Talk:Mano a Mano

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Character Sheet/Template Redesign

New Character Sheet

This character sheet is intended to serve for both characters and templates. It should have everything you need to modify a character (including template modifications) except for information like special CP which is part of the ability list.

NAME                               AGE      SEX      TEMPLATE
_________________________________  _______  _______  ________________________

OCCUPATION(S)                                        BUILD
___________________________________________________  ________________________

MASS                                  CP    Template Build Ability Total Half
_________ kg               Agility (______) ________+_____        =_____
                             Speed (______) ________              =_____
LENGTH      LENGTH TYPE     Health (______) ________+_____+_______=_____ ____
_________ m _____________    Power (______) ________+_____        =_____ ____
                                   (______)

Grip              _____     ABILITIES              Template     Character
Carrying Capacity _____ kg  and disabilities       CP    Mod    CP    Lvl Mod
Equipment Mass    _____ kg  ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
Encumbrance       _____     ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
Speed-Encumbrance _____     ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
Stride            _____     ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
ground movement   _____ m   ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
water movement    _____ m   ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
air movement      _____ m   ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
climbing movement _____ m   ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
                            ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
    Template CP (_______)   ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
       Build CP (_______)   ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
     Ability CP (_______)   ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
       Total CP (_______)                       (______)

NATURAL WEAPONS    Dex Qty Cmb Reach  Power  Shp  RchCP ShpCP QtyCP     CP
__________________ ___ ___ ___ _____ ___-___ ___ (_____+_____+_____)=(______)
__________________ ___ ___ ___ _____ ___-___ ___ (_____+_____+_____)=(______)
__________________ ___ ___ ___ _____ ___-___ ___ (_____+_____+_____)=(______)
                                                                     (______)
NATURAL ARMOR      Abs Cvr  AbsCP     CP      
__________________ ___ ___x(_____)=(______)      Manual Dexterity CP (______)
__________________ ___ ___x(_____)=(______)
                                   (______)

EQUIPMENT       special modifiers Qty Mass Heft Cmb Reach Cvr Abs  Power  Shp
_______________ _________________ ___ ____ ____ ___ _____ ___ ___ ___-___ ___
_______________ _________________ ___ ____ ____ ___ _____ ___ ___ ___-___ ___
_______________ _________________ ___ ____ ____ ___ _____ ___ ___ ___-___ ___
_______________ _________________ ___ ____ ____ ___ _____ ___ ___ ___-___ ___
_______________ _________________ ___ ____ ____ ___ _____ ___ ___ ___-___ ___
_______________ _________________ ___ ____ ____ ___ _____ ___ ___ ___-___ ___

                   STUN                 |                DAMAGE
                                        |
                                        |
                                        |

Character Sheet used for a Template

NAME                               AGE      SEX      TEMPLATE
_________________________________  _______  _______  Sabretooth Penguin

OCCUPATION(S)                                        BUILD
___________________________________________________  ________________________

MASS                                  CP    Template Build Ability Total Half
40 - 90   kg               Agility (   0  )     4   +_____        =_____
                             Speed (   0  )     2                 =_____
LENGTH      LENGTH TYPE     Health (   0  )     0   +_____+_______=_____ ____
0.75-1.50 m height           Power (   0  )     4   +_____        =_____ ____
                                   (   0  )

Grip              _____     ABILITIES              Template     Character
Carrying Capacity _____ kg  and disabilities       CP    Mod    CP    Lvl Mod
Equipment Mass    _____ kg  swimming            (  600 )  3  (______) ___ ___
Encumbrance       _____     ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
Speed-Encumbrance _____     ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
Stride            _____     ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
ground movement   _____ m   ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
water movement    _____ m   ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
air movement      _____ m   ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
climbing movement _____ m   ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
                            ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
    Template CP (  1200 )   ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
       Build CP (_______)   ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
     Ability CP (_______)   ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
       Total CP (_______)                       (______)

