Character Traits

[EvilBrage]

You may recognize this post from another forum. The crux of the issue is that there are no mechanical differences between characters at the moment, and a five foot whimpy doctor with a crowbar may very well defeat a seven foot security unathi with muscles bulging out of its eyelids. Well, to combat this without leaving combat purely up to a numbers game, I propose a system of selectable character traits!

Fallout-esque traits that come with both advantages and disadvantages. Each could cost a point (-1 to total,) be neutral (0), or give you a point (+1) based on the effect; every character starts with zero and can pick from a list that can give or take points, never going below their starting value of zero points. Also something something arbitrary maximum number of traits.

I'll throw down a few examples:

Positive Traits (-1 points)

Mr. Fixit: You're a handy man! You can construct and deconstruct objects twice as fast.

Heavy-Handed: Savage. Your unarmed melee attacks do more damage.

Cat-Eyes: You can see further in the dark, and the squares you can see are brighter.

Combative: You're especially adept at combat. Your attacks miss less often.

Chem Resistant: You've got a unique metabolism. Chemicals (both beneficial and harmful) have a reduced effect on you.

Balanced: Like a cat. You recover more quickly after falling down (but not from stuns.)

Neutral Traits (0)

Dirty Fighter: No trick is beneath you. Your attacks will do critical damage more often, but your wait period between attacks is longer.

Fragile: You grew up with a small frame. You move more quickly, but have less total health and your limbs break more easily.

Bruiser: You're a head above your peers, and twice as wide. You have a bonus to total health and your limbs don't break as easily, but you move more slowly.

Tough Guy/Gal: Pain doesn't phase you. You'll be able to move at normal speed while in pain, but you won't receive notifications about broken limbs/organs.

Negative Traits (+1)

Uncreative: You never were good at thinking outside the box. You cannot create improvised weapons or cable cuffs.

Addict: Your next fix is the most important thing to you now. After 30 minutes without your chem of choice, you start going into withdrawal.

Whimp: What's a gym? Your melee attacks do less damage.

Cross-Eyed: Why are there two of him? Your ranged and throwing attacks miss more often.

Unbalanced: Help, I've fallen and I can't get up! It takes you longer to recover from slips, falls, and stuns.

This way, there will be mechanical variations between characters, but not to the point where the outcome of an encounter is a foregone conclusion; some skill will still be involved in the fight. Antagonists will also have the option to change their traits as they're assigned the role - but these are also IC information (if discovered,) and so someone who's typically an addict who removes their traits as a changeling would definitely be suspicious to other crew members.

[Killerhurtz]

With more traits, this is definitely going somewhere. I'll try finding other small things to add.

[Susan]

When the skill system was first implemented, it was agreed on that they would never have a mechanical influence.

While I like these traits, I don't think they should be put in game. We should trust our players not to do things out of their skills, or punish them for unbelievable breaking of IC. The sheer amount of coding something like this would require is daunting; checks for basically every kind of attack and other calls? Not really worth the trouble.

Plus, the selection of traits is too small. Especially the negatives.

[Sentient Bowtie]

Skills =/= traits in this instance, I believe.

And would it be checks as things happen, or actual modifications to the character beforehand?

Also, yeah, we know there's not a lot of traits.

I'll throw down a few examples:

With more traits,

[LetzShake]

When the skill system was first implemented, it was agreed on that they would never have a mechanical influence.

While I like these traits, I don't think they should be put in game. We should trust our players not to do things out of their skills, or punish them for unbelievable breaking of IC. The sheer amount of coding something like this would require is daunting; checks for basically every kind of attack and other calls? Not really worth the trouble.

Plus, the selection of traits is too small. Especially the negatives.

 

I'm with Sue here. I'm not in favor of more 'mechanics' being added that influence things. Nevermind the coding resources this would take, it's more to learn in an already overcomplex game and is basically powergaming incarnate. You're gonna have people minmaxing. It's inevitable.

[Guest]

can't min-max when you have forced attributes and statistics.

[rrrrrr]

When the skill system was first implemented, it was agreed on that they would never have a mechanical influence.

Minor thing, but that was about three or so years ago on a different server, if I remember right.

I like this idea. I'm a bit biased because I like Lifeweb (which essentially lets you pick a purely negative trait in character creation), but hey, who gives a shit?

Should also mention Goonstation, a server that is debatably superior to any /tg/ derivative when it comes down to gameplay, has this. Traits range from being unionized and getting paid more to not being able to be cloned. Fun stuff.

[Frances]

I'd love to see creative traits. Stuff like "your attacks hit harder and miss less often" would probably be unfeasible because everybody would pick those to minmax and be robust, but non-combat traits like those rrrrrr mentioned could be great.

[rrrrrr]

Yeah, let me just say that these examples are piss poor. They're all very, very easy to minmax with - why would an engineer not take Mr. Fixit, for example? And as a security officer, what's stopping me from taking uncreative (a trait that only effects my ability to make things I won't need) and getting a free point?

In short.. the idea's great. The examples are sub-par and I think it might effect how people view the idea.

[Killerhurtz]

Just putting this out there: we already DO have a mechanics-implemented trait. "Needs Glasses".

[EvilBrage]

They're all very, very easy to minmax with - why would an engineer not take Mr. Fixit, for example? And as a security officer, what's stopping me from taking uncreative [...]

 

Because heaven forbid an engineer be better at engineering than a random assistant, right? Trust me when I say that while it may seem easy to game the system, SS13 relies quite heavily at times on your ability to improvise. For example, if your officer is stripped of their gear, they are now more useless than an assistant. Run out of cuffs on the job? Tough shit.

Bear in mind also that an engineer who wants to be Mr. Fixit will also be an addict, a poor shot, or whatever other negative traits we decide to add. Ideally, the negatives will hurt worse than a positive helps (as you may have noticed.)

The point of the suggestion is to add minor variation in mechanics.

[rrrrrr]

Minor = cutting the time you need to build/deconstruct shit in half. Real minor.

[EvilBrage]

Minor = cutting the time you need to build/deconstruct shit in half. Real minor.

From two seconds to build a wall down to one second. The sheer horror.

I think you're missing the crux of this suggestion; you can toss out all my traits for all I care, but the trait system is what I'm focused on.

[Guest]

I'll just put this here, I suggested this ages ago and got an earful from a select person.

But you do realize how much work it would take to implement AND balance?

I'm unwilling to do that work.

[Gollee]

May be relevant:

http://aurorastation.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=2716

[Rechkalov]

I am conflicted.

This is a good idea. I would have some objections to the specific traits you present, but I gather they serve just like an example - and they're a fine one. This could benefit the game.

Much like so many threads about health-connected disabilities and diseases and so forth.

And I'm afraid they all boil down to the same thing; they are all ridiculously hard to implement and tweak, to the point where the labor required would seem to outweight the gain.

It would be amazing if somebody was willing and able to sit down and make this reality, but I am very much skeptical.

Edit: Somebody here made a good point - we're a roleplaying community. Perhaps it is not entirely shameful to trust to player base to behave accordingly, without crutches like these (awesome as they may be).

[nanotoxin]

Perhaps one that helps people land on their feet when the gravity gen comes back on?