HQPoints - The quest for a simple system

[lorddax]

Hey all uploading my work in progress as I attempt to work on a system that takes all the great information I've gathered from you all and worked into a system to allow for easier encounter, hero and monster design. The basis comes from J.D.Frazer's HeroQuest Heroes page, and uses the MIB and Quest boxes on Phoenix's webspace. I am attempting to set it up to allow for easy scalability on the GM part for new rules/skills/mods being added in while still maintaining the balance created in the orgininal design.

Eventually this post will hold the finalized content but for now it will be more of a launching point.

Currently, I've transcribed everything from the MIB and Quest books as Monsters, Abilites, Flaws, Skills and Schools. Monsters and Heroes are built from their Attribute scores and adding Abilities, Skills and Flaws. The next part is to go through each quest book using the system and attempt to find the balance coefficients using this numerical system and tweaking the system as the analysis grows.

The basis for the system rests at 1 hero is equal to 16 points as derived from the character cards. 1pt per Atk, Def, Body and Armor proficency and School access at 3pts to with traps being worth 2pts, since its conditional. Currently Mind points are calculated at 10-BP and don't factor directly into creation points, but have an correlation with character types that would want higher MP, in order to get it they have to take less BP. That lowers the score which may open the character up to taking more skills since they are "smarter" but at the risk of having a squishier body to house them in.

This default score is currently equal to 4 goblins which is set as the lowest pointed monster, which currently seems like a fair fight, but could be changed. Take a gander at the transcriptions and let me know what you think.

[lorddax]

Parts 6 & 7 with first analysis.

[lorddax]

So it looks like that all the skills and abilities that are in the original designs have all be translated into my system. I was actually surprised at how many modifiers and skills the game contained.

Currently figuring out how many gold a skill point should cost while running the analysis on the rest of the quest packs.

The design goals of the the HQP system are:
No chart lookups in game
No lengthy character sheets / everything being absorbable in a glance.
Easy insertion of new players into game
Quick and understandable scalability of published components
Easy design of new characters, monsters, and encounters.

[lorddax]

If anyone knows of a skill or ability in the rulebook that I missed toss it up here! I also tried to include references for all the skills and abilities that were teased out of the rules. If anyone has feedback on the balancing feel free to critique.

Current thinking is that since the game is orginally designed with gold as the advancement to allow to purchase skillpoints from a trainer which are in effect time spent training. The more advanced a skill or ability is the more time a character would have to spend learning it. Debating whether players should be able to reuse skill points by giving up a skill to get back its points to use on something else.

[lorddax]

So once again another post talking about building the HQP system, most of this game design stuff won't interest most of you but hopefully it catches someones eye and starts their own gears turning.

Was evaluating my system and thinking about the design goal to keep things simple yet complex. Keeping track of a huge assortment of skills and that they can be tagged onto any PC, made me grow wary of players needing a huge amount of gaming space to simply lay out their character. I'm thinking that heroes may have access to X amount of skills for their class, and then can choose to take any 3 active skills and a passive with them on a quest.

I still like a points based creation system but I'm thinking that it will be easier to balance a system with skill trees. All the trees will contain a balanced number of points but each hero will have their own set of unique skills to choose from for "load out" as they earn them. Ideally this system will give significant depth to all classes while giving a nice breadth to allow for any player to mold a character that is suited to their play style. So if two players like the same hero class, their builds of that class may be very different and allow them to fill different roles. Also I'd like to avoid the trinity shoehorn that crops up in many a system, and not have skills be ranked up copies of a previous skill.

Ran some new math and saw that it may be very very possible...

HQPoints-FixedClass.pdf

What do you think? 6,5 or 4 skill groups per class? Currently thinking 4 may be good for the intial version of the system, but 5 is a big step up in the character pool...

[Thrawn]

I always think of attack and defense as purely results of equipment. For example, the barbarian gets a broadsword instead of a shortsword for that +1 attack.

Are you upgrading equipement when someone gets 3 attack or defense?

In the basic game, 2 defense is the minimum allowed to characters. (This is what you get when you are naked.) For those only taking 1 defense, what is the logic behind it?

[lorddax]

I always think of attack and defense as purely results of equipment. For example, the barbarian gets a broadsword instead of a shortsword for that +1 attack.

Are you upgrading equipement when someone gets 3 attack or defense?

In the basic game, 2 defense is the minimum allowed to characters. (This is what you get when you are naked.) For those only taking 1 defense, what is the logic behind it?

>_<

I complicated the simplicity! And one of my lessons learned as a UI designer, if you can't explain a good reason why it should be some way, then it shouldn't. Started working on a new iteration of the HQP components using an averaged hero 2/2/6 that got skill pointed, scrapped it as it got more and more complicated and ended up back on keeping the four default heroes.

The four default heroes are interesting, as they are all unique yet remain homogenized. Looking for a new solution I started tinkering with the system outlined in your advancement thread. I'm currently looking at a 4 hero system with 8 skill lines with 3-4 skills in each line.

Each character would have access to 9/12(3/4 per line) skills but can only "load out" a quest with 3 skills slotted. Trying to figure out if specializing in a line would give a benefit vs mixing lines. Perhaps 3 skills per a line with a fourth "attuned" that can be a reward for dedication to that line and gives a bonus of some sort when loading out with an entire line. And groups of 3 is already used in the game design as it is with the schools concept.