Post by The Librarian on Mar 19, 2014 16:15:20 GMT -7
Taken from RPG Chat, if you are the author and you want it removed let me know and I will do so.
[Lesson Seven: Abilities]
Credits: Written by Serrius
What's the big deal with powers, many people ask. You see a lot of the veterans throwing them around and they always look really cool, but you always get yelled at when you, as a new person, use them. Why is that, you may wonder? Well, wonder no more, because that's why I'm here!
It's easiest to start off by stating what abilities should do, and then move on to what they shouldn't do. Abilities should:
1) Even the playing field: Playing against a gunman when you're a samurai? Abilities might be useful.
2) Accent the character: A boxer who can go into a berserk rage is cool; a boxer who can spit globs of acid while flying around is just stupid.
3) Enhance the experience: It's one thing to fight a ninja; it's quite another to fight a ninja who has the ability to climb walls using his mad ninjutsu.
4) Maintain a level of fun: Many people just don't find it fun to play as an average Joe. That's why we come to these boards, after all: to play as pirate who can make a cut faster than the eye can see.
So, what shouldn't abilities do? Well, anything which breaks a rule above is automatically out the window. More than that, however, abilities should never, never, never break the laws of common sense. I don't care if you're summoning magical pixies from the beyond, you'd better be able to write about it like it has some perfectly rational explanation. Some short pointers about things that don't go over well:
1) Saying your character can go faster than the speed of light (or as fast, or even a tenth as fast.) The fundamental laws of the universe still hold true, no matter how magic you use.
2) Anything that can instant kill an opponent in more than .0001% of battles. That little percent allowed is for when you're fighting someone who isn't fighting back. I don't care if you say "This attack WOULD kill them if they stand still." If the attack has the potential to instant kill, don't use it. Try wearing down your opponent first; it's more fun anyways. If you're courteous with your powers, gunmen should also be pretty courteous with their aim. If you're not… Well, it gets ugly.
3) Anything that involves transformation unless done in limited circumstances and EXTREMELY well. (See: Cattivo's lycanthrope or Lambert's characters. If you can write as well as them, feel free to use transforming characters. Otherwise, you might want to wait a bit.) It tends to get, well, stupid when you have people transforming at random.
4) Anything which involves controlling another character will not work unless it's pre-arranged to happen by both parties. So, most psionics aren't generally a good idea. Furthermore, they're way too easy abuse in most cases. So, stay away from psionics in most cases.
Okay, so we have some ground rules. They don't cover everything, but they work pretty well. There's a lot of info there, I know, but let's forge ahead anyways into some examples. They shouldn't take too long, so this shouldn't hurt too much.
Case #1
Name: Silent Bob
Silent Bob is a man who knows what he wants: a straight up brawl with the Angel of Death himself! And by Bob, he's going to get it! So, Silent Bob goes on to make a hand to hand fighter. Thinking carefully about powers, he decides that he should be able to go into a fury and whoop some ass when he gets angry. Considering that to be all he needs, he finishes his character and goes out into the wide world of fighting.
Pros: It's an ability very much in character, it can do a lot to enhance the posts, and it doesn't step on any toes.
Cons: It doesn't do much to balance him out against ranged fighters, meaning he's easy prey if he encounters one of them. Also, it might not be as much fun to use him because he's so straightforward.
Case #2
Name: Donnie Darko
Donnie is a somewhat psychotic kid who's prone to violence. This is partly to be blamed on society, and partly to be blamed on the evil rabbit that talks to him and tells him to do bad things. Donnie decides to take a gun, making him more of a ranged fighter. On top of that, he decides to take some time manipulation powers. Considering himself to be well balanced, he goes out into the wide world of fighting.
Pros: Well… it'll be fun to use.
Cons: Having both ranged weapons an ability can be hard to balance; in this case, it fails. Time manipulation is very much not appreciated by the board goers, doesn't seem to fit the character very well, isn't much fun to go against, and only further raises the ranged advantage offered by the gun. It could possibly work; however, it will likely end in disaster as it's inevitably abused.
Case #3
Name: Peter Gibbons
Peter Gibbons is a laid back guy who's just looking to get something fun out of life. Seeking to join the ranks of celebrated melee fighters, the player decides to focus Gibbons on melee. Giving him a baseball bat for a weapon and arming him with the ability to light the bat on fire at will without damaging it, the player sets out into the wide world of fighting.
Pros: With a weapon and that ability, he's on pretty good ground. A bullet will still be hard to stop, but there are fair ways around it. It'll probably be pretty fun to use a flaming bat, and it could really heat things up in a battle.
Cons: Again, it doesn't really enhance the character. If he's so laid back, why does he light a bat on fire? Making abilities match the character is very important to creating a memorable fighter.
