I'm A Banana
Potassium-Rich
#1: This is a wonderful thread.
#2: I am apparently a shameless shill.
* The Wealth Bonus from d20 Modern: you don't need to track your individual assets, instead you get a bonus that increases with level. Saves on a lot of bookkeeping.
* Character Concepts from FFZ: When making a character, your choice of your first-level feat ties into your character's archetype somehow. For instance, characters who act independent and disloyal gain a feat that improves their saves against being magically compelled.
* The Gates of Planescape: Basically, you stepped through a doorway and were teleported to basically where you need to be. You didn't need to take a long, wearying journey to jump into adventure into some far away land -- it removed the dull "walk for days, random encounter, walk for some more days, now we can get back to the fun part" element from a lot of the game.
* The Ensemble system from FFZ. Characters stay at a base, to which you can return and switch characters. So this week, you play the crafty sneak-thief who goes on the dungeon raid, and next week you play the noble dragoon who quests for his god and country.
* The "Pool" system from Iron Heroes. As you take actions that make sense for the class you've chosen, you gain points, and these points are spent to power your abilities. It's much cooler than an X/day kind of mechanic, because it gives you a way other than "8 hours of rest" to power up your character with.
* The Loot system from FFZ: The monsters you kill give you "loot," items that you can exchange for various awards. These awards are relevant to the monsters you killed, making your experiences shape your character. If you fight a lot of undead, your awards will include things that are good at fighting, controlling, influencing, and dealing with undead, for instance. If you are dealing with a lot of humanoids, your awards will be things that help against humanoids. It really makes the treasure you get mesh up with the type of campaign the GM is running.
* Action Points/Drama Points/Karma/Etc. from Various Games: Everyone loves to add to their die rolls. Giving out points for cool RPing that give you direct bonuses are nice.
* The Speed system from FFZ: Initiative management becomes key. Basically, each roll of initiative gives you points that you can spend on your actions (each action takes a certain number of points). Those with higher points get to act sooner and more often, and if you blow all of your points, you may find yourself vulnerable later.
#2: I am apparently a shameless shill.
* The Wealth Bonus from d20 Modern: you don't need to track your individual assets, instead you get a bonus that increases with level. Saves on a lot of bookkeeping.
* Character Concepts from FFZ: When making a character, your choice of your first-level feat ties into your character's archetype somehow. For instance, characters who act independent and disloyal gain a feat that improves their saves against being magically compelled.
* The Gates of Planescape: Basically, you stepped through a doorway and were teleported to basically where you need to be. You didn't need to take a long, wearying journey to jump into adventure into some far away land -- it removed the dull "walk for days, random encounter, walk for some more days, now we can get back to the fun part" element from a lot of the game.
* The Ensemble system from FFZ. Characters stay at a base, to which you can return and switch characters. So this week, you play the crafty sneak-thief who goes on the dungeon raid, and next week you play the noble dragoon who quests for his god and country.
* The "Pool" system from Iron Heroes. As you take actions that make sense for the class you've chosen, you gain points, and these points are spent to power your abilities. It's much cooler than an X/day kind of mechanic, because it gives you a way other than "8 hours of rest" to power up your character with.
* The Loot system from FFZ: The monsters you kill give you "loot," items that you can exchange for various awards. These awards are relevant to the monsters you killed, making your experiences shape your character. If you fight a lot of undead, your awards will include things that are good at fighting, controlling, influencing, and dealing with undead, for instance. If you are dealing with a lot of humanoids, your awards will be things that help against humanoids. It really makes the treasure you get mesh up with the type of campaign the GM is running.
* Action Points/Drama Points/Karma/Etc. from Various Games: Everyone loves to add to their die rolls. Giving out points for cool RPing that give you direct bonuses are nice.
* The Speed system from FFZ: Initiative management becomes key. Basically, each roll of initiative gives you points that you can spend on your actions (each action takes a certain number of points). Those with higher points get to act sooner and more often, and if you blow all of your points, you may find yourself vulnerable later.
