Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Crimson Binome" data-source="post: 6474031" data-attributes="member: 6775031">As intuitive as it might be to design, I've found that this sort of mechanic increases the degree of variance between characters to an unwelcome degree. When anything you want to do is gated behind two stats, it encourages anyone who wants to do that thing to invest in both of those at the expense of anything else. If swinging a sword takes Strength+Dexterity, for example, then being a good swordsman means you'll have high Strength and high Dexterity, and you probably won't have enough points left to be good at anything that isn't based on those two stats (though you should be about average at a task which uses one of the two - if archery is Dexterity+Wisdom, then you should be okay at that since you have great Dex, even though your Wisdom will be terrible).There are a few ways to go about making a system less "optimize-able", though:1) Reduce any check down to a single stat, or a single stat and a constant that can't be purchased (+1 per two levels, for example). If you have a high stat then you'll be good, and if you have a low stat then you'll be bad, but there's no room for double-dipping to be twice as good or twice as bad.2) Roll randomly for stats, and don't let them be assigned. Not a lot of fun, perhaps, but it works. Less choices means less synergy means greater balance,3) Use absolute checks - like a flat percentage roll, or static DC - instead of opposed checks or degrees of success. In an opposed check, you need to be better than someone else to win, so you need to throw everything you have into a check if you want to beat someone else who is doing the same. With degrees of success, you are rewarded for overkill on the check. With an absolute check, specialists are punished in the opportunity costs; if I can get an 80% success chance by spending a few points, then spending many more points to increase that to 90% may not be worth it.4) Diminishing returns for balance. Let characters specialize, but charge them out the nose for it. Make each stat cost the square of its value to improve - 1, 4, 9, 16, 25 - and you'll see a lot of people paying a few points to shore up their weaknesses rather than continue to specialize in something where they're already unbeatable. This method can be risky, and is prone to backfire.I'm sure there's more. That's just what I had off the top of my head.</blockquote>

Verification