Design Diary #2: You've Got Class
Posted 17th December 2008 at 08:32 AM by Talath
Appearantly, these blog entries write themselves at the speed of laziness.
So you've chosen your Identity, and now you're feeling like you only have half a character. Well, if you didn't have the rules in front of you and you felt this way, then you would be correct in feeling that way. The next major choice for your character is your Class.
While the mechanics of the character Class may have changed between revisions (and even removed in two iterations of the rules), the concept has remained the same: a profession of sorts, with thematic groupings of skills and abilities.
Class
Your Class determines what you are good at. Whereas Identity answers the question of "Who am I?", your Class answers the question of "What do I do?" When you choose a Class, you're entering into a role of sorts, an adknowledged and understood position within the mall and teenage society. When you are, say, a Mall Samurai, it is understood and known that you are good with melee weapons, and may or may not possess a code of honor or sorts.
In Malls & Morons, there are six classes to choose from: the Football Player, the Kung Fu Kid, the Mall Ninja, the Mall Ranger, the Mall Rat, and the Mall Samurai. You might be asking yourself, "Bitch, where be all the classes at so I can be all up ins, mang?"
Word, mang. I hear you. I have a two part answer to your colorful question. First off, because of the limit on the initial page count, there were limitations on what classes could be added due to additional subsystems. For example, to do the Computer Geek justice, a sub system for computers would have to be developed. Which requires pages. And time. And work.
The second part is good news: the majority of the missing classes will be released, for FREE, with accompanying subsystems. The plans for such are proceeded below:
So, after all that sleazy salesmanship, you must be wondering "Well, what do classes do?" What do they do?
Well, hmmm.
In the initial rule set, Classes give you a bonus to two selected skills, as well as an Achievement Goal. The skills are self-explanitory; however, the Achievement Goal is what drives the fundamental behaviour of the Classes. When you act according to your Achievement Goal, you are awarded Achievement Points, which you can use to improve your character, as well as redeem at any local Chuck E Cheeses*.
Your skills and Achievement Goals differentiate you from other classes. If that isn't enough for you, then don't worry, because soon after the corebook release, there will be a free supplement which will allow you to spend your hard earned Achievement Points on Perks, which are neat little special abilities.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave comments. Until then, tune in next time when we will look at Skills (snooze) and some of the basic task resolution mechanics (yay!).
* Contract negotiations are still pending.
So you've chosen your Identity, and now you're feeling like you only have half a character. Well, if you didn't have the rules in front of you and you felt this way, then you would be correct in feeling that way. The next major choice for your character is your Class.
While the mechanics of the character Class may have changed between revisions (and even removed in two iterations of the rules), the concept has remained the same: a profession of sorts, with thematic groupings of skills and abilities.
Class
Your Class determines what you are good at. Whereas Identity answers the question of "Who am I?", your Class answers the question of "What do I do?" When you choose a Class, you're entering into a role of sorts, an adknowledged and understood position within the mall and teenage society. When you are, say, a Mall Samurai, it is understood and known that you are good with melee weapons, and may or may not possess a code of honor or sorts.
In Malls & Morons, there are six classes to choose from: the Football Player, the Kung Fu Kid, the Mall Ninja, the Mall Ranger, the Mall Rat, and the Mall Samurai. You might be asking yourself, "Bitch, where be all the classes at so I can be all up ins, mang?"
Word, mang. I hear you. I have a two part answer to your colorful question. First off, because of the limit on the initial page count, there were limitations on what classes could be added due to additional subsystems. For example, to do the Computer Geek justice, a sub system for computers would have to be developed. Which requires pages. And time. And work.
The second part is good news: the majority of the missing classes will be released, for FREE, with accompanying subsystems. The plans for such are proceeded below:
- Technology, with the Anarchist and the Computer Geek
- Reputation, with the Blackmailer and Ultimate Mall Citizen
- Perks, with the Trekkie
So, after all that sleazy salesmanship, you must be wondering "Well, what do classes do?" What do they do?
Well, hmmm.
In the initial rule set, Classes give you a bonus to two selected skills, as well as an Achievement Goal. The skills are self-explanitory; however, the Achievement Goal is what drives the fundamental behaviour of the Classes. When you act according to your Achievement Goal, you are awarded Achievement Points, which you can use to improve your character, as well as redeem at any local Chuck E Cheeses*.
Your skills and Achievement Goals differentiate you from other classes. If that isn't enough for you, then don't worry, because soon after the corebook release, there will be a free supplement which will allow you to spend your hard earned Achievement Points on Perks, which are neat little special abilities.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave comments. Until then, tune in next time when we will look at Skills (snooze) and some of the basic task resolution mechanics (yay!).
* Contract negotiations are still pending.
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