RPG Games – Builder’s Guide 2
The challenge: The term is role-playing game, not role-playing game. As can be deduced, then, much of what sets this type of game apart from others is that the players are taking on the role of others. In an RPG, each player has a character that he plays. Although a large part of character design is based on stats, the character’s ability to solve challenges in the game world, the very name of the game’s genre indicates that the details of the character are at least as important. So we have the second challenge in creating a balanced RPG: the character detail challenge.
In other words, to get the most out of any role-playing game, players need to know who his characters are as much as what they can do Physical Appearance. Personality. History. Nature. These are all aspects of the character that the player can choose to help make their character more real.
But there’s more than that. What happens when the character uses his abilities? Do you wield paired swords in a complex series of kata? Does it work long-forgotten spells he picked from musty tomes? Does he use incredibly advanced alien technology?
Detail also plays a role in statistics. How great is the warrior’s strength, mage’s knowledge, cleric’s insight, or rogue’s wisdom? What about the will of the alien, the elements of the robot or the precision of the pilot? How much can the barbarian lift? How far can the psychic teleport? How many soldiers make up the warlord’s army?
An RPG that focuses only on stats and combat skills is leaving out a lot of what it means to be an RPG. Some might say that these things should be up to the player to decide. Well yes, as much as a player should be able to decide his abilities and powers. However, this does not mean that the player has free rein over every little detail. These things they can matter in the game world. The designer, then, must take them into account and establish a firm base of rules for them.
The risk: Careless detail work can cause significant delays during gameplay as players try to figure out exactly what their characters can do. Sometimes it’s important, even critically important, to know if your character can scale a certain wall, discover a bit of lore, or teleport a certain distance. If the game referee has to handle all these questions with ad hoc rulings, he will create an inconsistent world, which weakens the game.
However, it is also important not to put too much much in its miscellaneous rules. This leads to complicated references for every action a character might need to take, and can also lead to conflicting rules. Also, you want to avoid situations where it takes a long time to build each character. Some players may like to spend hours thinking about every little skill and ability their characters possess. Others don’t.
The solution: In QoTR, I found that the best way to do this was with a rule base that can be easily applied to any situation and that fits in with the core creation process. I didn’t want to add extra steps to character creation unless they could be optional in some way. The result is a broad-based system that can fit into a variety of situations, but is generally based on the same basic rules for each, just like the rules of combat. It also opens up a number of possibilities for future supplements.
I use three main systems to classify details. For most of the truly miscellaneous details, there’s a simple rule: Describe your character however you want, as long as it reflects your stats. Just because a player describes their character in a certain way doesn’t mean the character gains any advantage (or suffers any penalty, for that matter). So if a player makes a ten-meter-tall muscular giant with a greatsword, for example, he might as well select some offensive skills.
For most non-combat actions, I use an attribute system. Each preference (a group of related abilities) has two linked attributes, which the player can activate at character creation. The character’s attributes determine how effectively he handles non-combat challenges. This system allows for precise character details, but doesn’t require the player to spend more time on attributes if they don’t want to, as they can leave them tied to their nominal abilities.
However, most RPGs offer more than just imaginative attributes and details. Special powers such as flight, telepathy, and water breathing are common in many RPG genres. QoTR uses a special ability pool system much like (and tied to) preferences, with a skill point system for customization if the player doesn’t want to use the default selection. These abilities are broad-based, like much of the QoTR system, so players can modify or adapt them to any character type or gender.
Non-combat actions are an important part of RPGs, and no RPG is truly complete unless players can describe their characters. Any role-playing game designer would do well to focus intensely on this part of the game design process. The best tactic I’ve found is to design a system that is detailed enough to cover any situation, but simple enough not to bog down the game.
