The Ability Hoard (aka, The Treasure of Capacity)

[Jack7]

@Bullgrit's; thread on Gaming Style Preferences made me overtly realize something that I've known for a long time, but had never really expressed in this way before.

When it comes to my characters and even the players and characters I DM I think of Skills, Capabilities, Abilities, Attributes, (innate personal and individual features) and so forth as much more important character elements and possessions than magic items, spells, money, and other types of what is normally thought of as "standard treasures."

To me the single greatest types of treasures a character (or a real person) can possess is what they can actually do themselves, devoid of all outside help and extraneous accoutrements. I'm gonna call this the Ability-Hoard, or the Treasure of Personal Capacity. I think that this is where the true emphasis and of "characterization" should shine.

Now I realize that this may be an entirely personal opinion, or at least very probably a minority opinion. But I don't really know.

So what is your opinion on the matter?

 

[Nagol]

I encountered this phenomenon back in 1982 when I played CHAMPIONS for the first time.

In that game (and many others I encountered over the years), everything that your character can do needs to be purchased with experience.

It was a major culture shift from previous games -- D&D, Aftermath, and Runequest had parallel tracks where capabilities could be gained -- experience and found items. Traveler went the other direction -- character inherent abiilties rarely changed. Only gear improved.

I find it matter to me depending on the type of genre and pattern of character I'm playing. I always try to have enough inherent ability to survive if not thrive in my expected environment.

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

Definately the "ability hoard." Equipping a character with gear and magic items and such is always a chore and my least favorite part of making or playing a character.

 

[Jack7]

Equipping a character with gear and magic items and such is always a chore and my least favorite part of making or playing a character.

You know, now that you mention it, I think it's my least favorite part too. Never really looked at it that way til you mentioned it. But it's true.

Now I like a good item that's useful. I ain't gonna bet my life or future success on any object though. But on the other hand increasing in personal capability, now that's really desirable, useful, fun, and satisfying. And very likely to lead to success. In real life and in-game. It's something to look forwards to. A real goal or objective.

Plus it's the kinda hoard that you can add to whenever you desire. You don't hav'ta go looking for somebody else's treasure. You can build your own hoard within yourself.

 

[Fifth Element]

It's not the sword but the arm that wields it? Yeah, I prefer it that way. I generally like magic items that just give bonuses, so I can add the numbers on the character sheet and then not have to worry about them.

 

[Celebrim]

Maybe it's my bias, but one thing I always found hard to deal with in GURPS (or any similar system) is that social relationships, status, wealth, and so forth cannot change without the expenditure of XP. Or as an alternate way of looking at it, any time your social relationships, status, or wealth changes you gain or lose XP.

I find that alternately constraining or troublesome depending on which way I look at it.

Also, I should say that I disagree with your thesis. The greatest treasure a character has is his relationships to other characters. Having built an in game relationship with other PC's or with NPC's (whether allies, lackeys, rivals, or foes) is a much bigger part of what makes the game fun than what you can do.

Ultimately, to me I don't distinguish much between abilities and gear, as they both for me fall into the category of 'things you can do'. Neither to me seems to have much to do with 'who you are'. An ability is just gear that is moderately harder to lose. In fact, one of the longest standing criticisms of D&D is that it focuses to much on 'what you can do' and not enough on 'who you are'. Creating 'who you are' is for me the fun part of being a PC. As someone who normally DM's, possessing phenomenal cosmic power is so blasé. I don't take alot of interest in 'what I can do' beyond doing enough to stay alive. Likewise, tactical combat is just so much ho hum and been there and done that. What I really enjoy about getting to be a PC is being able to poor all of my energy into bringing one rich and interesting personality to life.

 

[Fifth Element]

Also, I should say that I disagree with your thesis. The greatest treasure a character has is his relationships to other characters. Having built an in game relationship with other PC's or with NPC's (whether allies, lackeys, rivals, or foes) is a much bigger part of what makes the game fun than what you can do.

I took the OP to refer to stuff you keep track of on your character sheet. That could just be my D&D bias showing, since typically D&D doesn't have any mechanics for relationships.

And I don't mean notes you write on your sheet, I mean things that affect the character mechanically.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Hmmm ... can an ability hoard be traded for ale & whores?

 

[Fifth Element]

Hmmm ... can an ability hoard be traded for ale & whores?

Too much ale and you'll surely find your abilities aren't what you thought they were...

 

[Ahnehnois]

Getting 50,000 gp to spend on magic items is like Christmas any time of the year. Everyone likes getting more stuff. That said, less tangible benefits are also strongly alluring and usually involve less bookkeeping and suspension of disbelief.