How important are items to your game system? Are they irrelevant? Of the utmost importance? Of little use? A secondary concern? A crucial part of your game design? The answers to these questions can have a major impact on your game.
Most players will consider equipment of great importance to their characters. This is probably a good thing. If items had no value, then the money used to purchase such items would also lose value. This is one problem you run into in super-hero games. The heroes have so many resources available to them that money becomes useless. On the other hand, they might abuse their powers to get far too much money. In a third case, they could be personally so powerful that items have no meaning for them.
In most game designs, items will have a mid-level importance to the game. They can be useful, essential, and helpful. However, most of a character’s power usually comes from levels and personal abilities. Another factor to consider is how much of an influence you want money to have on your game world. Can someone with excessive wealth hire an army to deal with his enemies, or would you rather have your heroes fighting their own battles?
Most fantasy systems have magic items which are of great importance to characters. They are some of the most powerful items that the players have access to. Sometimes they can be bought, and sometimes the rarest can only be found on adventures. Some players make their entire focus magic items. If your game doesn’t include such powerful items, or they’re weak or limited; you’ll lose that element of gameplay.
In futuristic settings, items usually take on a greater importance to the players. Because of the nature of technology, the players will now be able to ‘buy’ a lot more than they could in an ancient setting. With bio-mechanical weaponry, starships, battle-suits, and the like; most players can become far more powerful than what their levels of experience would otherwise dictate. Some people don’t mind this. I’ve run into a few problems where low-level characters get their hands on a ton of money and start to play havoc with the setting. When your starship can blow up entire solar systems, it might not matter that you only have 3 hit points and below average perception.
It’s possible to make items a key focus of almost any game system. I’ve designed a few games where all of your statistics were based solely on the items you carried. Admittedly, that’s not a very realistic or interesting way to run a game, but it’s interesting as an experiment. I learned that most players like to have some of their power come from their character’s own personal abilities and skills. Having all of your power come solely from items seems to bother most people. I think this is one reason that an ancient medieval setting with magic works so well. When a single man with a sword can topple kingdoms, it feels like people can really make a difference.
Eliminating items entirely from the statistical side of the game is also something I’ve experimented with. It’s actually something I’ve done more often than the opposite—all important items. This is probably because items are usually a secondary concern when I concoct initial game designs. I’m usually worried about what the game actually does rather than how much more damage a broad sword does than a long sword. My play-testers quickly point out this flaw. It appears as if excluding items from the rules is just as strange to players as making them of ultimate importance. Almost all players like to equip themselves with superior—or at least interesting—equipment. They like to buy better swords, hire mercenaries, and buy mansions.
In a heroic game, I think items should take a backseat to other elements of the game. You want the players to worry about the next great adventure instead of counting every silver piece and planning to acquire massive arsenals of weapons and retainers. If a player’s character sheet has more possessions than anything else, the game is usually in trouble. The exception is the fellow who likes to pick up every bit of trash in the game just for the fun of it and has an item list which reads like the inventory of a large warehouse. To capture this heroic feel, I like to give items a minor impact on the game for realism, but allow other elements to dominate. This way, equipment and items are still important, but they’re not the be-all and end-all. Magic items fill a special niche in the higher-end item market. You can work them into adventures seamlessly, and they let the player settle on one very cool item as opposed to continually shopping around for slightly better gear. Like Bond’s favorite gun or a hero’s trusty magic sword, a few key items allow the players to worry about other things in the game. For the item crafters, there must always be new and interesting things to craft and find, but that’s not usually a problem. I like to aim for different rather than better.
If you’re designing a game with a heavier influence from items, you might want to consider what the impact of money and ability will be on these items. If anyone with a lot of money can become exponentially better, it’ll be very hard to balance your game. If some degree of ability is required to use the items, you have a stop-gap measure to keep the players on a level playing field. You could easily allow anyone with a trillion credits to buy a super star-cruiser, but unless they have the command skills to maintain the crew and the skill to fly the ship it’ll be almost useless to them. Another option is to include a major power which closely monitors major military acquisitions. In the distant past, it’s easy to imagine warriors roaming the land and doing as they please. In the far future, it’s not hard to imagine people being controlled by massive nations and corporate powers who wouldn’t take kindly to people buying their military equipment. Of course, the players can always go to the black market, but this allows you to open up role-playing opportunities as they’re hunted across the galaxy. If the heroes have to prove themselves to some degree or earn some sort of rank to get heavy weaponry, you have a method of controlling the all-powerful items.
