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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Psion" data-source="post: 2921709" data-attributes="member: 172">Again, the main thing I need is to extract motivators from the players. Any chargen sequence that encorages that is a good thing.Well, there's a thin line between bossy and appropriate. I guess I'd say I prefer a carrot to a stick approach. Something that encourages the players to define and pursue character motivations is a good thing, as it provides the GM with the tools to keep the adventure moving and interesting. But things that tell the character what they will do seems a bit much.One mechanic I batted around back in the old RPG Design discussion forum was a pool of willpower points. Character traits could be positive or negative depending on the situation. For example, your character might be greedy, but if you spent a willpower point while doing a check that pursued greed, it granted you a bonus. But to avoid consequences of a trait, you would also have to spend willpower points. The idea here is that the game encourages you to stick with the traits that motivate your character, but don't demand it.Anyways, it may be of some assistance to read this article on flag framing to understand what I am talking about when I speak of motivators:<a href="http://bankuei.blogspot.com/2006_02_01_bankuei_archive.html" target="_blank">http://bankuei.blogspot.com/2006_02_01_bankuei_archive.html</a> (the bit on conflict webs is a good read too, but sort of tangential to what we are talking about here)I do not consider GURPS chargen to be structured in this sense, short of requiring players to use templates. Yeah, I used the term structured, perhaps I should have used the term focused. But let me lay it out for you: what I mean to say is that I disdain freeform point buy systems. Classes are one way to realize structure of the sort I speak of. Other examples include professions in classic call of Cthulhu or Cyberpunk, to a lesser extent the various tribes or similar constructs in World of Darkness games. In short, I prefer some sort of mechanic that encourages players to group their PC's skill sets logically, and helps prevent characters from becoming over-specialized or over-generalized.</blockquote>

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