DynamicImprovementSystem
NOTE: A simpler form of this system that gives just about the same effect is found at Trueform/ForcedTrainingtime
This system is meant to replace XP. It has a focus on time based improvement rather than point based improvement. The exact numbers will be adjusted as I get more feedback on the system.
I look at experience in rpg's and in real life as how dynamic you are towards life. Let me explain by an example. Older people are more set than younger people and are therefore less dynamic and learn slower. People doing the same routine every day is less dynamic than people experiencing something fresh and new and therefore are learning slower/nothing.
I think that a cool and "realistic" and balancing way to resolve this in rpg games is to have a dynamic rating. The rating should represent how open your character is to new information. During exciting adventuring the dynamic rating increases and the charecters get to be more dynamic towards learning. That meaning that they are learning faster/better from their training time. The characters still need downtime to do training. And all training have to be relevant to the actuall ability/attribute/charm beeing raised. But instead of a fixed training time of 1 month for each level for a attribute it would be (new-attribute-level^2 * 30)/dynamic rating.
If a normal mortal living a normal life have 0.5 in dynamic rating it would take him 960 days/32 months of full day training to get 4 in strenght. This explains why so few normal people have high stats. Adventuring characters on the other hands may have a dynamic rating from 0.5 to 5 and can train for the 4 in strenght in only 95 days/3 months. The dynamic rating decreases(jumps) back to 0.5 after dynamic rating * 2 months. So if the character has adventured and gained 5 in dynamic rating(DR) he can train in 10 months and have three attributes go from 3 to 4. Of course that is if he can use time(4-8 hours a day) for training and not have to work to get money or do some other time consuming distracting task.
This system represents that boored characters learns slower than characters that are excited about all the new stuff that they can't wait to use. At the same time the excited characters will get boored after a while if not given a chance to practice their newfound knowledge. The system also explain the progress of all the npc's in the worls. Older charcters tend to be better than younger charcters simply because thay have had a longer time to train their skills. Wealthy characters tend to be better than poorer charcters because they can aford taking time off to practice. And player characters learn really fast because thay are so excited about everything around them. For varius other characters than humans I use another base(minimum) dynamic rating than 0.5.
Vampires and Tolkien elves have a minimum of 0. That is why they are that old and not having a insanely high score in all attributes and abilities. Human children below 16 have 1 and humans above 50 have 0.1 as minimum. This info is rarely used but I think it is nice as an explanation for why older people are learning slower.
- Training times in days are:
- Increase Ability = (new-ability-level^2 * 5)/dynamic rating.
- New Ability = 20/dynamic rating).
- Increase Attribute (new-attribute-level^2 * 30)/ dynamic rating
- Gaining a speciality = 10/ dynamic rating
- Increase Essence = (new-essense-level^2 * 60)/ dynamic rating
- New Charm = (20 * minimum ability)/ dynamic rating
- New Spell = (40 * circel)/ dynamic rating
Willpower, virtues and backgrounds can not be increased with training only with roleplaying or story development.
I realize all this math is a little frightening on some people. So I will try to simplify this somewhat with some precalculations based on the formulas above.
- New ability = 20/dynamic rating
- Increase ability to 2 = 20/ dynamic rating
- Increase ability to 3 = 45/ dynamic rating
- Increase ability to 4 = 80/ dynamic rating
- Increase ability to 5 = 125/ dynamic rating
- Increase Attribute to 2 = 120/ dynamic rating
- Increase Attribute to 3 = 270/ dynamic rating
- Increase Attribute to 4 = 480/ dynamic rating
- Increase Attribute to 5 = 750/ dynamic rating
- Gaining a speciality = 10/ dynamic rating
- Increase essence level to 2 = 240
- Increase essence level to 3 = 540
- Increase essence level to 4 = 960
- Increase essence level to 5 = 1500
- Increase essence level to 6 = 2160
- Increase essence level to 7 = 2940
- Increase essence level to 8 = 3840
- Increase essence level to 9 = 4860
- Increase essence level to 10 = 6000
- New charm minimum ability 1 = 20/ dynamic rating
- New charm minimum ability 2 = 40/ dynamic rating
- New charm minimum ability 3 = 60/ dynamic rating
- New charm minimum ability 4 = 80/ dynamic rating
- New charm minimum ability 5 = 100/ dynamic rating
- Learning a terrestial spell 40/ dynamic rating
- Learning a Celectial spell 80/ dynamic rating
- Learning a Solar spell 120/ dynamic rating
