>I think the subtler problem with the 100-word chargen method...
>is ... the apparent temptation to "cram in" as many abilities
>as possible into the space allotted.
"Cramming" is indeed a problem. HERO WARS attempts to quash that somewhat by suggesting the game moderator respond to bald-faced attempts to merely list as many abilities as possible, with little or no narrative description (what I call the "shopping list approach"), by only granting the character the first two abilities listed.
I had very little time in which to conduct my playtest campaign (less than six weeks, due to attending GenCon). Several of my players developed their characters at the last moment prior to play, and hence I permitted them a bit more latitude in character creation than I might have otherwise. Also, I wanted Robin to be aware of the degree to which a player skilled in the language *could* "cram in" abilities without resorting to a bald-faced list.
>One of posted examples appeared to have about 17, not counting
>the Keyword and other schticks.
The total number of abilities for each character, per category, including those from their keyword (noted in parentheses) are as follows:
Category Bactra Heordan Kelulf Merlar Naglef. Xan ======== ====== ======= ====== ====== ======= ===== Mental: 4 (0) 6 (1) 10 (1) 7 (0) 8 (0) 7 (3) Physical: 1 (0) 2 (1) 4 (1) 3 (2) 6 (0) 4 (1) Skill: 6 (3) 12 (4) 5 (4) 12 (3) 2 (1) 6 (4) Exotic: 9 (6) 3 (1) 1 (1) 3 (1) 9 (5) 5 (2) Magic: 3 (3) 6 (6) 6 (6) 4 (4) 3 (3) 4 (4) Support: 1 (0) 3 (0) 2 (0) 4 (0) 2 (0) 2 (0) ======================================================================== Totals: 24 (12) 32 (13) 28 (13) 33 (10) 29 (9) 28 (14)
Median number of abilities = 28.5, mean number of abilities = 29. Median number of abilities added over keyword = 17, mean number of abilities added over keyword = 17.2.
Note especially the breakdown of number of abilities added over keyword in the following categories:
Mental: range = 4-9; median = 6; mean = 6.2 Physical: range = 1-6; median = 2; mean = 2.5 Skill: range = 1-9; median = 2.5; mean = 4 Exotic: range = 0-4; median = 2.5; mean = 2.3 Support: range = 1-4; median = 2; mean = 2.3
As you can see, my group had a fairly strong focus on developing personality over other facets, with skills
>On the other hand, I like the idea of allowing lots of Pendragon-
>like "abilities"... which can both be useful, and bite one on the
>bum.
I stressed to my players that personality traits were highly recommended, thoroughly valid ability choices. I especially enjoyed when they selected such things as "renowned as a war leader" or "reputation as a freedom fighter". More than once, they discovered fame as much impeded their efforts as expedited them.
>So it'd be nice to see some guidelines as to how many "skills" one
>can have via the 100-word method (maybe 4-6), whilst not being overly
>proscriptive about what one can do with the rest of one's "words".
One *could* choose to structure descriptive character creation a tad, but this sounds like something more suited as a modification to the point-form method. One could use the numbers generated above to establish how many abilities to give characters developed thus, but even that is not entirely satisfying.
The "keyword plus four abilities", obviously inspired by MOB's Maximum Game Fun roolz, works well enough for initiate-level characters although in HERO WARS, those initiates would have access to reusable, albeit more difficult, magic. Perhaps the concept of discrete character levels from RQ:AiG (i.e., Trained, Skilled, Expert, Master) could be grafted on as follows:
Trained: keyword plus four abilities;
Skilled: keyword plus eight abilities;
Expert: keyword plus twelve abilities;
Master: keyword plus sixteen abilities.
Just a thought... :)
Michael Schwartz mschwartz_at_mindspring.com Ann Arbor, MI USA
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