Creating a game where items have little or no value can be equally tricky. Most games will probably have equipment in some form at some level. It’s just hard to imagine a setting where items have absolutely no use whatsoever. However, it’s much easier to deemphasise their value in the way you write the rules. If most of the text is dominated by experience-based powers, magic, and personal skill the players will probably focus their attention there and worry about their items afterwards. Items with minor influence might be a better option than items with no influence at all. Items as a background element can work well, too. It could be assumed that everyone has items suited to their profession and abilities. No one has to worry whether they have a set of lock picks or a laser rifle, but it can be tricky to draw the line. Exactly how many explosives is it reasonable that the demolition expert is carrying? Deemphasising items tends to run into realism problems. Eventually, it’s always good to have some rules on how much people can carry, how many items they can have, and how good those items can be.
Assuming that your game will be running in the mid-range of item importance, it’s still good to consider just how important you want to make them. How often will the heroes have to upgrade their gear? How much in-game power can be achieved with money? Is there anything restricting their access to powerful magic or technology? How much page space do you devote to items and their effects on the game world? Is it crucial to know the weight, speed, damage type, spread, reload time, rounds held, range, damage, explosiveness, and bulkiness of every weapon in the game? Is it crucial to keep track of exactly where each piece of armor is on every body part? Mostly, this is a personal choice. However, watch what happens in actual gameplay. Are people using all the fancy rules you put in, or are they inventing ways to streamline combat and figure out if they managed to explode the bad guy or not?
If the players use everything you included and like to carefully pick out their items, you’ve created a winner. They might even ask you to include details you never even thought of. If you have a good level of detail, most players will excitedly explain what item they’re using and how they’re using it. If you have too much detail, most players will probably be asking you whether they hit or not and exactly how much damage they did.
Most players will consider equipment of great importance to their characters. This is probably a good thing. If items had no value, then the money used to purchase such items would also lose value. This is one problem you run into in super-hero games. The heroes have so many resources available to them that money becomes useless. On the other hand, they might abuse their powers to get far too much money. In a third case, they could be personally so powerful that items have no meaning for them.
In most game designs, items will have a mid-level importance to the game. They can be useful, essential, and helpful. However, most of a character’s power usually comes from levels and personal abilities. Another factor to consider is how much of an influence you want money to have on your game world. Can someone with excessive wealth hire an army to deal with his enemies, or would you rather have your heroes fighting their own battles?
Most fantasy systems have magic items which are of great importance to characters. They are some of the most powerful items that the players have access to. Sometimes they can be bought, and sometimes the rarest can only be found on adventures. Some players make their entire focus magic items. If your game doesn’t include such powerful items, or they’re weak or limited; you’ll lose that element of gameplay.
In futuristic settings, items usually take on a greater importance to the players. Because of the nature of technology, the players will now be able to ‘buy’ a lot more than they could in an ancient setting. With bio-mechanical weaponry, starships, battle-suits, and the like; most players can become far more powerful than what their levels of experience would otherwise dictate. Some people don’t mind this. I’ve run into a few problems where low-level characters get their hands on a ton of money and start to play havoc with the setting. When your starship can blow up entire solar systems, it might not matter that you only have 3 hit points and below average perception.
It’s possible to make items a key focus of almost any game system. I’ve designed a few games where all of your statistics were based solely on the items you carried. Admittedly, that’s not a very realistic or interesting way to run a game, but it’s interesting as an experiment. I learned that most players like to have some of their power come from their character’s own personal abilities and skills. Having all of your power come solely from items seems to bother most people. I think this is one reason that an ancient medieval setting with magic works so well. When a single man with a sword can topple kingdoms, it feels like people can really make a difference.
