tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28751902.post8454497051044180101..comments2024-03-26T02:31:48.024-05:00Comments on Trollsmyth: This is Old School to Metrollsmythhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895349218958093151noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28751902.post-21380404728021204282008-05-05T18:23:00.000-05:002008-05-05T18:23:00.000-05:00I understand exactly what you're talking about. T...I understand exactly what you're talking about. The games I run with my wife are very loosey-goosey rules wise, even if they are based on 2e AD&D. I recently talked about doing away with set non-weapon proficiencies and she said she liked having a list of skills on her character sheet to spark ideas.<BR/><BR/>One thing I've been contemplating is a sorta life-path addition to character creation. It'd work something like this:<BR/><BR/>Birth - 7 years old: dictates your starting languages and your basic cultural background<BR/><BR/>7 years - 14 years: apprenticeship and defines a set of skills based on what you were working towards. <BR/><BR/>14 years - 21 years: journeyman and defines your more accomplished skills.<BR/><BR/>Obviously, these ages are set for human lifespans. Basically, you fill in each category with what your character was doing at that age. This dictates what skills your character ought to have. So if you spent your apprentice years as cabin boy on a pirate ship, you ought to know a thing or two about sailing, navigating, knots, and carousing. You know the usual pirate etiquette (or what passes for it), sailor's argot, and something of judging changes in the weather. <BR/><BR/>You can, if you wish, list a bunch of skills like this when you create the character. Later, as you adventure, you might decide you need another skill that's not listed. If you can convince your GM that you would have picked it up during your years as a pirate, then you get it.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, that's something I'm still chewing on, and it'll be more detailed in a post later this month sometime. I'm hoping that gives me, as we've been looking for, the best of both worlds. It does, clearly, require a reasonable GM, but if you don't have one of those, really, your problems are probably more complex and pressing than what skills your character has. :/<BR/><BR/>- Briantrollsmythhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01895349218958093151noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28751902.post-20296148179917358192008-05-05T18:03:00.000-05:002008-05-05T18:03:00.000-05:00I think that there are a lot of factors going into...I think that there are a lot of factors going into this. Personally, I feel straightjacketed these days if I don't have some mechanical skill and stuff defined on my sheet. It is an open question whether I can do things that I don't have explicit abilities for - even in a game like the Moldvay edition - because it is an open question whether or not the GM will allow it. This can sometimes stifle my creativity. If I have options on my sheet, I know I have things to fall back on.<BR/><BR/>...but, yeah, I'm going to do what I can to fight for the best of both worlds. Maybe some of the more mechanically complicated games need more explicit language stating that those mechanics are more tools than limits... or something.Stuarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06319443832578685630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28751902.post-83085574704400605212008-05-02T17:42:00.000-05:002008-05-02T17:42:00.000-05:00No, but they tend to be.Part of it is the switch f...No, but they tend to be.<BR/><BR/>Part of it is the switch from "whatever is not forbidden is allowed" to "whatever is not expressly granted is forbidden" that comes with lists of skills and feats. That feeds into a mechanic-focused style of play. Playing 3.x D&D, we tend to lean forward when presented with an unfamiliar situation, as we scan our character sheet for the right feat or skill to provide a solution. Playing Moldvay/Cook, we lean back, away from the table, as we picture the situation in our minds and try to dream up a solution.<BR/><BR/>It's silly, I'll agree, and you should be able to combine the best of both worlds. But I've found that a sparer character sheet gets players to interact with the campaign world more directly, rather than relying on the "interface" of the game's mechanics.<BR/><BR/>If all you have is a hammer...<BR/><BR/>- Briantrollsmythhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01895349218958093151noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28751902.post-83284307426822944532008-05-02T16:55:00.000-05:002008-05-02T16:55:00.000-05:00Tweaking my stat block or finessing an extra plus ...<I>Tweaking my stat block or finessing an extra plus or two through feat selection just doesn't give me the sort of buzz that using the orc chieftain's throne for a bridge across the piranha-filled pit trap does.</I><BR/><BR/>The two, of course, are not mutually exclusive.<BR/><BR/>Personally, I enjoy games where I can have a mechanically-interesting character who pulls off crazy stunts.Stuarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06319443832578685630noreply@blogger.com