Let's Talk About Character Resources To Power Abilities

[RenleyRenfield]

Because everyone has their own line in the sand for mow much structure, or complexity is too much, not enough, or just right.

Many people expect or desire a bit of dice rolling for the combat portion.

This is a great point! And I 100% agree.

So i will build on this statement with: what is useful for outcome of this thread? Has anyone thought to give certain games a second try now that someone has explained a reason for resources or such? has anyone realized its not a Resources issue at all? What games are doing this so right that someone can't think of a 'fix' needed?

 

[Scribe]

This is a great point! And I 100% agree.

So i will build on this statement with: what is useful for outcome of this thread? Has anyone thought to give certain games a second try now that someone has explained a reason for resources or such? has anyone realized its not a Resources issue at all? What games are doing this so right that someone can't think of a 'fix' needed?

I think the point is not to fix anything, it's just offering up our own perspectives on the topic.

I've played games more crunchy, or more loose/narrative. While I used to enjoy the higher complexity, at this point in life I no longer do, and the more narrative style never worked for me.

So instead, I found a system that fits for me, and that's what I am playing for the foreseeable future.

 

[Tigris]

No worries. Let me refocus then.
This above is that part that I curious about. Which games do you play often that do resources badly? There is much talk in this thread about what people like and don't like, so that is valid to consider - it can give a perspective on how a player defines bad. And if we talk about what seems to need constant correction, it is just as valid to ask "are we correcting something we should actually consider removing?" So instead of complaining I am offering up ideas and questions of "ok, so what are we going for here, and why is it not working for game X, or person Y?"

I dont find any of this useful for discussion of ressources in systems. The "why dont we remove it" is always just coming from people not liking something, and not bringing value to the discussion.


Also these "ideas" sound pretty basic that everyone can come upon them, if they are interested, assuming others dont have this basic ideas for me is also a bit insulting.


About what works and what does not work (from the systems I know) I already wrote that here: Let's Talk About Character Resources To Power Abilities



Also its not only about which games do ressoures badly or well, its also about learning about new ressource systems (which I dont know yet) or maybe even coming up with new ones, because we talk about games. It would be sad to use the exact systems for 10+ years, just because they work. Games need to evolve, new things need to be invented.


Also ressource systems are in the end a tradeoff, discussing problems here is because we are aware that they have problems even if we like them. So its about choosing which problems one has. And pretty much every resource system has less problems than "no ressources" for me.


Maybe one pointer on why people like ressource systems is because of imergent gameplay. Because ressources are limited, and often using them does not always work, these systems can create interesting facts which lead to imergent stories. We can tell people about interesting facts which happened, where in systems like PbtA the only facts which happen are "I rolled bad/good with skill (aka move) X", everything else is just narrative on top of a roll, so "made up story".


This is the same people like about Ameritrash games (like Risk Legacy as one of the best examples).

 

[DrunkonDuty]

And where my questions are here: which I still don't think are answered by anyone = why so much heartache over this part of the game? (if indeed that is the fun 'side game side' that people want. Because from outside looking in - all I see is heartache and the drive to find the 'fix' for it....

If the mechanics support fun combat* then I enjoy the combat part in and of itself. Making tactical choices, rolling the bones, burning through resources as the combat grows more desperate.

But for combat to be fun there need to dramatic stakes. Random encounters with monsters as you walk along the road get old real quick. (The occasional one is fine, but only if it adds to the mood.) Rather the fights need to be in service to the story in some way. e.g. you need to get to the macguffin; you seek revenge against the people you're fighting; you're protecting something/someone.


* my idea of good mechanics are ones that give you choices. I love HERO, I find it gives a huge number of cool tactical choices like where to place skill level; whether to hold an action; allows for grappling, disarming, called shots, all out attack; when to push a power; when to turtle and hold on. On the simpler end, FASERIP really just asks "to spend karma or not to spend karma" but I enjoty that too! I'm also getting into SWADE. Spell casters get loads of cool choices.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I will never find it less odd that 99% of all RPG talk is really just "Wargaming". So much fuss over combat, healing, attacks, etc etc.

It would be fun to see some kinda chart that showed just how much time was spent in combat.

Since I don't play D&D (or any such wargame), I have no basis for what is 'normal'. In Vampire, and Apocalypse World, and Cypher, and Nephilim, and Star Wars, and Legend of the 5 rings, and well... everything I play: combat is just another drama scene and there are no wargaming elements at all. To even spend 1 second worrying about party kill or character death from stray enemy attack is such a foreign concept.

Long rest? hit points? health potion? wat iz? why waste time discussing warhammer 40k so much ;p

ok ok kidding aside. How much does things like character resources to power abilities actually - like for really for good - how much does it affect the game you most regularly play?

Hot take telling everyone who doesn't play RPGs you prefer that they're actually playing wargames.

 

[Bill Zebub]

Hot take telling everyone who doesn't play RPGs you prefer that they're actually playing wargames.

Funny I thought people who don't play the RPGs I like are really just playing Random Prose Generators...

 

[Reynard]

Hot take telling everyone who doesn't play RPGs you prefer that they're actually playing wargames.

Funny I thought people who don't play the RPGs I like are really just playing Random Prose Generators...

No, no, no. People who don't play the RPGs I like aren't roleplaying at all.

 

[Aldarc]

No, no, no. People who don't play the RPGs I like aren't roleplaying at all.

To be fair, that's often been how a lot of analysis was here. For example, there was a guy here who argued that games with metacurrencies weren't TTRPGs but, instead, story games. And sometimes all it takes for a game to be labeled "narrativist" is the game simply not being Sim enough to a simulationist's idiomatic preferences.

 

[Reynard]

To be fair, that's often been how a lot of analysis was here. For example, there was a guy here who argued that games with metacurrencies weren't TTRPGs but, instead, story games. And sometimes all it takes for a game to be labeled "narrativist" is the game simply not being Sim enough to a simulationist's idiomatic preferences.

I think folks tend to interpret statement in the most extreme way, instead of just taking them as the statements of preference they are. I don't think we, as a discussion community, need to demand a disclaimer on every post. We know that the vast majority of the time, people are coming at any given subject from the standpoint of their opinions and preferences. Unless someone explicitly says "the onetrueway is" then we can safely assume "in my opinion" even if it isn't said.

 

[Aldarc]

I think folks tend to interpret statement in the most extreme way, instead of just taking them as the statements of preference they are. I don't think we, as a discussion community, need to demand a disclaimer on every post. We know that the vast majority of the time, people are coming at any given subject from the standpoint of their opinions and preferences. Unless someone explicitly says "the onetrueway is" then we can safely assume "in my opinion" even if it isn't said.

On the whole, I agree. In the specifics of the one particular person from awhile back that I am alluding to, I don't. They were extreme and hardline in their opinions about what wasn't a TTRPG and OneTrueWays, but they have been banned from the site years ago.