I'm not going to tell players what they should base the selection of race on. If they want to play a Windling because they like the art. Sure. If they want to play a Windling because they can fly. Sure. If they want to play a Windling because they are pranksters. Sure. If they want to play a Windling because they have d10 karma. Sure. If they want to play a Windling because they are small. Sure.
The choice of how they pick race is up to them.
There wasn't a game balance problem with racial karma dice. It was a finely tuned game mechanic.
Looks like the developers are with you in ridding the game of these 'dilemmas'.
Why not rid the game of threadweaving as well. That is a dilemma. All those treasures that need constant attention, weaving to them over and over, group patterns, true patterns, all so very complicated....
One wonders if the game is going to be balanced around the 'extra d6' of karma or not.
number of daily karma points
Re: number of daily karma points
I'm with Roth on this one. The motivations that drive the choices a player makes for their character are entirely up to them. You can make it based on narrative roles, but by no means does that mean you should. The decision is all up to the player, and not only do I think it's wrong to tell them what decisions to make, I think it's wrong to tell them what they should base those decisions on.
Personally, I never had any problems with the races having different karma dice. It was very simple to see how it balanced based on stat modifiers, and I never once heard a complaint from any player on it. That said, I do see how it could run into a balance issue with how much more frequently karma can be used with some of the new rules that have been discussed. A Troll Cavalryman and a Windling Cavalryman would average out relatively balanced in attacks between their differences in Strength step and karma dice. That balance would be tipped now if a Windling gets to add in their higher karma twice.
With regards to how quickly karma will regenerate now, I also see the downside to this. Karma is a resource, and when you remove limits on your resources, this removes conflict. Stories thrive on conflict, so removing it is typically bad for the story. Now, there is a balance factor there; while running into an encounter every time the players go to visit a shop might generate a lot of story telling, it's going to get really frustrating to have to have a 20 minute conversation every time you just want to pick up supplies. However, I do think freeing up the restrictions on karma will have more negative effects on conflict and story telling than it will have positive effects on saving frustration.
As an example, I know a lot of people don't bother with tracking how much food or water the characters carry with them; it's just kind of written into the backdrop that they'll have enough to sustain them and can find resupplies easily. I'm guilty of this myself a lot of the time. But trying to fend off starvation and dehydration can add a lot of interesting conflict to the story. Say you're traveling through scrub lands with no major resources around for miles and come across a Scorcher tribe. If you don't bother tracking your basic supplies, you can just assume you have enough and simply avoid the Scorchers. However, if you do keep track and know you're running low, those Scorchers might be your only chance and a resupply for quite some time, whether you try to negotiate or take by force.
As I've done most other things, I'm going to withhold judgement until my books arrive and I can read through to see the implications in detail. If I don't like the new mechanic, I'll house rule the old standard and limit everyone to one karma per roll. If this conflicts with a specific bonus for a Discipline, I'll work out an alternative.
Personally, I never had any problems with the races having different karma dice. It was very simple to see how it balanced based on stat modifiers, and I never once heard a complaint from any player on it. That said, I do see how it could run into a balance issue with how much more frequently karma can be used with some of the new rules that have been discussed. A Troll Cavalryman and a Windling Cavalryman would average out relatively balanced in attacks between their differences in Strength step and karma dice. That balance would be tipped now if a Windling gets to add in their higher karma twice.
With regards to how quickly karma will regenerate now, I also see the downside to this. Karma is a resource, and when you remove limits on your resources, this removes conflict. Stories thrive on conflict, so removing it is typically bad for the story. Now, there is a balance factor there; while running into an encounter every time the players go to visit a shop might generate a lot of story telling, it's going to get really frustrating to have to have a 20 minute conversation every time you just want to pick up supplies. However, I do think freeing up the restrictions on karma will have more negative effects on conflict and story telling than it will have positive effects on saving frustration.
As an example, I know a lot of people don't bother with tracking how much food or water the characters carry with them; it's just kind of written into the backdrop that they'll have enough to sustain them and can find resupplies easily. I'm guilty of this myself a lot of the time. But trying to fend off starvation and dehydration can add a lot of interesting conflict to the story. Say you're traveling through scrub lands with no major resources around for miles and come across a Scorcher tribe. If you don't bother tracking your basic supplies, you can just assume you have enough and simply avoid the Scorchers. However, if you do keep track and know you're running low, those Scorchers might be your only chance and a resupply for quite some time, whether you try to negotiate or take by force.
As I've done most other things, I'm going to withhold judgement until my books arrive and I can read through to see the implications in detail. If I don't like the new mechanic, I'll house rule the old standard and limit everyone to one karma per roll. If this conflicts with a specific bonus for a Discipline, I'll work out an alternative.
-
- Posts: 744
- Joined: Wed Nov 23, 2011 3:26 am [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/vendor/twig/twig/lib/Twig/Extension/Core.php on line 1266: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable
-
- Posts: 197
- Joined: Sun Dec 29, 2013 1:06 pm [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/vendor/twig/twig/lib/Twig/Extension/Core.php on line 1266: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable
Re: number of daily karma points
The stat mods isn't the whole picture.
What those stats represent game mechanic-wise tells a much larger story than just a +6, +3, 0, -3. It is brutally obvious if you use the point buy method. The big issue with the 'purchase pool' is the racial modifiers. It's lovely that characters all have the same pool of points to purchase their stats. That fails as a 'balancing tool' when racial modifiers come into play. There is no balance factor when racial modifiers and racial ablities are all over the board.
Yet this is the 'balance factor' that was used for the supposed 'different karma dice game balance problem'.
Everything else slayride35 talks about(in that thread) is a group issue not a game issue.
What those stats represent game mechanic-wise tells a much larger story than just a +6, +3, 0, -3. It is brutally obvious if you use the point buy method. The big issue with the 'purchase pool' is the racial modifiers. It's lovely that characters all have the same pool of points to purchase their stats. That fails as a 'balancing tool' when racial modifiers come into play. There is no balance factor when racial modifiers and racial ablities are all over the board.
Yet this is the 'balance factor' that was used for the supposed 'different karma dice game balance problem'.
Everything else slayride35 talks about(in that thread) is a group issue not a game issue.
Return to “Product Discussion”
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests