Live Changeling: the Lost - Rules part 2
The previous post contained my ideal system, ideal because it puts all characters on an 'even' footing. What follows is a more 'sensible' rules set.
Characters have attributes, abilities, merits, kith bonuses/flaws and Contracts, pretty much as per the book.
Attributes are limited to physical/social/mental again (I tried other groupings but I'm not sure they work; maybe physical/mental/will?).
- Start at 3, and 3 anywhere, but expensive to increase. Designed so that players always pull a good number of cards.
Skills - limited number of skill points so players are encouraged to take a spread of skills (so high attributes less problematic). Substantial but accessible to raise.
Various packs of cards are left around the play area, with STs, maybe some players. Player shuffles then target or convenient body flips cards from the top equal to attribute+ability. Diamonds are successes. Note that this is almost equivalent to the 30% success rate of tabletop, and with the slightly higher attributes likely to yield roughly the same results.
Although this system requires props, it's fairly straightforward for anyone who has played WW games before. It also allows many options for bonuses/flaws, whether that's modifying the draw, modifying successes or some other tweak (e.g. making Face cards mean something). It doesn't give players any more to remember than current MET rules, but allows for successes and is fairer.
As with the previous system (and my Assassins system):
- XP is low. Players should not be able to pick up more than a couple of skills or contracts per year. This means that min-maxing can't be countered by fleshing out weak areas later.
- Combat is simultaneous. Players perform free actions together, then movement, then main actions. No multiple actions if possible (Celerity, I'm looking at you!).
However, I have one major hang-up on running live C:tL. The basic character in Changeling has at least 4 different clauses known. Every clause has entries for timing, range, cost, catch and effect. Moreover, the different clauses in a contract are rarely linear. Finally, they are cheap and the systems I am envisaging encourage changelings to buy contracts not other stats. While some players will remember their major clauses, I suspect that regardless of the player, having vast numbers of contracts on the character sheet will risk them being forgotten or confusing. My next task, I think, will be to ask some people who've played lots of live werewolf (the nearest equivalent), if the large arrays of gifts became confusing. If so, I'll have to slim the contracts down.
Characters have attributes, abilities, merits, kith bonuses/flaws and Contracts, pretty much as per the book.
Attributes are limited to physical/social/mental again (I tried other groupings but I'm not sure they work; maybe physical/mental/will?).
- Start at 3, and 3 anywhere, but expensive to increase. Designed so that players always pull a good number of cards.
Skills - limited number of skill points so players are encouraged to take a spread of skills (so high attributes less problematic). Substantial but accessible to raise.
Various packs of cards are left around the play area, with STs, maybe some players. Player shuffles then target or convenient body flips cards from the top equal to attribute+ability. Diamonds are successes. Note that this is almost equivalent to the 30% success rate of tabletop, and with the slightly higher attributes likely to yield roughly the same results.
Although this system requires props, it's fairly straightforward for anyone who has played WW games before. It also allows many options for bonuses/flaws, whether that's modifying the draw, modifying successes or some other tweak (e.g. making Face cards mean something). It doesn't give players any more to remember than current MET rules, but allows for successes and is fairer.
As with the previous system (and my Assassins system):
- XP is low. Players should not be able to pick up more than a couple of skills or contracts per year. This means that min-maxing can't be countered by fleshing out weak areas later.
- Combat is simultaneous. Players perform free actions together, then movement, then main actions. No multiple actions if possible (Celerity, I'm looking at you!).
However, I have one major hang-up on running live C:tL. The basic character in Changeling has at least 4 different clauses known. Every clause has entries for timing, range, cost, catch and effect. Moreover, the different clauses in a contract are rarely linear. Finally, they are cheap and the systems I am envisaging encourage changelings to buy contracts not other stats. While some players will remember their major clauses, I suspect that regardless of the player, having vast numbers of contracts on the character sheet will risk them being forgotten or confusing. My next task, I think, will be to ask some people who've played lots of live werewolf (the nearest equivalent), if the large arrays of gifts became confusing. If so, I'll have to slim the contracts down.