Prelude: Subsection II - Statistics
Now that you know who you are, the next step will take nearly no time. The idea is simple; we will proceed with character statistics.
In Century City Unlimited, there are four character attributes:
• Strength - A measure of the character’s physical stamina, physical power and bulk, ability to lift, carry, and do damage
• Dexterity - A measure of the character’s physical agility, coordination, and manual dexterity
• Intelligence - A measure of the character’s mental capacity, acuity, and sense of the world
• Spirit - A measure of the character’s energy, vitality, and ability to resist disease
Normally these attributes begin at 10, representing typical human ability, but can go as low as one for nearly useless, to 20 (or higher) for superhuman power. Anything in the 8 to 12 range is considered to be in the “normal” (average) area for humans. Basic attribute scores of 6 or less are considered crippling — they are so far below the human norm that they are only used for severely handicapped characters. Scores of 15 or more are described as amazing — they are immediately apparent and draw constant comment.
You may alter your attributes however, you wish, but take note, that severely handicapping yourself may present serious and potentially fatal character flaws later on in the game world.
You have six free attribute points, these points may be deposited into any of the four attributes, furthermore you may also reduce your base score (10) to add additional points to any attribute you choose. But no matter what, 46 must be the sum of your four attributes.
Edit: I have officially renamed "Health" to "Spirit" as I feel that this encompasses and better describes the category a bit better.
13 comments:
Dan Robinson, soph PoliSci major:
S:9
D:13
I:15
H:9
Alright... so far I've gotten a pre-med and a polisci major, I see a particular intellectual aspect to the group so far.
HA HA!!! Make that three! I'm working on skills... I should make this in the next day or two.
Yeah, I guess we are more intellectually themed, though I'm not sure what major would be considered not intellectual...
Heh. If you want something non-intellectual, I can play a second character.
Billy Jones, junior, underwater basket weaving, football scholarship:
S:15
D:13
I:7
H:11
Billy is the all-american boy, stronger than a rock, and smarter than one too, he loves his mother, the american flag, and beer. He's a nice guy, when he's sober, which admittedly hasn't been too often since his freshman year of high school. When he's drunk he never has any difficulty getting a date, which he attributes to the wonderful boons of alcohol, but the campus chapter of N.O.W. calls sexual harassment. He's been too short of money to buy steroids this semester, and he fears the effects on his social life of losing his football scholarship, so he was ready to jump at the chance when he saw the posters.
He (if he exists) lumbers into the office and says "How do I get me that cash? Are you gonna stick me with any needles?"
Whom you choose to play is your decision. Whether you want to play an intellectual, or a bruiser, or a calculating and manipulative creaton is your call, as it is for anyone else.
Just because most people who attend college are intelligent doesn't mean that all are. Some have been given the "keys to the city" as it were because daddy made a significant donation to the campus, or maybe the student was green-lighted because of his or her abilities in a certain sport, or perhaps the college needs to meet a certain quota of different races/creeds/etc. and the student happened to apply at the right time.
I'll allow you till Sunday mid-day to make changes to your character, if you want, and then I will post the skills system.
He was just offered as balance if you wanted it. If I only play one character, I'm sticking with my original submission. But Sunday? AHH! So long. Impatient minds want to play.
Also, how much of a plot do you have in mind, or, asked a different way, how character and/or player driven do you want this to be? I assume you won't be running us along on rails, and won't be leaving us entirely to our own devices, but which extreme would you lean towards if you had to pick one?
I've never been a fan of rails, I hope to make this a game where you the player will see a need and fill it. If I have to I will coax the game along like Dan has with his Academy game.
One of the reasons I'm holding is because I'm still not sure how I want to do skills, I like the idea of purchasing in a gambling style but I really don't know how to do that.
Plus, I was really hoping for a forth player. Anyone know anyone who may be interested?
Um, I've got a friend that I could invite if you want.
First off, as much as I like the gambling idea, for it to work at all the game needs to have competitive elements. How will you be putting us in competition with one another? In what ways will my goals and Jeremy's be mutually exclusive, or at least able to be biased to either of us but not both? How are our needs in tension?
One possible way could relate to experience points. Whoever contributes the most materially to resolving the conflict in the scene gets x number of experience points, and everyone else gets squat. That way we have a reason to want to be better than each other, and go out of our way to get things done. Other ways might work better; that's just what came to mind first.
Once that's solved, gambling isn't too hard. Just don't rate skills by number. Instead, have qualitative values for them. Maybe skills rank at 'worst,' 'okay' and 'best.' Give us all a set number of points to bid, and we bid against each other for who gets to be the best at something. Give bonus points for being willing to take worst, and let us bid that down as well.
Say Jeremy and I both want to be best at Brawling, if brawling were a skill choice. I would bid a point. Jeremy would counter-bid. It would continue until one of us wins the bid. Then we pay that many points.
The other bidding would work kind of in reverse. Say we both want to be the worst at Swimming. I might start off the bid by saying "I'm the worst at swimming for 10" meaning you'd give me 10 extra points to bid with for that. Jeremy could say "No, I'm the worst for 7 points." And so on until one of us either decides that it isn't worth it, or one of us takes it for 1.
I guess default would be that we're okay at everything. You'd need to figure out what the modifiers are for those values. Maybe best gets you a +5 on a roll, or an extra die, or however the system works, and worst the opposite.
@garra:
You bet, bring him/her on.
@everyone:
I'll try to post something about the skills before Sunday, but I really am not sure if I'll have the time. Melissa's (my wife) birthday took place yesterday, and we've got some plans this weekend. However, I'll do my best to get those things up as soon as possible. Promise.
Also, the reason I'm looking for four players is because of the way the "powers" are designed. I'm not suggesting that these "powers" need four players to properly execute a la "The Simpsons" arcade game (where you could stand two players together for a few seconds and they would form into a amalgamation of the two with stronger attacks, higher health, and goofy animations) but just that's how the powers were designed.
I actually could introduce a fifth player (there are some "powers" that I've developed that work similarly to the main four "powers" but it doesn't need to exist for the game to, in my opinion, rawk!) however everyone I've spoken to seems interested but cannot dedicate their time to it.
I'd love for this new player to be welcomed warmly as I really have no idea how I would handle someone leaving mid-game... nor would I figure out what to do with those "powers" it's not as if they can be freely given to a new recruit of Amalgamated Industries.
I've asked her, she's thinking about it. I'll try to get an answer as quickly as possible
That's great. I hope she bites. Err, I mean I hope she takes the offer... I don't really think she bites in a negative way. Oops.
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