Draw Steel: Fake variety helps no one

[Neonchameleon]

To be fair, Hope/Fear and Stress aren't class-based metacurrencies. They're generic metacurrencies that are used across all classes and by the GM as well.

That's the point. MCDM tried to make class based metacurrencies (it's a worthy goal), failed and realised it (good for them) and ended up with a generic player-side metacurrency. But kept vestiges of the class based in the names and the 2vs1d3

 

[Staffan]

That's the point. MCDM tried to make class based metacurrencies (it's a worthy goal), failed and realised it (good for them) and ended up with a generic player-side metacurrency. But kept vestiges of the class based in the names and the 2vs1d3

I would not classify them as metacurrencies. Metacurrencies, as I understand the term, are mostly Doylist in nature – they tend to represent things like luck, fate, and such, and with a few exceptions (e.g. TORG possibilities) they aren't things the characters are aware of. For example, in Savage Worlds, the metacurrency of choice is the Bennie, which a player can spend to reroll checks, soak damage, negate being shaken, redraw initiative, reroll damage, and some other stuff. It's basically a luck point, and it's not something the character themselves is aware of. This is in comparison to Power Points which you use to power arcane powers (spells, miracles, weird science, etc.). While a wizard wouldn't know that they are down to 3 out of 15 PP, they would have a sense that they are running low on magic juice. In some games they are somewhere in between – 2d20 for example uses Momentum to measure advantage being carried forward (oversucceeding on one roll gives you points you can save and use to, among other things, boost another roll – this can either represent luck or things like "I scouted out the area and got a lot of momentum on that roll so I have a good vantage spot from which to ambush them.")

The various class resources in Draw Steel seem more like regular resources than metacurrencies. Victories might be a better fit for metacurrency, but it doesn't seem to be something you spend so I'm unsure.

Oh, and a side effect of different classes using differently-named resources is that, at least in theory, you can have other abilities that affect the resources of only some classes. I could for example see an ability called "Inspire rage" that would restore Wrath, Essence, Ferocity, or Drama, but not Piety, Discipline, Focus, or Clarity. I have no idea if such an ability exists, or even if it would be a good idea, but at least it opens the door for one.

 

[grimslade]

I don't mind the 2 vs 1d3. It is slight variation, but still variation. The individual names for each class resource seem to be a waste of page space. I imagine in play is will just be referred to by a generic 'resource' or one classes name will become a catch-all.
I am not familiar with Draw Steel, so I don't know if there are other ways the class resource can be obtained, like an affix from a magic item or a bit of technology. If the name has further resonance outside of being a term for the classes resource, it would gain weight and importance.

 

[mamba]

That's the point. MCDM tried to make class based metacurrencies (it's a worthy goal), failed and realised it (good for them) and ended up with a generic player-side metacurrency. But kept vestiges of the class based in the names and the 2vs1d3

some other poster said the 2 vs 1d3 is the order vs chaos classes or something like that and that it has a generic metacurrency name, but also a individual / thematic one per class. So these are not really vestiges they forgot about but deliberate design decisions - doesn’t mean you have to agree with them