NATURAL WEAPONS    Dex Qty Cmb Reach  Power  Shp  RchCP ShpCP QtyCP     CP
claws and teet      0   3  ___ 0.5 m ___-___  3  ( 100 + 400 + 100 )=(  600 )
__________________ ___ ___ ___ _____ ___-___ ___ (_____+_____+_____)=(______)
__________________ ___ ___ ___ _____ ___-___ ___ (_____+_____+_____)=(______)
                                                                     (______)
NATURAL ARMOR      Abs Cvr  AbsCP     CP      
__________________ ___ ___x(_____)=(______)      Manual Dexterity CP (______)
__________________ ___ ___x(_____)=(______)
                                   (______)

EQUIPMENT       special modifiers Qty Mass Heft Cmb Reach Cvr Abs  Power  Shp
_______________ _________________ ___ ____ ____ ___ _____ ___ ___ ___-___ ___
_______________ _________________ ___ ____ ____ ___ _____ ___ ___ ___-___ ___
_______________ _________________ ___ ____ ____ ___ _____ ___ ___ ___-___ ___
_______________ _________________ ___ ____ ____ ___ _____ ___ ___ ___-___ ___
_______________ _________________ ___ ____ ____ ___ _____ ___ ___ ___-___ ___
_______________ _________________ ___ ____ ____ ___ _____ ___ ___ ___-___ ___

                   STUN                 |                DAMAGE
                                        |
                                        |
                                        |

Character Sheet used for a Character

NAME                               AGE      SEX      TEMPLATE
Modre                              _______  male     Sabretooth Penguin

OCCUPATION(S)                                        BUILD
Robber                                               average

MASS                                  CP    Template Build Ability Total Half
       60 kg               Agility (   0  )     4   +  0          =  4
                             Speed (   0  )     2                 =  2
LENGTH      LENGTH TYPE     Health (   0  )     0   +  0  +   5   =  5    2
      1.0 m height           Power (   0  )     4   +  0          =  4    2
                                   (   0  )

Grip                 8      ABILITIES              Template     Character
Carrying Capacity    3  kg  and disabilities       CP    Mod    CP    Lvl Mod
Equipment Mass      0.5 kg  swimming            (  600 )  3  (  300 )  2   5
Encumbrance          0      one-handed weapons  (______) ___ (  600 )  3   3
Speed-Encumbrance    2      fishing             (______) ___ (  100 )  1   1
Stride               1      craftsmanship       (______) ___ (  300 )  2   2
ground movement      2  m   ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
water movement      10  m   ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
air movement            m   ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
climbing movement    1  m   ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
                            ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
    Template CP (  1200 )   ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
       Build CP (     0 )   ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
     Ability CP (  1300 )   ___________________ (______) ___ (______) ___ ___
       Total CP (  2500 )                       (  600 )

NATURAL WEAPONS    Dex Qty Cmb Reach  Power  Shp  RchCP ShpCP QtyCP     CP
claws and teet      0   3  ___ 0.5 m ___-___  3  ( 100 + 400 + 100 )=(  600 )
__________________ ___ ___ ___ _____ ___-___ ___ (_____+_____+_____)=(______)
__________________ ___ ___ ___ _____ ___-___ ___ (_____+_____+_____)=(______)
                                                                     (  600 )
NATURAL ARMOR      Abs Cvr  AbsCP     CP      
__________________ ___ ___x(_____)=(______)      Manual Dexterity CP (    0 )
__________________ ___ ___x(_____)=(______)
                                   (______)

Compact Character Sheet

Name_______________________ Template______________
Occupation(s)_____________________________________
_____kg _____m  Age_____ Sex_____ Build___________
Abilities_________________________________________
Agi Spd Hlth Pwr   ground  water    air   climbing
___ ___ ____ ___   _____ m _____ m _____ m _____ m
Equipment      special Qty Cmb Rch Cvr Abs Pwr Shp
______________ _______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
______________ _______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
______________ _______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
______________ _______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
______________ _______ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
          Stun          |         Damage

The compact character sheet is for characters who will not change, but need combat stats and a few other abilities and some description. It is roughly the size of a 3x5 card, but to have even thin margins it would need to be printed in a 9 pt font. Do not list abilities whose only purpose is contributing to combat bonuses on the equipment list. Mass and heft have been removed from the equipment list. If a weapon is unwieldy, put "unwieldy" in the special column. Half health and half power have been removed.