Anyways, that's it for this installment. Learn to master abilities, and then go out into the wide world of fighting a true master that people want to fight!
[Lesson Seven: Abilities]
Credits: Written by Serrius
What's the big deal with powers, many people ask. You see a lot of the veterans throwing them around and they always look really cool, but you always get yelled at when you, as a new person, use them. Why is that, you may wonder? Well, wonder no more, because that's why I'm here!
It's easiest to start off by stating what abilities should do, and then move on to what they shouldn't do. Abilities should:
1) Even the playing field: Playing against a gunman when you're a samurai? Abilities might be useful.
2) Accent the character: A boxer who can go into a berserk rage is cool; a boxer who can spit globs of acid while flying around is just stupid.
3) Enhance the experience: It's one thing to fight a ninja; it's quite another to fight a ninja who has the ability to climb walls using his mad ninjutsu.
4) Maintain a level of fun: Many people just don't find it fun to play as an average Joe. That's why we come to these boards, after all: to play as pirate who can make a cut faster than the eye can see.
So, what shouldn't abilities do? Well, anything which breaks a rule above is automatically out the window. More than that, however, abilities should never, never, never break the laws of common sense. I don't care if you're summoning magical pixies from the beyond, you'd better be able to write about it like it has some perfectly rational explanation. Some short pointers about things that don't go over well:
1) Saying your character can go faster than the speed of light (or as fast, or even a tenth as fast.) The fundamental laws of the universe still hold true, no matter how magic you use.
2) Anything that can instant kill an opponent in more than .0001% of battles. That little percent allowed is for when you're fighting someone who isn't fighting back. I don't care if you say "This attack WOULD kill them if they stand still." If the attack has the potential to instant kill, don't use it. Try wearing down your opponent first; it's more fun anyways. If you're courteous with your powers, gunmen should also be pretty courteous with their aim. If you're not… Well, it gets ugly.
3) Anything that involves transformation unless done in limited circumstances and EXTREMELY well. (See: Cattivo's lycanthrope or Lambert's characters. If you can write as well as them, feel free to use transforming characters. Otherwise, you might want to wait a bit.) It tends to get, well, stupid when you have people transforming at random.
4) Anything which involves controlling another character will not work unless it's pre-arranged to happen by both parties. So, most psionics aren't generally a good idea. Furthermore, they're way too easy abuse in most cases. So, stay away from psionics in most cases.
Okay, so we have some ground rules. They don't cover everything, but they work pretty well. There's a lot of info there, I know, but let's forge ahead anyways into some examples. They shouldn't take too long, so this shouldn't hurt too much.
Case #1
Name: Silent Bob
Silent Bob is a man who knows what he wants: a straight up brawl with the Angel of Death himself! And by Bob, he's going to get it! So, Silent Bob goes on to make a hand to hand fighter. Thinking carefully about powers, he decides that he should be able to go into a fury and whoop some ass when he gets angry. Considering that to be all he needs, he finishes his character and goes out into the wide world of fighting.
Pros: It's an ability very much in character, it can do a lot to enhance the posts, and it doesn't step on any toes.
Cons: It doesn't do much to balance him out against ranged fighters, meaning he's easy prey if he encounters one of them. Also, it might not be as much fun to use him because he's so straightforward.
Case #2
Name: Donnie Darko
Donnie is a somewhat psychotic kid who's prone to violence. This is partly to be blamed on society, and partly to be blamed on the evil rabbit that talks to him and tells him to do bad things. Donnie decides to take a gun, making him more of a ranged fighter. On top of that, he decides to take some time manipulation powers. Considering himself to be well balanced, he goes out into the wide world of fighting.
Pros: Well… it'll be fun to use.
Cons: Having both ranged weapons an ability can be hard to balance; in this case, it fails. Time manipulation is very much not appreciated by the board goers, doesn't seem to fit the character very well, isn't much fun to go against, and only further raises the ranged advantage offered by the gun. It could possibly work; however, it will likely end in disaster as it's inevitably abused.
Case #3
Name: Peter Gibbons
Peter Gibbons is a laid back guy who's just looking to get something fun out of life. Seeking to join the ranks of celebrated melee fighters, the player decides to focus Gibbons on melee. Giving him a baseball bat for a weapon and arming him with the ability to light the bat on fire at will without damaging it, the player sets out into the wide world of fighting.
Pros: With a weapon and that ability, he's on pretty good ground. A bullet will still be hard to stop, but there are fair ways around it. It'll probably be pretty fun to use a flaming bat, and it could really heat things up in a battle.
Cons: Again, it doesn't really enhance the character. If he's so laid back, why does he light a bat on fire? Making abilities match the character is very important to creating a memorable fighter.
Anyways, that's it for this installment. Learn to master abilities, and then go out into the wide world of fighting a true master that people want to fight!