Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • ALONe 1e Final Draft-Pages-18

    Uploaded by

    Bo Sun
    3 views1 page
    This document provides guidance for determining the cost of Descriptors, or character traits, in a roleplaying game. It recommends asking questions to determine if a Descriptor should increase or decrease in cost based on whether it provides advantages or disadvantages. Descriptors that provide benefits, are often useful, or are rare would cost more Revisions, while those with drawbacks, interference, or difficulties would cost less. It also introduces an optional mechanic called the Doom of Damocles that uses counters to track a character's proximity to a negative outcome like death or insanity as negative Descriptors are gained and resolved.

    Original Description:

    Original Title

    ALONe_1e_Final_Draft-pages-18

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document
    This document provides guidance for determining the cost of Descriptors, or character traits, in a roleplaying game. It recommends asking questions to determine if a Descriptor should increase or decrease in cost based on whether it provides advantages or disadvantages. Descriptors that provide benefits, are often useful, or are rare would cost more Revisions, while those with drawbacks, interference, or difficulties would cost less. It also introduces an optional mechanic called the Doom of Damocles that uses counters to track a character's proximity to a negative outcome like death or insanity as negative Descriptors are gained and resolved.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    3 views1 page

    ALONe 1e Final Draft-Pages-18

    Uploaded by

    Bo Sun
    This document provides guidance for determining the cost of Descriptors, or character traits, in a roleplaying game. It recommends asking questions to determine if a Descriptor should increase or decrease in cost based on whether it provides advantages or disadvantages. Descriptors that provide benefits, are often useful, or are rare would cost more Revisions, while those with drawbacks, interference, or difficulties would cost less. It also introduces an optional mechanic called the Doom of Damocles that uses counters to track a character's proximity to a negative outcome like death or insanity as negative Descriptors are gained and resolved.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 1

    18

    stronger ones--or even incorporating a significant number of drawbacks that counteract their
    advantages.
    I find it helpful to have a set method for determining the cost of Descriptors that have
    nuance or complication, since to me it feels more fair if I follow the same procedure every time.
    Otherwise I have trouble deciding how to balance and price them, since comparing abstract
    concepts with one another often gets tricky.
    To solve this problem, ask the following questions when building a Descriptor, keeping
    track of how many times you answer Yes:
    Questions that Make Descriptors More Expensive:
    ○ Does this Descriptor add enhanced or new abilities that make some things easier
    for you, or even allow you to do formerly impossible things?
    ○ Is this Descriptor going to be useful in a majority of situations, or otherwise be
    helpful to you very often?
    ○ Is this Descriptor highly powerful or extremely rare in your world?
    Questions that Make Descriptors Less Expensive:
    ○ Does this Descriptor detract from or remove abilities, making some things harder
    or impossible?
    ○ Is this Descriptor going to interfere with a large number of situations, or otherwise
    detriment you frequently?
    ○ Is this Descriptor unusually problematic or difficult to deal with in your world,
    compared to the issues of most people?

    For each “Yes” answer, add one level to (for the first three questions) or subtract one
    level from (for the last three) your Descriptor. The Descriptor will cost two Revisions per level
    (or one per, if it is only temporary), and for each level will count as one point in your favor when
    adding up the player total on draws it influences.
    If you don’t have enough Revisions, consider changing the Descriptor to include
    drawbacks that reduce its price, or perhaps only add part of the Descriptor for now, enhancing
    it further as you play!

    Optional: The Doom of Damocles


    Like Health, Hit Points, Stress, Fatigue, or any other countdown (or count-up) to a
    mechanical point of death in other game systems, the Doom of Damocles provides a
    numbers-based, easily quantified way of tracking how close to death, insanity, or other end
    you’ve gotten.
    Start with three counters, or three empty checkboxes; these represent how far from
    Doom you are. Every time you gain a negative health, sanity, or other survival-related
    consequence resulting in a Descriptor (even a temporary one), you lose a counter or check off
    a box. You get the counter back or clear the box when you have successfully dealt with that
    negative Descriptor, either by removing it or changing it to a less serious problem (perhaps by
    turning a BROKEN ARM into LEFT ARM IN A CAST, for example; still bad, but not as bad).

    You might also like