Tracking Alts
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I can see how the *WoD games could be much more strict on XP sharing, but on many games, I see it as a boost. Especially if you allow unspent XP to be carried to the next character on character death (even if at a fraction or max limit). This can tip someone toward allowing a character to die for the sake of story and dramatic impact versus holding onto them due to the "trouble of getting started all over again".
If characters can spread XP amongst them, I can see players having a main, active character that is hip-deep in the storylines... but also a few supporting cast characters that rarely get XP-mongering scenes or rewards due to their roles. The main can earn the XP, the supporting characters can benefit from it.
My main issue with linear progressive character systems is just that, they are linear. Going from 1 to 2 is the same /rate/ of xp spend as from 4 to 5. You get there quick, relatively, and you "top out" and become the master of whatever trait you maxed out. I guess, even as a player, I enjoy building and working toward something a bit more rare. I like to see specialist characters, not all-powerful Jack of all Trades types everywhere. </rant>
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This is a misconception, though. For example, in nWoD 1e, raising a Skill or Attribute got you diminishing returns, because each dot cost more than the one before. So having lots of mid-level stats (and thus becoming a true Jack-of-all-Trades, Master-of-None) was a lot cheaper and easier than being the master of a bunch of them.
No, in nWoD 2e, it costs you the same.
I'm not saying one is better than the other, but the latter certainly doesn't favor the jack-of-all-trades type more.
"Excuse the hell out of you. He's a bag of dicks. I'm a carefully curated box of cocks." -- to @GirlCalledBlu upon being misrepresented.
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I didn't think that anyone liked nWoD anyway, from what I gather reading posts here.
Okay, I stand corrected, thank you. It's been years since I've played WoD. -
@Rook No one likes nWoD, we all just play it.
- He who takes offense when not intended is a fool. He who takes offense when intended is a greater fool.
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@Rook said:
I didn't think that anyone liked nWoD anyway, from what I gather reading posts here.
Okay, I stand corrected, thank you. It's been years since I've played WoD.@Arkandel is right, though it has more to do with the settings than the systems. nWoD is what happened when people forgot how to have fun but still insisted on playing games.
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OWod, and many other games also used the increasing costs. A few games recognize that more or less an additional die has the same effective value, and so they cost the same. Because real life does not work like that, using flat costs systems is more of a way to quickly balance and identify focal traits than a measure of time, effort or experience.
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@Arkandel I like the nChangeling.
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If you never give away xp, just reward RP, what does it matter if you shunt points between characters? The reward would be for making RP and story fun and sharing it. So who cares where it ends up? Or from the reverse angle, what does it matter if someone uses three characters or one character three times to entertain folks?
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@Rook
I liked NWoD. I still do. -
I like nWoD, or at least a version of nWoD that people don't play much. "We may be bigger fish now," I would like to say, "but that just gets us the attention of the sharks." What good is a high-level D&D campaign, for instance, if you don't have creatures who can look at you as if you're finally a worthwhile snack?
I liked oWoD for being balls-to-the-walls nonsense.
Both are fun.
As far as alt-tracking, you either give it an incentive or make it socially beneficial. If it's not opt-in, people will complain. You need to be a bigger game to live with that kind of negative vibes.
“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.”
― Carl Sagan, Cosmos -
@Thenomain
Both have their awesome. Both have their awful. It's the way of games in general.As far as alt tracking, this is true. Mostly there may be some XP transfer policies introduced, and I was considering how to handle that. Honestly, I think I'm going to just keep alt tracking on the back burner; everything else I want to do is running on a trust method at the moment, and I think I'm going to stick with that until given a reason not to.
It's worked out well on the MU*s I've run before.
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@Coin said:
This is a misconception, though. For example, in nWoD 1e, raising a Skill or Attribute got you diminishing returns, because each dot cost more than the one before. So having lots of mid-level stats (and thus becoming a true Jack-of-all-Trades, Master-of-None) was a lot cheaper and easier than being the master of a bunch of them.
No, in nWoD 2e, it costs you the same.
I'm not saying one is better than the other, but the latter certainly doesn't favor the jack-of-all-trades type more.
Agreed. My best PC ever in nWoD 1e was a vampire with all 3's in attributes and a rich helping of 2's and 3's with a few 4's and 5's thrown in on various skills. He was scary because he looked like he could do anything if you didn't see his dice and only the successes because he succeeded at most anything. On top of that he was a PK monster which use to make me laugh when someone would try to kill my PC with their all maxed out combat stats and then would get smashed with a combo of smart tactics, discipline use and an understanding of mechanics.
I'm curious to see how 2e plays out all around and am very excited for it.