An even more compact character sheet would be a list of information all on one line, separated by commas. Superfluous labels [especially labels in square brackets] and other unnecessary blank space would be removed.

____________________________ [name], ___________ [build] (_____kg [mass], _______m [length])
_____ [age] _____ [sex] __________ [template] ____________________________________ [occupations],
___ Agi, ___ Spd, ___ Health, ___ Pwr,
____ m ground [movement], ____ m water [movement], ____ m air [movement], ____ m climb [movement],
___ [modifier] ___________ [ability name],
___ [modifier] ___________ [ability name],
___ [modifier] ___________ [ability name],
___ [modifier] ___________ [ability name],
___ [quantity] ___________ [item name] (______ [special], _____ m [reach], ___Cmb, ___Cvr, ___Abs, ___Pwr, ___Shp),
___ [quantity] ___________ [item name] (______ [special], _____ m [reach], ___Cmb, ___Cvr, ___Abs, ___Pwr, ___Shp),
___ [quantity] ___________ [item name] (______ [special], _____ m [reach], ___Cmb, ___Cvr, ___Abs, ___Pwr, ___Shp),
___ [quantity] ___________ [item name] (______ [special], _____ m [reach], ___Cmb, ___Cvr, ___Abs, ___Pwr, ___Shp),
___ [quantity] ___________ [item name] (______ [special], _____ m [reach], ___Cmb, ___Cvr, ___Abs, ___Pwr, ___Shp)

Example:

Modre, average (60 kg, 1.0 m) male Sabretooth Penguin Robber, 4 Agi, 2 Spd, 5 Health, 2-4 Pwr, 2 m ground, 10 m water, 1 m climb, 5 swimming, 3 one-handed weapons, 1 fishing, 2 craftsmanship, 3 claws and teeth (0.5 m, 4 Cmb, 2-4 Pwr, 3 Shp), 1 Ice Blade (1.5 m, 7 Cmb, 3-6 Pwr, 2 Shp)

New Compact Template

In this compact form, the template is presented as a list of information in a specific order and format, separated by commas.

_____________ [template name]
______-______ kg [mass],
______-______ m [length] ___________ [length type],
__________ CP, ___ Agi, ___ Spd, ___ Health, ___-___ Pwr,
___ [modifier] ____________ [ability name],
___ [modifier] ____________ [ability name],
___ [modifier] ____________ [ability name],
___ [modifier] ____________ [ability name],
________________ [natural armor type] ( _____ Abs, _____ Cvr),
________________ [natural armor type] ( _____ Abs, _____ Cvr),
___ [quantity] _________________ [natural weapon] (_____ m [reach], ___ Shp, ___ Dex),
___ [quantity] _________________ [natural weapon] (_____ m [reach], ___ Shp, ___ Dex),
___ [quantity] _________________ [natural weapon] (_____ m [reach], ___ Shp, ___ Dex)

This should be simplified by removing extra labels [in square brackets] and "blanks" (such as Dex for weapons that have no dexterity, Shp for weapons that have no sharpness, or extra lines for abilities, armor and weapons you don't have.) Also, get rid of extra white space and put everything on a single line:

Sabretooth Penguin 40 - 90 kg, 0.75 - 1.50 m height, 1200 CP, 4 Agi, 2 Spd, 0 Health, 2-4 Pwr, 3 swimming, 3 claws and teeth (0.5 m, 3 Shp, 0 Dex)


Mechanical vs. Organic Characters

Being a mechanical character is an ability with a special CP of 0, no levels and no modifiers. A mechanical character does not heal, but can be repaired using craftsmanship and abilities which allow characters to modify mechanical characters. Mechanical characters can be repaired more quickly than an organic character heals. Mechanical characters do not require surgery rolls when they are modified.

