Post by Malai on Feb 12, 2017 11:50:06 GMT -8
What I am proposing here is something that should be relatively optional but relevant for people to have hard-coded to a character for flavor and consistency. It's all fine and dandy to have a character with 3 strength and 3 durability but what then? What does that mean to your character? How do these stats translate? A normal person is all 0 after all so characters are beyond normal men, what is it about them that elevated them to this point? How do they accomplish these feats? Are they just hard and simply uber strong? Or is there more to it? I will use my own characters to extrapolate my point.
Let's start with Baird, at the time of writing this he is a very weak and normal guy who happens to have 1 point in summoning. So he is completely human and can summon some animals or something right? Wrong, it is far deeper than that in function. The stat dictates you may, on average, summon 1-3 creatures of your respective highest level. It is straight forward enough but here is what it means for Baird specifically. First what does he summon? He summons weapons and armor, and currently the armor is useless without a point in barrier. If Baird were to summon a blade with the intent of just one he could create a normal weapon of good craftsmanship. If he wanted two he could get two common blades that don't sell for much, and pushing it for three? Well, now they are just brittle and shatter easily. This is the mechanical functionality behind his ability, but how is he actually summoning weapons?
You might be thinking this sounds fairly Gate of Babylon or Unlimited Blade Works esque and you would have the surface idea but not the intricacies down. To illustrate my point, Gate of Babylon functions by already having said weapons and bringing them out of a dimensional storage, whereas Unlimited Blade Works uses the concept of knowing the weapon inside and out before projecting a replica into the world. What Baird does is he uses Arcane magic and shapes it before crystallizing it into a solid and functional form. As you can see three similar concepts on the surface but wildly different in practice.
Perks of this method: He can travel lighter and never truly be without a weapon.
Flaws of this method: It is tied to his abilities with magic. If he runs out of control he has no weapons. The swords he currently makes are also average so a strong enough enemy that can say, punch through plate mail will be shattering even his best work easily.
Next let's look at Malai, 2 Strength, 2 Durability, 1 Magic, and 1 Speed, Sword, and Nether. Nothing fancy on the surface, just looks like a lot of getting in your face battles. I could say she is just strong fast and tough and leave it at that but which is fine, but I have more reason as to why. Malai has not only trained her whole life to wield a blade and survive she has also spent much of her youth being infused with nether until it was as much a part of her as her organs are. The source of her great strength is no longer just she is this way but it is tied to magic fused to her. She uses this power to augment herself further and fight longer. She can also use it to coat her sword in nether to deliver strong strikes that can break armor and then further damage the body with magic.
Perks of this Method: Can double up on magic power and strength for truly lethal strikes.
Flaws of this Method: As her magic is spent she will shrink to the abilities of a normal person. At this point her own sword is too heavy for her to properly wield it. She is more susceptible to Aether due to being so closely knit to the Nether.
Lastly is Khalid and he is a fair bit of work. Summoning 3, Barrier, Magic Power 3, Durability 3, Lance, Gaea, and Fire. At a glance he would appear to be a tank with summoning support, but he is far more.
His summoning: Unlike Baird he does indeed summon creatures. What makes his creatures special vs animals though? Khalid calls upon the spirits that are bound to his royal lineage. This includes sand men, undead soldiers, and even a great winged beast. Instead of just normal monsters these play into a theme. They may have the same relative strengths according to their respective ranks but I can play them differently than normal monsters, a quick example being the sand monsters. A warrior rushes in and tries to slash at it futilely as his blade is caught in its loose and ever shifting body before he too is absorbed and covered by it. I can now create something that can make disarming enemies and suffocation easy but as a cost they are easily blown away by magic. Be it Wind spreading it, Water muddying it, or even fire turning it to glass and shattering it. That said, you won't see the likes of a bone-walker because he simply cannot summon one.
The Barrier: Does he summon pillars of earth or molten lava? Does he wear a shield of sand ala Gaara? No, none of these. His barrier is much different in the form of a passive and intense aura of fire that surrounds him in combat. From it he enjoys the effects of destroying projectiles and lower level magic that is not earth or water from possibly reaching him. The heat also makes it more taxing to fight in close proximity to him and striking with punches and kicks burns.
Magic Power: This does aid in the barrier's strength but that is not all. His lance Raharba uses his power to infuse itself with flames so potent it can be compared to a plasma cutter.
Durability: As previously stated there does not always have to be a deeper explanation to all aspects and in this case I just like to think he's extremely tough.
Perks of this Method: Absolutely lethal in close combat, hard to hurt, and enjoys the support of a variety of other low cost powers that come only to his call.
Flaws of this Method: For all of his power he is not meant for extended combat. His abilities are an absolutely massive sink of mana. Between his passive aura and the spear he unleashes incredible waves of mana constantly and that means running out quickly.
Through this I hope I have presented a fair variety of ways to interpret stats per your character and how to make unique functionality with what you've got available to you while also presenting benefits and drawbacks. I don't know if this is really proper for suggestions but I do suggest that characters really should have at least a basic description of just what their points and powers mean for them. This aids in consistency and truly making a character all your own. Again, this is not to say a character can't be very straight forward or experiment learning new uses and methods for their abilities but just a way to establish yourself firmly.
