The Forge Archives

Hello everyone, been away a little while and have managed to make it back after the holidays. Seraphim is doing fine, I am refurbishing the ADG websites (www.azuredragon.com) and re-focusing the company, such as it is.  Ok nough of that.

I am past the Skills and Attributes stage of Devilfyre, the base system Seraphim: Candlebright will use.  I am slowly working on the available abilities (Warps) and their Exceptionals (Extraordinary uses of a power).  
I intend to make the devilfyre system a free download because each of my games will slightly alter the system.

Ok so anyway, to the question I have.  Thinking about Currency and Improving skills and gaining powers etc etc, I am becoming less and less comfortable, from a design stand point, with Experience Points and the like.  I am considering a system where in game Goals, similar to Kickers (not exact but on the same vein) affect what I call character sheet goals.

For example...

Jonas the Seraphim Agent has through his GI Implant gained the power of Flight (character creation) among other things. Jonas wants to avenge the death of a fellow Seraphim and understand why she died. Since for a Seraphim greater understanding means greater power... Jonas' player ties the two together. When Jonas the character avenges the death of his fallen comrade, he will gain the Exceptional of Wind Buffet using his Flight Power...

Clearly the system can work in different ways for different kinds of games. For another game idea I am working on called No Sunrise, it is a sort of combat / horror of war idea set in the far future (not post apocalypse).  So Sgt. Karen knows how to sneak pretty well. (Sneak being a skill). She also wants to complete three deep penetration missions and become First Sergeant.  Again the Karen player ties them together. Once she has succeeded in the 3 Deep Pen missions, her sneak skill will go up to the next level.

Comments? If someone else has done this or is doing this, or any currency articles (having missed a couple of months I cannot remember any) you think are relevant, go ahead and point them at me.

As always appreciated

Sean
ADGBoss

I like the concpetual outline, and the first example.  The second I feel runs into some continuity issues, or at leasts risks doing so.

You used the term "character sheet goals", and I'd be interested in hearing what you mean precisely, or at least an expansion of the point.

Yes the second example is where problems can arise. What if the character's goal is to kill fifty people but the player wants to be better at first aid... how does one goal fit with the other?

Character Sheet goals essentially means improvement of meta-game cocnepts, like Health or Skills. A character wants to be a better artist but the player wants to up their Art Skill.  So as the Character sheet, in whatever form, is the window or control panel that allows character and player to communicate, it where the player sees improvements. Unfortunately in the Corporate Model of gaming i.e. Traditional D&D approach, etc, the character sheet is more like a holding pen for the character instead of a window into a much broader character.

Hope this answers the question. Clearly I think this works better
for a game like Seraphim where as a character gains knowledge and growth, his or her abilities will naturally grow as well, instead of in No Sunrise where players essentially become more efficient soldiers/killers.

Sean