Opposed/Split Traits Suggestions

[apeiron]

@ Will you help me come up with some more of these opposed traits?

@ The idea is to have two traits (attributes/qualities etc) that are in opposition.  You have one or the other, but not both.  This doesn't mean they are opposites (strong vs weak) but both are good to have (wisdom vs youth), yet are somewhat mutually exclusive.  i know that some of the examples i will provide are not mutually exclusive.  But the game i am making is about conflict, opposition and scarcity.  So in this case it works.

@ Here are a few i have so far:

Agile/Burly
Wise/Spry
Creative/Logical
Learned/Intuitive
Popular/Trusted
Loved/Feared

@ For example, as one ages, they become more wise, but at the same time they are not quite as energetic as they once where.  It is a trade off.  Likewise a charming person might have a cadre of syncophants, but none of them really care about the person.  Whereas a sincere person might have but a few friends, they will stand by the character through thick and thin.  This is what i'm trying to find, any help will be appreciated and will be noted in the product.  Also any examples of games with opposed/split attributes will help.  

@ Thanks in advance!

[Shreyas Sampat]

Tell us more about your game.

Would it be possible for players to compose trait oppositions in play or during character creation, or are you aiming to pre-write a set that captures some aspect of your game? The on-the-fly trait composition thing might be an option worth examining.

[apeiron]

@ The idea of naming traits on the fly will be used for abilities, for attributes it will be a list of some sort.  So the player must choose to be either Wise or Spry.  What they can do after that, perhaps, is select a synonym that is more fitting.  If some one picks Attractive, they can convert that to Cute or Handsome.

@ More about the game:  So far the title is Dramatis Personae.  It is about drama and conflict.  Something like a soap opera or court intrigue.  The mechanic system is called Vie, it uses a poker deck.  All the players play from the same deck, so there is a scarcity of luck.  So in d20 terms, one player has a die with all 20's on it, another has one with all 5's and so on, so the luck gets cycled around a bit.  Part of the game is getting other players to give you the cards you need.  Sort of like "Go Fish".  You can gain them by making a trade, by activating a weakness/desire or by getting a social coup on them (and then you take the card you want).  The whole thing is very sketchy yet. Even i don't know much about it yet.

[Troy_Costisick]

Heya,

One thing I fear is a little inconsistant about your game so far is how you have the traits apposed.  For instance you have:

Agile/Burly
Creative/Logical
Learned/Intuitive
Popular/Trusted
Loved/Feared

Which any reasonable person could agree that, for gaming purposes, one is the equal and opposite of the other.  However for Wise/Spry it seems you are comparing two unlike things.  Wisdom, it seems to me, has to do with the mind, while spryness has to do with the body.  While I can see how they are related on the axis of age, all your other traits are balanced on an axis of extreems.  

I suggest that instead of "spry" you use "alertness".  If your focus is to show how one increases with age and the other decreases, I think that alert will still fit your needs and mainatain cohesiveness with your other traits.  Also, you may want to consider "contemplative" instead of wisdom more fully develop that one vs the other with alertness.  But that is just a side thought.

Anyhow, hope that is useful in some way.

Peace,

-Troy

[apeiron]

@ i see what you mean.  i think i should be able to keep them measuring the same thing (or closer).  i liked the Wise/Spry thing because it represents a scale of age.  You can be young and healthy or old and wise.  In the mood of the game, it seemed to work.  i might just have that as a required trait, you have to pick one or the other.   Not sure yet.

@ if you know of any split attribute games, tell me about them, so i can steal from it ;).

[Andrew Martin]

@ if you know of any split attribute games, tell me about them, so i can steal from it ;).

Ron's Trollbabe. :) But it's split into 3 parts.