Eliminating items entirely from the statistical side of the game is also something I’ve experimented with. It’s actually something I’ve done more often than the opposite—all important items. This is probably because items are usually a secondary concern when I concoct initial game designs. I’m usually worried about what the game actually does rather than how much more damage a broad sword does than a long sword. My play-testers quickly point out this flaw. It appears as if excluding items from the rules is just as strange to players as making them of ultimate importance. Almost all players like to equip themselves with superior—or at least interesting—equipment. They like to buy better swords, hire mercenaries, and buy mansions.
In a heroic game, I think items should take a backseat to other elements of the game. You want the players to worry about the next great adventure instead of counting every silver piece and planning to acquire massive arsenals of weapons and retainers. If a player’s character sheet has more possessions than anything else, the game is usually in trouble. The exception is the fellow who likes to pick up every bit of trash in the game just for the fun of it and has an item list which reads like the inventory of a large warehouse. To capture this heroic feel, I like to give items a minor impact on the game for realism, but allow other elements to dominate. This way, equipment and items are still important, but they’re not the be-all and end-all. Magic items fill a special niche in the higher-end item market. You can work them into adventures seamlessly, and they let the player settle on one very cool item as opposed to continually shopping around for slightly better gear. Like Bond’s favorite gun or a hero’s trusty magic sword, a few key items allow the players to worry about other things in the game. For the item crafters, there must always be new and interesting things to craft and find, but that’s not usually a problem. I like to aim for different rather than better.
If you’re designing a game with a heavier influence from items, you might want to consider what the impact of money and ability will be on these items. If anyone with a lot of money can become exponentially better, it’ll be very hard to balance your game. If some degree of ability is required to use the items, you have a stop-gap measure to keep the players on a level playing field. You could easily allow anyone with a trillion credits to buy a super star-cruiser, but unless they have the command skills to maintain the crew and the skill to fly the ship it’ll be almost useless to them. Another option is to include a major power which closely monitors major military acquisitions. In the distant past, it’s easy to imagine warriors roaming the land and doing as they please. In the far future, it’s not hard to imagine people being controlled by massive nations and corporate powers who wouldn’t take kindly to people buying their military equipment. Of course, the players can always go to the black market, but this allows you to open up role-playing opportunities as they’re hunted across the galaxy. If the heroes have to prove themselves to some degree or earn some sort of rank to get heavy weaponry, you have a method of controlling the all-powerful items.
Creating a game where items have little or no value can be equally tricky. Most games will probably have equipment in some form at some level. It’s just hard to imagine a setting where items have absolutely no use whatsoever. However, it’s much easier to deemphasise their value in the way you write the rules. If most of the text is dominated by experience-based powers, magic, and personal skill the players will probably focus their attention there and worry about their items afterwards. Items with minor influence might be a better option than items with no influence at all. Items as a background element can work well, too. It could be assumed that everyone has items suited to their profession and abilities. No one has to worry whether they have a set of lock picks or a laser rifle, but it can be tricky to draw the line. Exactly how many explosives is it reasonable that the demolition expert is carrying? Deemphasising items tends to run into realism problems. Eventually, it’s always good to have some rules on how much people can carry, how many items they can have, and how good those items can be.
Assuming that your game will be running in the mid-range of item importance, it’s still good to consider just how important you want to make them. How often will the heroes have to upgrade their gear? How much in-game power can be achieved with money? Is there anything restricting their access to powerful magic or technology? How much page space do you devote to items and their effects on the game world? Is it crucial to know the weight, speed, damage type, spread, reload time, rounds held, range, damage, explosiveness, and bulkiness of every weapon in the game? Is it crucial to keep track of exactly where each piece of armor is on every body part? Mostly, this is a personal choice. However, watch what happens in actual gameplay. Are people using all the fancy rules you put in, or are they inventing ways to streamline combat and figure out if they managed to explode the bad guy or not?
If the players use everything you included and like to carefully pick out their items, you’ve created a winner. They might even ask you to include details you never even thought of. If you have a good level of detail, most players will excitedly explain what item they’re using and how they’re using it. If you have too much detail, most players will probably be asking you whether they hit or not and exactly how much damage they did.
