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I was thinking about mechanics for limiting trait scores.
Many trait (attribute/skill/ability) systems suffer from a granularity problem: is 5 points in Combat worth the same as 5 points in Marksmanship or 5 points in Handgun: 9mm Beretta? Probably not. So if your game has a trait list, you need to carefully balance these. But the wider groups are useful and so are the narrow groups. Some games handle this by differentiating the costs of skills. The Combat trait is wider so it costs 12 development points. The Handgun: 9mm Beretta skill is narrow, so it costs only 3 development points.
I think a more useful limit is a cap. These caps can be tied to specific metatraits similar to character classes, but on "sliders." For example, instead of having a rogue class, you have an attribute called Agility and you give your character a rating in it (say "5"). That caps all the "Agility" traits at 5 points each, maximum.
These attributes probably are very similiar to the attributes in other games, except that they're used only to cap traits. Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Endurance, Charm, etc.
Each trait can have narrower sub-traits. These can be developed at any time, too, at the same cost as their "parent" trait. Like any other trait, these are still capped. So even if you have Combat 0, you can still develop Marksmanship 3 -- subject to the same limits. When using a trait, you always add together its trait score plus the scores of its parent(s). So a character with Combat 5, Marksmanship 3 would have 8 points in Marksmanship, effectively.
The caps force a character to specialize after a certain point. You can't get a Combat 12 if you have an Agility 5 cap, but you could take Combat 5 and Martial Arts 5 and Powerful Blow 2 (for 12 points). But those 12 points are only useful for a "powerful blow." Using a pistol would probably fall back to the Combat 5 alone.
Using the attributes for caps allows a player to adjust "sliders" (dials of a sort) at the time of character creation. If he wants a character who focuses on combat, he might put more points into Strength and Agility than in Intelligence and Charm. The rogue type might have a better Agility and Charm. These offer guidance in character creation in choosing traits with no hard limits to prevent a rogue from having the "Lift Heavy Things" trait.
Thoughts?
Many trait (attribute/skill/ability) systems suffer from a granularity problem: is 5 points in Combat worth the same as 5 points in Marksmanship or 5 points in Handgun: 9mm Beretta? Probably not. So if your game has a trait list, you need to carefully balance these. But the wider groups are useful and so are the narrow groups. Some games handle this by differentiating the costs of skills. The Combat trait is wider so it costs 12 development points. The Handgun: 9mm Beretta skill is narrow, so it costs only 3 development points.
I think a more useful limit is a cap. These caps can be tied to specific metatraits similar to character classes, but on "sliders." For example, instead of having a rogue class, you have an attribute called Agility and you give your character a rating in it (say "5"). That caps all the "Agility" traits at 5 points each, maximum.
These attributes probably are very similiar to the attributes in other games, except that they're used only to cap traits. Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Endurance, Charm, etc.
Each trait can have narrower sub-traits. These can be developed at any time, too, at the same cost as their "parent" trait. Like any other trait, these are still capped. So even if you have Combat 0, you can still develop Marksmanship 3 -- subject to the same limits. When using a trait, you always add together its trait score plus the scores of its parent(s). So a character with Combat 5, Marksmanship 3 would have 8 points in Marksmanship, effectively.
The caps force a character to specialize after a certain point. You can't get a Combat 12 if you have an Agility 5 cap, but you could take Combat 5 and Martial Arts 5 and Powerful Blow 2 (for 12 points). But those 12 points are only useful for a "powerful blow." Using a pistol would probably fall back to the Combat 5 alone.
Using the attributes for caps allows a player to adjust "sliders" (dials of a sort) at the time of character creation. If he wants a character who focuses on combat, he might put more points into Strength and Agility than in Intelligence and Charm. The rogue type might have a better Agility and Charm. These offer guidance in character creation in choosing traits with no hard limits to prevent a rogue from having the "Lift Heavy Things" trait.
Thoughts?
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