Characters who do not have this ability are called organic characters. The main difference between mechanical and organic characters is how they are affected by trauma. (A very complex robot which can heal itself but can be easily destroyed by an attempted modification might not have the mechanical character ability.) Mechanical characters do not decay as quickly as organic creatures, so they can be easier to resuscitate from fatal injuries.

There is a question as to weather or not the characteristic of being organic vs. being mechanical should have a Character Point value. For the time being we are just trying to balance out the advantages so that this characteristic is character-point neutral.
How fast can mechanical characters be repaired? Are repairs more like modifications or like medicine/healing rolls? If mechanical character ability had a level it might be a bonus to being repaired.
Do mechanical characters recover from stun like normal characters? I would lean toward "yes" as there are lots of temporary mechanical problems even a simple machine can work out itself, especially autonomous and semi-autonomous robots with redundant systems (NASA probes often recover themselves after the ground crew writes them off as down for the count, and they usually have minor problems which require adjustment and slow down the mission but don't cause lasting damage.)

Combat Abilities

Currently we only have two kinds of combat abilities:

Weapon Proficiency
Abilities which modify combat modifiers are weapon proficiencies, because you have one combat modifier per weapon. Weapon Proficiencies can be as specific as a single weapon or as broad as you like (you could have a weapon proficiency which applies to all weapons) but they apply to any use of the weapon's combat modifier.
Athletic Abilities
Athletic abilities improve your health, allowing you to fight longer even when you get hurt. Your best two athletic abilities affect your health, and it doesn't really matter which athletic abilities they are.

The most obvious thing missing is abilities that affect how you fight with a given weapon - abilities which give you an advantage to using certain classes of actions over others. For example experience competing in wrestling might improve your grappling more than it improves your striking ability. How would these abilities work? Would they add another column to the equipment list, or would they give you special modifiers (like the Grp, Atk, Par modifiers.) or would they be added directly to combat rolls? Would we have some combat modifiers be independent of the equipment list, and not affected by which weapon you use?

Limitations

We need to expand the coverage of limitations to character creation and development in the Game Design section.

  • CP Allowance (How much CP for heroic or super-heroic characters?)
  • Sex (based on template? Should templates have a "sexes" property?)
  • Age
  • Templates (PC vs. NPC)
  • Build (depends on templates. Dogs vary more than cats, and birds even less)
  • Missing limbs
  • Disabilities
    • A game should allow no disabilities beyond those built into the templates, or at least have limitations like one disability per character, no more than -1000 CP of disabilities, and only those disabilities that have unavoidable consequences.
    • A game with a GM may have a bigger disability list because he GM can moderate the role-playing of those disabilities. Players need the GM's permission to give characters disabilities beyond template disabilities. The GM may have stricter limitations than the game requires, not allow some disabilities, or decide on a case-by-case basis.
  • Ability levels (character creation and training)
  • Equipment (character creation and shopping)
  • Occupations?
    • limitations are basically built-in to occupations
    • but the occupations section feels like it needs work
  • Reach? (requires a rule allowing characters to have more or less reach than their template)

Ability Checks in Combat

At times a GM might ask players to perform an ability check during a round of combat. My opinion is that players should not add their ability bonus to the check unless they specifically have established that they are using the ability. If the check is called before the player's turn and the player stated the use of the ability before the beginning of combat. The player would be allowed to add their ability bonus. If the check is called after the player's turn then the player would not be allowed to add their ability bonus the unless they specifically use at least a quick action to use the ability. --ulrich 11:00, 2005 Jul 2 (CEST)

A classic example is watching out for traps during combat. If the traps are so well hidden that an ability roll is required, at least one of the PCs should spend a whole turn looking for traps instead of fighting. If the story requires the characters to fall into a trap, it should be impossible to find (or impossible to avoid if you do find it.) If this is not a good time in the story for the characters to fall into a trap, or if the characters have been specifically looking for traps as they go along, it doesn't make sense to ask them to make routine checks for traps. --SerpLord 15:17, 8 December 2005 (CET)