manifest themselves so openly, and thus are not told to the player. This is sort of similar to the old AD&D Birthright setting where players had a bloodline score and then were able to roll to see what kind of blood line abilities they have.

In Birthright you could roll no abilities at all, and someone else could roll to have 5 or 6 abilities. I never had a problem with that, as I am of the school that if you roll it you earned it, but I know that a lot of other players feel differently (i.e. if their friends roll something better than them they will be upset).

So, my question is, in designing this new system, and trying to cater to both ends of the spectrum, how much inequality is reasonable?

Take for example a few of the powers:
-Enhanced Sense (better vision or hearing or tactile, etc),
-Blessed (Character can bless water, provides bonus against some evil-aligned attacks in a radius to people he considers friends, can be detected by evil forces)
-Green Blooded (Character has an affinity for plants, trees, and fungi. With a successful Personality check (akin to Charisma), the character can communicate in a limited way with plants, trees, or fungi)
-Wild Blooded (like green blood but with animals)
-Noble (Character comes from a noble background, granting access to resources not available to non-nobles)
-Commanding Aura (Character gains bonus to Personality checks for interactions with others)
-Sense Magic (By concentrating, the character can sense the presence of magic, recently used magic, or magical items)
-Sense Evil (same as sense magic but for evil)
-Elemental Kin (Character's composition is made up of a small percentage of an element (air, earth, fire, water). Any weapon the character wields causes 1 additional elemental damage, and the character suffers less damage versus elemental-typed damage that corresponds to his own, but more versus the element opposed to his.

So, with these few examples in mind, would it seem that some are far more powerful than others? I'm going to make the ones that are "better" more difficult to roll, but I'm hoping to make it so that the "worst" ability and the "best" ability aren't astronomically different in power.

Matthew
2007-06-11, 01:41 PM
These seem relatively okay to me. You could just produce parallel systems. Roll or Point Buy, player chooses.