Mechanics (Gold and Phase System)

[DeathNote]

Skill Level:
First four years will be until adulthood.
Four additional phases can be used at a cost of five years per phase.

Gold Distribution:
Gold will be determined based on character creation. The Moderator will not distribute a set number of "Gold" but will instead give a description of Gold Count. (Ex. Low, Med, High)

Gold Usage:
No set price tag but instead will be based on characters current Gold Count.

[Kcdaspot]

How about something like a two coin standard?

Silver peices called bits and then gold peices called, well, gold.

Like 8 bits in a gold peice.

[Kcdaspot]

I imagine like small wooden weapons or small weapons of little quality would be worth one gold and some bits. A shield of equal quaility about the same.

I guess the main thing to talk about is what goods would player characters produce and how that would effect commerce overall.

Also how the bazaar would work as well if there is one.

[Kcdaspot]

Hell how do they make the goods in the first place needs to be talked on.

[inspiratieloos]

You buy them. Unless you're a blacksmith or something. Or you buy a normal weapon then enchant it/have it enchanted to be stronger.

What's stopping us from just using gold and making all prices 8x higher? Multiple types of money don't do anything. Physically different coins are of course useful for weight concerns, but that's only valid if you use a modern 'money represents a value and not the actual worth of the material' system.

I think the issue is mostly the starting gold and rich/poor divide.

I'd have the mods manually assign gold to every character based on their back story and compensate more phases with less FATE points. I'm already screwing with the game by making an 8 phase character right? And I'm already allowing myself to be completely screwed over by playing a 4 phase one.

Edit:

@mods: Did you consider just using potential? pdf page 36

[CooLDoG]

Right. There is literally no point in make different types of money. Also, back in those days it was a 1:1 gold=representative value relation ship, unlike today where a 100 doler bill (that has zero gold) is worth $100 dollars worth in gold.

Also, I plan on playing a merchant type PC, so information on how buying and selling works is relevant to me.

[inspiratieloos]

'Weightless' money probably works best for game play reasons, otherwise just gold/silver/whatever coins and bonds for large transactions.

The real issue is still the difference between characters that start with different amounts of phases.

[CooLDoG]

I think we should just leave it up to mod discretion... but that would be a pain for them...

[inspiratieloos]

The thing is, if you leave gold to mod discretion (probably the only workable solution) you need to compensate phases with something else. Gold really isn't the problem here, the phase system is.

[T-Bone]

The basic gist of what I proposed in the other thread is this.

That we consider 'wealth' something different. A merchant isn't going to have that much more cash on hand then maybe a typical market goer. All of his net-worth is tied into his shop and his goods. A noble's wealth is tied into his estate. Wealthier characters are more well off than average characters, but that doesn't mean that wealthier characters can buy game breaking weapons and armor that unnecessarily make them better than their levels.

[inspiratieloos]

First,

Gold really isn't the problem here, the phase system is.

Second, if I go out I might take €50 with me in my wallet, my friend, whose parents are millionaires, also does. However he has on clothes from Armani, while I'm wearing something bought at your average clothes store.
Third, the 8 aspect character still has 16 skills more than the 4 aspect character and now they even have the same amount of gold. (ties back in with the first point)

[CooLDoG]

Give everybody 8 phases then and just say, "if you don't use all of them then it is to your own decision, live with it."

[The Fonz]

It's a shitty RP system where everyone starts at 'full' though. There needs to be some kind of restriction so that characters that start at lower levels and work their way up end up being better than 'starting' level 8 characters.

[inspiratieloos]

So, how do you see it? How should a starting 'lvl4' and a starting 'lvl8' be balanced? FATE is very big on keeping everyone on equal power.

[quadz08]

It's a shitty RP system where everyone starts at 'full' though. There needs to be some kind of restriction so that characters that start at lower levels and work their way up end up being better than 'starting' level 8 characters.

Is it feasible to just give everyone 5 points every time they up a level after the beginning of the game, rather than 4?

[Bub Bidderskins]

IMHO, I think the number of phases should be a set number to avoid a massive balancing issue.

[DeathNote]

Ok so after reading over this I have decided that I want to edit the phase system to include age as a factor. I am not sure where it was mentioned before but having age being a negative to excessive phases could help people decide on the level of phases they are willing to put forth. Something like:

1st phase: Childhood
2nd phase: Adolesent
3rd phase: Young Addult (about 18 to 20)
4th phase: Adult (20 to 26)

Any phases after that just add ten years or something along those lines. I realize that this will be adding a new dynamic to the game but it would also fix the balancing issue which is crucial for this type of roleplay regardless of profession that you intend to pursue.

[Kcdaspot]

I like this.

[T-Bone]

That's a good post DN.

[Bub Bidderskins]

So what kind of negatives would age give you?

Also, further phases could have diminishing returns where you get fewer skills for each individual phase. At a certain point, the negatives of aging (whatever they may be) would outweigh the positives of getting just one more skill point.