Comments, Questions, Concerns? Am I on to something or just an over-complicating elitist snob? You decide.
Let's start with Baird, at the time of writing this he is a very weak and normal guy who happens to have 1 point in summoning. So he is completely human and can summon some animals or something right? Wrong, it is far deeper than that in function. The stat dictates you may, on average, summon 1-3 creatures of your respective highest level. It is straight forward enough but here is what it means for Baird specifically. First what does he summon? He summons weapons and armor, and currently the armor is useless without a point in barrier. If Baird were to summon a blade with the intent of just one he could create a normal weapon of good craftsmanship. If he wanted two he could get two common blades that don't sell for much, and pushing it for three? Well, now they are just brittle and shatter easily. This is the mechanical functionality behind his ability, but how is he actually summoning weapons?
You might be thinking this sounds fairly Gate of Babylon or Unlimited Blade Works esque and you would have the surface idea but not the intricacies down. To illustrate my point, Gate of Babylon functions by already having said weapons and bringing them out of a dimensional storage, whereas Unlimited Blade Works uses the concept of knowing the weapon inside and out before projecting a replica into the world. What Baird does is he uses Arcane magic and shapes it before crystallizing it into a solid and functional form. As you can see three similar concepts on the surface but wildly different in practice.
Perks of this method: He can travel lighter and never truly be without a weapon.
Flaws of this method: It is tied to his abilities with magic. If he runs out of control he has no weapons. The swords he currently makes are also average so a strong enough enemy that can say, punch through plate mail will be shattering even his best work easily.
Next let's look at Malai, 2 Strength, 2 Durability, 1 Magic, and 1 Speed, Sword, and Nether. Nothing fancy on the surface, just looks like a lot of getting in your face battles. I could say she is just strong fast and tough and leave it at that but which is fine, but I have more reason as to why. Malai has not only trained her whole life to wield a blade and survive she has also spent much of her youth being infused with nether until it was as much a part of her as her organs are. The source of her great strength is no longer just she is this way but it is tied to magic fused to her. She uses this power to augment herself further and fight longer. She can also use it to coat her sword in nether to deliver strong strikes that can break armor and then further damage the body with magic.
Perks of this Method: Can double up on magic power and strength for truly lethal strikes.
Flaws of this Method: As her magic is spent she will shrink to the abilities of a normal person. At this point her own sword is too heavy for her to properly wield it. She is more susceptible to Aether due to being so closely knit to the Nether.
Lastly is Khalid and he is a fair bit of work. Summoning 3, Barrier, Magic Power 3, Durability 3, Lance, Gaea, and Fire. At a glance he would appear to be a tank with summoning support, but he is far more.
His summoning: Unlike Baird he does indeed summon creatures. What makes his creatures special vs animals though? Khalid calls upon the spirits that are bound to his royal lineage. This includes sand men, undead soldiers, and even a great winged beast. Instead of just normal monsters these play into a theme. They may have the same relative strengths according to their respective ranks but I can play them differently than normal monsters, a quick example being the sand monsters. A warrior rushes in and tries to slash at it futilely as his blade is caught in its loose and ever shifting body before he too is absorbed and covered by it. I can now create something that can make disarming enemies and suffocation easy but as a cost they are easily blown away by magic. Be it Wind spreading it, Water muddying it, or even fire turning it to glass and shattering it. That said, you won't see the likes of a bone-walker because he simply cannot summon one.
The Barrier: Does he summon pillars of earth or molten lava? Does he wear a shield of sand ala Gaara? No, none of these. His barrier is much different in the form of a passive and intense aura of fire that surrounds him in combat. From it he enjoys the effects of destroying projectiles and lower level magic that is not earth or water from possibly reaching him. The heat also makes it more taxing to fight in close proximity to him and striking with punches and kicks burns.
Magic Power: This does aid in the barrier's strength but that is not all. His lance Raharba uses his power to infuse itself with flames so potent it can be compared to a plasma cutter.
Durability: As previously stated there does not always have to be a deeper explanation to all aspects and in this case I just like to think he's extremely tough.
Perks of this Method: Absolutely lethal in close combat, hard to hurt, and enjoys the support of a variety of other low cost powers that come only to his call.
Flaws of this Method: For all of his power he is not meant for extended combat. His abilities are an absolutely massive sink of mana. Between his passive aura and the spear he unleashes incredible waves of mana constantly and that means running out quickly.
Through this I hope I have presented a fair variety of ways to interpret stats per your character and how to make unique functionality with what you've got available to you while also presenting benefits and drawbacks. I don't know if this is really proper for suggestions but I do suggest that characters really should have at least a basic description of just what their points and powers mean for them. This aids in consistency and truly making a character all your own. Again, this is not to say a character can't be very straight forward or experiment learning new uses and methods for their abilities but just a way to establish yourself firmly.
Comments, Questions, Concerns? Am I on to something or just an over-complicating elitist snob? You decide.
