Man_Over_Game
2021-04-12, 01:41 PM
Hi, guys. I thought I had a good idea for something, so I wanted to see if there were any RPGs that did something similar.
What I'm looking for is a system that has you create your own powers but on a simplified level. Say each ability you have has a Power level - essentially how much energy or impact it has, and you can deduct from its Power to tack on utility effects. like making it an AoE attack, conjuring a wall with HP equal to its Power, etc. Where all of your powers are fairly generically described and you can tie conditions or effects to those powers to make them unique.
For example, say you want to make a "Zombie Wall" ability, and you start with a Power of 4. Instead of having predefined Wall Spells (like in DnD), you just add an "Obstruction" effect, where all Obstructions have a defensive score equal to the Power on that Ability and can't be traversed/targeted through with a default area of 4 squares (so you can do it as a square or a line). You could then opt to give that obstruction the option to attack nearby enemies equal to its Power. So if that ability had a total Power of 4, you could make a wall (-1) that dealt damage (-1), that had 2 Power remaining for its 2 HP and 2 damage. And that's how you make a Zombie Wall as one of your few abilities
Or you could go with something simple like a pyromancer that had a ranged bolt that dealt 4 damage, a small AoE that dealt 3 damage, and a big AoE that dealt 2.
Then just make a list of conditions that impact the nature of your powers, unique for each character, that are balanced by a negative: Fire can spread on burnable surfaces that deals 1 less damage when doing so (-1), but is countered by cold/water (+1).
And add a few general rules that apply to everyone to spice things up (Abilities that originate from your location gain +1 Power and deal excess damage to another enemy within range).
Then just add a temporary currency you can spend to add augments to certain things (like increase the size of an AoE, or put out a fire instead of creating one, if you were a Pyromancer), that you might earn through RPing or something.
I know that Mutants and Masterminds kinda follows this example, but the powers are so expansive that it doesn't really have a tactical element to it. Despite being a very mechanically-minded system, it is only useful as a story-telling RPG, with the numbers being closer to guidelines (although I haven't played M&M in a long time, things may have changed).
Anyone got other examples of stuff that functions like this?
What I'm looking for is a system that has you create your own powers but on a simplified level. Say each ability you have has a Power level - essentially how much energy or impact it has, and you can deduct from its Power to tack on utility effects. like making it an AoE attack, conjuring a wall with HP equal to its Power, etc. Where all of your powers are fairly generically described and you can tie conditions or effects to those powers to make them unique.
For example, say you want to make a "Zombie Wall" ability, and you start with a Power of 4. Instead of having predefined Wall Spells (like in DnD), you just add an "Obstruction" effect, where all Obstructions have a defensive score equal to the Power on that Ability and can't be traversed/targeted through with a default area of 4 squares (so you can do it as a square or a line). You could then opt to give that obstruction the option to attack nearby enemies equal to its Power. So if that ability had a total Power of 4, you could make a wall (-1) that dealt damage (-1), that had 2 Power remaining for its 2 HP and 2 damage. And that's how you make a Zombie Wall as one of your few abilities
Or you could go with something simple like a pyromancer that had a ranged bolt that dealt 4 damage, a small AoE that dealt 3 damage, and a big AoE that dealt 2.
Then just make a list of conditions that impact the nature of your powers, unique for each character, that are balanced by a negative: Fire can spread on burnable surfaces that deals 1 less damage when doing so (-1), but is countered by cold/water (+1).
And add a few general rules that apply to everyone to spice things up (Abilities that originate from your location gain +1 Power and deal excess damage to another enemy within range).
Then just add a temporary currency you can spend to add augments to certain things (like increase the size of an AoE, or put out a fire instead of creating one, if you were a Pyromancer), that you might earn through RPing or something.
I know that Mutants and Masterminds kinda follows this example, but the powers are so expansive that it doesn't really have a tactical element to it. Despite being a very mechanically-minded system, it is only useful as a story-telling RPG, with the numbers being closer to guidelines (although I haven't played M&M in a long time, things may have changed).
Anyone got other examples of stuff that functions like this?