A thought about character customization.

[Jeremiah Cross 55]

I've occasionally though a system like the Edge/Hindrance system in Deadlands might be an interesting addition to character creation. Basically, you gain a perk but at the cost of a weakness. Nothing really game changing, mind you. But maybe your character could be a medical student whose afraid of the dark; slightly faster at patching people up, but can become randomly panicked at night, causing the shakes and reducing accuracy. Or how about a Mechanic with a weak immune system, he can make minor vehicle repairs with only a tool box, but gets sick at the drop of a hat? A Hemophiliac athlete who bleeds more (or maybe bandaging could occasionally fail), but has more stamina and becomes winded more slowly. An Outdoorsman with a high metabolism who wouldn't get cold as easily but needs to eat & drink more often.

They would be mix and match, though the similarity to Deadlands should end there. There shouldn't be a point value where, by taking several hindrances you can get a major edge. Just have it so you pick a perk and then a weakness.

These are all just suggestions for traits, though I'm sure we could come up with a long list for both perks and faults. Just think of the potential for allergies.

The problem is I like the idea because it would allow you to customize your character in a way that affects your interaction with the world, but doesn't really give you a huge game breaking edge. It would give your character a "role" and some added value in a group setting, but not a designated class. At the same time, I don't like it, though I'm not really sure why. Maybe I'm worried about the commitment if it were permanent. A fix to that would be the option to abstain and just have a basic jack-of-all-trades character like we have now.

Thoughts?

Edited March 7, 2013 by Jeremiah Cross

[Dancing.Russian.Man 1631]

Reminds me of Zomboid.

Edit; In Zomboid, you start off with 0 trait points when creating a new character.

When you pick negative traits, you get more trait points to spend on positive traits.

Edit2; There are also "opposites," which you cannot pick if you've picked something that counters it.

For example; Light Drinker; half a bottle gets you "dizzy" instead of "buzzed," which has the opposite of Heavy Drinker; you can drink a full bottle of alcohol without getting dizzy. (Or was it the full bottle that got you dizzy? It's been a while.)

http://pzwiki.net/wi...zcreatechar.jpg

http://pzwiki.net/wiki/Traits

Edited March 7, 2013 by Dancing.Russian.Man

[slivniku@gmail.com 93]

Nothing really game changing, mind you.

but gets sick at the drop of a hat?

contradiction? (I know, it is meant figuratively, just teasing)

I'm personally opposed because it goes against the general idea that if you can do something IRL you can do it in game;

Kudos for a fresh idea though.

Edited March 7, 2013 by Xul

[CreepySalad 108]

I dislike perks.

I think these would be well done in other games, and it has, (Project Zomboid, NEO Scavenger, etc.) but I still think that it should be based on player skill instead of character skill.

I still want my minigame idea to be considered ;~;