[DeathNote]

Odds are, you wouldnt get to that point BB. Something I am still trying to piece together is leveling up a character. Amstaad will be a city of quests and adventures and after each one, players should be given a slight reward for their experience . Obviously another phase set of four skills is a bit much but perhaps leveling one or two skills at a time which would void the pyramid system. I suppose that is alright just so long as the skill level starts off as a pyramid.

Negatives would include -1 rolls due to early exhaustion or perhaps every 4th CMoS hit deals a point higher when wounding. Everything will be considered and scaled based on how old the character actually is.

[inspiratieloos]

DN, you really shouldn't just go back to copying the original FATE system and then pretending it was a new idea
5 years a phase works better btw, giving everyone a 20-40 yo character.

Normally after a story arc every player that was a part of it can freely choose 4 skills and is assigned an Aspect by the mod based on what happened. Pace the game so that every character has similar length story arcs. You can just give old as an Aspect and have a player suffer the consequences whenever you want.

[CooLDoG]

Odds are, you wouldnt get to that point BB. Something I am still trying to piece together is leveling up a character. Amstaad will be a city of quests and adventures and after each one, players should be given a slight reward for their experience . Obviously another phase set of four skills is a bit much but perhaps leveling one or two skills at a time which would void the pyramid system. I suppose that is alright just so long as the skill level starts off as a pyramid.

Negatives would include -1 rolls due to early exhaustion or perhaps every 4th CMoS hit deals a point higher when wounding. Everything will be considered and scaled based on how old the character actually is.

Read in ARS MAGICA the rules for aging. That was where I had the idea from.

http://stuff.mit.edu/afs/sipb/user/dclt ... 4th-ed.pdf

Click download.

[CooLDoG]

relvant part(s):

Spoiler:

Aging and Afflictions
Age causes people to degenerate, and afflictions are its
most visible effect. An affliction can be chosen by the storyguide
or by the player, at the storyguide’s option. An
annoying affliction is simply something to be roleplayed—it
is a harbinger of things to come, with no penalties to rolls.
The player should make a note on the character sheet, stating
what the affliction is and giving it a score of 0. If a character
gains a minor affliction, something more serious develops,
such as cataracts in the eyes; this has a score of 1. A
major affliction represents something very serious; perhaps
the character fell and broke a hip, and now walks with a bad
limp. The affliction’s score is 2.
Afflictions worsen through the years, and a character may
develop new ones as he grows older. Let the story dictate
whether new afflictions develop or old ones become worse—the
storyguide is the arbiter. If the latter, the player rolls a simple die
and adds the score of the affliction; on a result of less than 9, the
affliction worsens by the amount stated on the Aging Table—
add that number to the current score. The score of the affliction
acts as a penalty to all related rolls.
An affliction that has a score of 6 or higher is crippling.
For example, if a character has the affliction “Going Blind,”
with a score of 4, subtract 4 from all rolls involving sight; if
the affliction had a score of 6, the character would be completely
unable to see.
No affliction score may be greater than 6, and a character
may have no more than five different afflictions. A player
can opt (or may be forced, if he already has five afflictions
at level 6) to have his character gain a Decrepitude point
instead of gaining or worsening an affliction. A character
with 10 or more Decrepitude points dies of old age; this can
be a good roleplaying opportunity.
It is highly unlikely for a character to die from aging
before the age of 50 or so. Few characters grow old, though;
Mythic Europe is a dangerous place. If one of your troupe’s
characters does die of old age, it is something of a victory, for
he has managed to survive all the world’s perils.
Aging Affliction
Roll Result Score
7-9 Annoying physical affliction* 0
10-14 Minor physical affliction,** or worsen by 1. 1
15 Minor mental affliction,*** or worsen by 1. 1
16-17 Major physical affliction,** or worsen by 2. 2
18 Major mental affliction,***or worsen by 2. 2
19+ Gain a Decrepitude point. –
*If the character already has five afflictions, he must add
1 to an existing affliction.
**Example physical afflictions: Arthritis, bad back, fragile
bones, limp, loss of balance, loss of coordination,
loss of eyesight, loss of hearing, loss of muscle tone,
palsied hands, pox scars, slower reflexes, weak lungs.
***Example mental afflictions: Dementia (senility),
long- or short-term memory loss, difficulty understanding
speech, difficulty speaking.

[DeathNote]

DN, you really shouldn't just go back to copying the original FATE system and then pretending it was a new idea
5 years a phase works better btw, giving everyone a 20-40 yo character.

Normally after a story arc every player that was a part of it can freely choose 4 skills and is assigned an Aspect by the mod based on what happened. Pace the game so that every character has similar length story arcs. You can just give old as an Aspect and have a player suffer the consequences whenever you want.

Haha, I didn't intend for it to seem that way. Apparently it was CoolDog that stated the idea first and that is what seemed best for now.