> Different *accustomed* play styles, yes. Which is why I'm trying
to find
> out how this one works, and how the rules support it. (Badly, from
> what's been said so far).
Actually, I've found that the approach I described works just fine. I have few complaints.
> > Fwiw I do not use the "Saga System" - even though I have a
> > saga campaign. Normally at the end of a session, I'll hand
> > out a few directed points - HP you have to spend on certain
> > skills - and a few "anywhere" points - regular HP that you
> > can do whatever you want with.
> So what do you do for the "down-time" gaps? If you say "and a
season
> passes", how do they improve during that season?
Usually I ask the players to describe what skills they use to survive on a daily basis. Are you working the fields, weaving cloth, herding cattle, hunting, serving on the clan council, or what? I then hand out a few directed points to be spent on those skills.
> I'd guess that players in campaigns I've played in or run don't,
because
> they tend to improve skills used in play.
In my game, weaving, customs, relationship clan, etc., have all been skills used in play.
> But what they've used in play will have been combat, magic,
knowledge of
> weird stuff, ability to persuade total strangers. Relationships
with
> individuals. New feats. Things that make the PC unique, not those
that
> make him like the rest, but better at it.
These things are used as well. Maybe that is the difference between a "Humakti campaign" and an "Orlanthi campaign". It is important that my players are part of a wider community - the Orlmath clan, the Colymar tribe, the Kingdom of Sartar. Of course they are unique, but so (hopefully) is every other character that they interact with. My campaign is one part religious development, one part action, one part local politics and two parts soap opera (we actually had a session that largely focused on how poorly the players' wives got along).
But again, that's just me. There are lots of different ways to playing a game, just as there are lots of different approaches to literature.
Jeff
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