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View Full Version : Ideas for a perk-based system (that is also story-driven)



Thrawn4
2017-03-03, 11:36 AM
Hello everyone.

Over the last few years, my preferences have changed towards more simple systems as I don't want to bother with spending hours upon hours reading, explaining and clarifying rules. I also think this is turning into a trend in most RPGs (Not my main point, but feel free to post your own experience).

At the moment, I fancy a perk-based system where character stats are substituted by key words, like "strong", "herbal knowledge" or "herbal knowledge mastery". Just for fun and profit, I would like to spark a discussion how such a system might work.
While I think about it, it strikes me that a simple point-allocation system might be more convenient (no lists to look through), BUT if every character is allowed a given number of perks per session/level, we get the additional bonus of the DM and player agreeing on an appropriate perk based on the story (story-driven). For example, if the character convinced a mage to take him as a new apprentice, you could get "cantrips". If you did so by taking care of his firewood supply, you might also get "strong".

I am dimly aware that there are system that try a similar approach, but I think these use rather vague?

Anyway...

I feel like there should be a strain of perks that covers simple attributes that are available to everyone, like "strong", "intelligent" and so on, that majorly benefits general attribute rolls, but also rolls where the perk in question might be useful.
There should also be special perks where you have to meet certain conditions, for example finding a teacher (so these have to be earned).
Negative perks should also be a thing (e. g. "debts", if you want to start with a certain perk that you normally could not afford, "shaking hands" when you were heavily wounded in combat).
There should also be a set of secret perks that only the DM knows about until one PC qualifies, like "arcane secret" or "assassin training".

Each skill check (perk check?) could be done with a simple roll that takes perks and circumstances into account.

Your thoughts?

Grod_The_Giant
2017-03-03, 11:53 AM
Sounds kind of like Fate/Fate Accelerated Edition?

Thrawn4
2017-03-03, 12:01 PM
Sounds kind of like Fate/Fate Accelerated Edition?
Isn't Fate basically like Fudge? Everyone makes up there skills and assign a rank?

EDIT: After a quick search, it seems to me that Fate's aspects are intentionally vague, which can be good and descriptive, but probably leads to arguments about what a "sky pirate" is suppossed to be good at. I was thinking along the lines of a precise list and less number crunching (I realize Fate is comparatively light on that front).
It also endorses some meta-gaming, which I am not a huge fan of.

ImNotTrevor
2017-03-03, 02:29 PM
Isn't Fate basically like Fudge? Everyone makes up there skills and assign a rank?

EDIT: After a quick search, it seems to me that Fate's aspects are intentionally vague, which can be good and descriptive, but probably leads to arguments about what a "sky pirate" is suppossed to be good at. I was thinking along the lines of a precise list and less number crunching (I realize Fate is comparatively light on that front).
It also endorses some meta-gaming, which I am not a huge fan of.

So you're talking about a rules-lite version of The Burning Wheel, more or less?

Thrawn4
2017-03-03, 03:30 PM
So you're talking about a rules-lite version of The Burning Wheel, more or less?

And another quick check on the internet...
600 pages of rules? Yeah, definitely something simpler.
Apparently also intentionally vague with little regard for balance. Not streamlined enough for my intentions.
Not much information on the rules, though. Would you care to point out the gist?

Grod_The_Giant
2017-03-03, 03:56 PM
Isn't Fate basically like Fudge? Everyone makes up there skills and assign a rank?

EDIT: After a quick search, it seems to me that Fate's aspects are intentionally vague, which can be good and descriptive, but probably leads to arguments about what a "sky pirate" is suppossed to be good at. I was thinking along the lines of a precise list and less number crunching (I realize Fate is comparatively light on that front).
It also endorses some meta-gaming, which I am not a huge fan of.
Your problem here is that I don't think "huge list of precisely-defined perks" and "simple rules-light" are going to go together super-well. You'd want them to be as simple as possible, because as you describe things you'll wind up with a lot of perks in very short order; if they're as complicated as, oh, D&D feats, you'll have problems quick.


(For what it's worth, I have mixed feelings about Fate as a system, but I've never had particular trouble with arguments over aspects. It might be because you have to spend a resource to get the bonus; I think the psychology of that tends to work in favor of allowing things without too much trouble)

EDIT: But anyway, I guess the first question you'd want to ask is whether or not the perks are part of the core task-resolution mechanic or not. IE, are you going to do something like "my Body stat is 3, and I have the Strong perk, so I roll d6+4" or more like "I have Strong 3, so I roll 3d6?"

ImNotTrevor
2017-03-03, 05:39 PM
And another quick check on the internet...
600 pages of rules? Yeah, definitely something simpler.
Apparently also intentionally vague with little regard for balance. Not streamlined enough for my intentions.
Not much information on the rules, though. Would you care to point out the gist?

Burning Wheel, being a game focused primarily on story, does indeed have strict balance as a majorly secondary concern. As for vague... not really?

A significant chunk of The Burning Wheel's pages are dedicated to individual skills and traits, though there is one set of customizeable skills called "x-wise" where you can decide your character is, say, "Strategy-wise" and knows a lot about strategy regardless of their actual skill in practice thereof.

But all traits cost XP, even negative ones. In fact, negative ones cost MORE, because when a trait causes a complication you get more Artha (sorta an XP/Fate points hybrid, if I remember correctly) and obviously, negative traits can get you lots of Artha.

Traits can be as specific as "Floury," and described more or less as "You leave floury handprints and footprints sometimes" often gained by being a baker. The systems traits and skills are anything but vague. If anything, they're dictionary-like in their granularity, specificity, and number.

Another mechanic you might appreciate from it is the FoRK system or "Fields of Related Knowledge." Essentially, if you have a skill that applies to the current roll besides the main one, you can "fork in" one die from that into your pool. So for instance if you're strategizing for a upcoming battle you might primarily use Strategy and fork in Tactics and Strategy-wise and Military-wise for 3 more dice in your pool.

Theres like 600 pages worth of Wheel to talk about tho and my experience is limited, but the system you're talking about has apparent similarities.

Knaight
2017-03-03, 05:53 PM
The Shadow of Yesterday and Barbarians of Lemuria are the closest fits I can think of, with many better options coming up if you drop the restriction on needing a premade list. Chronica Feudalis could also work.

LibraryOgre
2017-03-04, 10:16 AM
Are you familiar with Risus? (http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/risus.htm) You define your character based on self-selected traits, which are given a rating. When faced with a problem, you choose which of your traits you're going to use to resolve the problem, and roll that. You have 10 dice to divide among them, and choose your divisions. You might decide to stat Batman as

Detective (4) Ninja (3) Inventor (2) Millionaire Playboy (1)

Because he's mostly a detective, and best at that. He's also a ninja and an inventor, though, and plays at being a Millionaire Playboy but is really bad at pretending to be a normal person (or the Millionaire Playboy version of a normal person). That would be the TAS version.

You could have the Adam West Batman be Sincere Moralizer (3) Bat-themed Gadget (5) and Dashing Playboy (2), since he played the Bruce Wayne roll a little better, but solved things by improbable bat-gadgets.