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<blockquote data-quote="Darth Solo" data-source="post: 9022362" data-attributes="member: 6791759">Looks like Railroad the RPG™. You're using a literary concept (character arc) and imposing it on people playing a game and that isn't railroading? GM: &quot;Okay so instead of alignment, you pick values and then I'll create scenes where those values force your character to change. The change could be good or could be bad. Doesn't matter though because only the story matters.&quot;I'd just write a book. That way you aren't aggravating the types of players who really don't care about &quot;story arcs and character transformation&quot;. Now for groups that enjoy what your suggesting, more power to them but, I'd wonder why they're bothering with rpgs that have Alignment (e.g. D&amp;D or Rifts) instead of going after more narrative-focused rpgs like Hillfolk or The Microscope? But what really stands out with your &quot;Character Arcs&quot; system is it's actually more restrictive regarding PC behavior than Alignment. If you've read the AD&amp;D Dungeon Master's Guide you'll remember that alignment neither dictates PC religious persuasion or general behavior and a DM or player changing a PC's alignment was very possible. But if a PC violates their predetermined Character Arc they lose their Heroic Points. If my Greedy™ Thief decided to toss some homeless children a handful of copper I'd hope that the GM wouldn't penalize me by taking away my HPs and shifting my Arc to Generosity™. But that's exactly how your system works. Seems pretty punitive to me. How can we fix Character Arcs to make them less of a straightjacket for the players?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Darth Solo, post: 9022362, member: 6791759"] Looks like Railroad the RPG™. You're using a literary concept (character arc) and imposing it on people playing a game and that isn't railroading? GM: "Okay so instead of alignment, you pick [SIZE=6][COLOR=rgb(250, 197, 28)]values[/COLOR][/SIZE] and then I'll create scenes where those values [B]force your character to change[/B]. The change could be good or could be bad. Doesn't matter though because [B]only the story matters.[/B]" I'd just write a book. That way you aren't aggravating the types of players who really don't care about "story arcs and character transformation". Now for groups that enjoy what your suggesting, more power to them but, I'd wonder why they're bothering with rpgs that have Alignment (e.g. [I]D&D[/I] or [I]Rifts[/I]) instead of going after more narrative-focused rpgs like [I]Hillfolk[/I] or [I]The Microscope? [/I] But what really stands out with your "Character Arcs" system is it's actually more restrictive regarding PC behavior than Alignment. If you've read the AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide you'll remember that alignment neither dictates PC religious persuasion or general behavior and a DM or player changing a PC's alignment was very possible. But if a PC violates their predetermined Character Arc they lose their Heroic Points. If my Greedy™ Thief decided to toss some homeless children a handful of copper I'd hope that the GM wouldn't penalize me by taking away my HPs and shifting my Arc to Generosity™. But that's exactly how your system works. Seems pretty punitive to me. How can we fix Character Arcs to make them less of a straightjacket for the players? [/QUOTE]

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