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Help creating/tweaking Mechanical Systems? [Resolved]

the eldritch truth
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Q: The big question you still need to answer is what players do. So say I join your site right now, make a character, all that stuff. How am I going to interact with the site? What am I going to do.

A: If someone were to join right now: they'd write. I cannot get any more specific than that without breaking it down into the 4 user groups. The actual things they'll be doing vary too much. 

Players will write. They'll write with others players. They'll write with stronger players. They'll write their last thread, eventually.

When characters deal with consequences, those will usually be personal consequences: emotional dilemmas such as guilt or fear, or punishments such as suspension, expulsion, or having their licenses revoked; occasionally it'll be death.

I suppose I'm still thinking too "high".

The system isn't meant to be used all the time. Beyond comparing sizes and handling combat, most of what people will do won't revolve around it.

People will do whatever they want. They'll thread with others and occasionally do solos. The content of those threads will vary: meet-ups at bars, fights, dates, honestly whatever they'd do on any other site. I think it's imperative to say that a good chunk of what people will do simply won't involve the systems in place. 

Think of it as though for students it was a typical, normal highschool RP. The only difference will be that when they'd have tests or school competitions, they'll be fighting with superpowers instead. 

The other groups will be more combat-centric, sure, but the premise is the same - normal-ish life (with no involvement from the systems), until they go to work.

I can't really state it enough that the systems won't be being used constantly. And that's not really a diagnosis of the current system - it's what I want too.

Maybe I'm just having a hard time understanding your question. If so, is there a specific way you could ask it? Maybe just yes or no questions? Anything in general that's more specific than "what they do"? Because right now I think I'm answering to the best of my ability.
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I'm going to sketch up a simple example system here. Feel free to use it or modify it as you like.
I just wanna say this system made me squirm with how beautiful it was. Like.. that was a GREAT example of handling plot alongside catering competitive playstyle. I don't normally impede to comment on things but like.. I think your post is a great reference tool for this thread.
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Are you sure you actually want a system? What you described sounds like you'd be better off going pure freeform.

If you look at Ascendant's system, you'll see we don't use it all the time either. It's for specific types of threads, but those are intended to be the threads that have the most world changing impact. People say 'my character wants to do this' then people can either join to support or oppose it to stop it from happening. Then they fight, sometimes literally sometimes more abstractly, and the result at the end is that one side wins and that side gets to make big changes to the setting. It's a very self-contained thing, you go in with something you want to do, and you go out with something happening whether it's what you wanted to happen or something else. It was built like this explicitly because the major goal with Ascendant was big superpower fights leading to world changing events. This is what I mean when I say you need to know what players need to do. You need to be specific because otherwise you'll be flailing trying to define what happens.

If the only reason you want a system is for either progression or to keep fights 'fair' I'd actually advise against using one at all. Systems aren't meant to be a fence to restrict players, they're meant to aid the narrative. This is why I kept pushing you towards what your site's narrative is about and the kinds of things people are supposed to do so that this why you could try to build mechanics to encourage players to do those things and to give them tangible rewards for doing so. But if you don't want your game to be 'about' one particular thing and don't want to model those narrative effects, then I'm just not sure if you actually want to use a system. It sounds like any system would just bog down what you seem to want from your site.

I think this is an important question to ask because there's nothing wrong with freeform sites, even freeform sites where part of the IC goal is character growth. Progression systems sound nice, but progression is only meaningful if you're lifting restrictions and making it possible to do more things. If that's not happening, then you're only watching numbers get bigger and that won't be interesting for very long.
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I just wanna say this system made me squirm with how beautiful it was. Like.. that was a GREAT example of handling plot alongside catering competitive playstyle. I don't normally impede to comment on things but like.. I think your post is a great reference tool for this thread.


Thank you very much! I think it's important to note that different systems are good for different purposes, and a system that works well for one particular group of players looking for one particular experience in one particular setting won't necessarily work for another. Anyone who wants to use this system can feel free to do so.

I'm planning on making a thread to catalog the systems I've written and have related discussion without derailing individual request threads soon.
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I want to preface this by saying I'm not trying to insult you or anything. Again, I really do appreciate your time and effort. Also not an attempt at plagiarism here, it's just to make a point.



If you look at Hero // Reality's system, you'll see we don't use it all the time either. It's for specific types of threads, but those are intended to be the threads that have the most personal impact. People say 'my character wants to do this' then people can either join to support or oppose it to stop it from happening. Then they fight, sometimes literally sometimes more abstractly, and the result at the end is that one side wins and the other deals with the consequences of their failure. It's a very self-contained thing, you go in with something you want to do, and you go out with something happening whether it's what you wanted to happen or something else. It was built like this explicitly because the major goal with Hero // Reality was fights leading to personal consequences. This is what I mean when I say you need to know what players need to do. You need to be specific because otherwise you'll be flailing trying to define what happens.



It doesn't take a lot of change to make it fit my site too. I think the use-cases and impacts of the system are nigh-identical for our sites: So I don't think I want no systems. The two goals are creative freedom and measurable progression.

Creative Freedom | Measurable Progression
Freeform | Stat System   

Those are what appeals to those goals, so I think a site that combines the two meets my goals the best.

I haven't heard any complaints from my players about the current system and this thread has actually only steeled my opinion that the current one is good for my purposes. 

That said - I can't overstate how grateful I am for the help you've given, Kitten4u & Serpentarius, nor do I doubt your skill with systems. I really, really hope that the clash of opinions doesn't leave too sour of a taste in your mouth.

Thank you! This isn't really a request board, but I'll throw [Resolved] into the title.