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Greetings all.
Getting back into FASA and running a game.
I am revisiting all my old house rules and ways to make combat quicker, dropping the whole AP system because newer gamers I found dislike it... but as I was looking through my old notes, I had a little section I never completed and I called it, Character Advantages and disadvantages.. has anyone done anything like this?
thanks
CN
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Never done anything like this is FASA Star Trek, but it's a fairly integral part of the character creation process for a couple other systems, like the HERO system (ie. Champions: RPG) or the James Bond RPG from back in the day. I'd be interested to see where you were going with it.Originally Posted by Captain Nikon
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I was mostly curious. I Wanted to add a little extra flavor to the game. I have nothing really.
Moderator
The first thing I did with FASA back in 1982 was to ignore or at least drastically simplify the AP system (usually ignoring it).
As for Advantages/Disadvantages as a cohesive system, it really began with Champions (pre Hero System) and was soon snapped up by Steve Jackson and incorporated into GURPS, which made it ubiquitous. I never really found a way of incorporating them into FASA, short of a complete rewriting of the chargen system, which while I did a lot of streamlining I never felt up to incorporating. The Champions/GURPS version of Ads/Disads was pretty clunky and it wasn't until I started with the ICON system back in 1999/2000 that I started using them.
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Back in the day, I gave the players 30-40 points to use on "Other Than Listed" skills during the background education process. There was never enough depth to the character IMO until they enter the academy, which is fine if all you ever wanted to be was a Starfleet officer, but the game never allowed for a "life before the fleet". So I thought the extra points would draw out a background from the players (who always seemed stunted by the Trivia category...). Then after the player was done, Id take a few minutes and go the "so, why'd you pick that?" , and they would have explain their logic - if any lol- and I'd jot it down. From those little threads they would build back stories. Since FASA Trek is a skill base system, the more you have the more "advantages" you have, and those extra background skills emphasize that.
Whew sorry too much typing
My 2 quatloos
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I treated Action Points like training wheels for new players. Once they and I knew what they could do in a Turn, there was rarely a need to consult the points except in highly time-sensitive moments or distinct DEX disparities. And in those cases, counting AP becomes a tension point just as tallying mods and hearing the die results.
Once the math of Action Points is understood by all participants, the flow of the dramatic story can occur.
Guy McLimore Jr. in recounting the time he GM'ed for Koenig and Doohan; Walter asked if he could do a particular set of actions. Guy didn't argue, he said "It's Walter Koening and he can do what he wants to." Or words and sentiment to that effect. The tale related around a recreation of the K-7 bar fight.
I relate the story to the point that Walter described a set of actions he felt Chekov could do. The GM agreed in this instance. No individual points were talllied, leaving the drama and excitement of the moment to direct the flow of the story with the given results dictated by the final die rolls.
Yes. Action Points hurt. Stick with them a bit and the pain goes away without necessarily, creating new work-arounds.
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As to character creation being light, one trick to look at is in Pre-Academy.
Instead of (INT/10)/2 d10+5 on each of two tables, take INT/10 d10 on each table. This creates a higher max potential with an equivalent average on each of more skills.
Example:
FASA 1e/2e: INT 70 = 3d10(+5 ea) and 4d10(+5 ea) = 105 max. Avg 10.5 each roll/skill = 73.5 avg total
JackPhoton: INT 70 = 7d10 and 7d10 = 140 max. Avg 5.5 each roll/skill = 77 avg total
Of course, 10.5 is 10 and 5.5 is 5 therefore 7x10 = 70avg total and 14x5 = 70 avg total.
While it's possible to get 35 more points in my method, you are only getting 3.5 points more than the FASA average on average while distributing what you do get across a greater choice of skills -if desired. And technically as you see, FASA and my alternate technically gets the same average of 70pts. So it is not a power-player booster of any kind.
Jack Photon character creation is a fleshed-out version of FASA, focused on 1st edition stylings. Revised Attributes, Revised Skills, Revised Academy and terms, Added Awards, Medals and Purple Heart danger tables, Added Lifepath and Family Heredity, Integrated and revised Contact Team... Pretty sure there's more.
Preview and download:
Book 1: Lifeform Readings here at the Internet Archive.
https://archive.org/details/b-01-lif...-full-q-230101
Book 2: Piece of the Action, Revised rulesets, added psionics, Much more
https://archive.org/details/b-02-pie...n-med-q-230101
Book 3: Memory Bank Alpha collects all the societal background stuff
https://archive.org/details/b-03-mem...a-med-q-230101
Book 4: Balance of Powers is to the baddies what Book 1 is to the goodies, inc. Trader Captains.
https://archive.org/details/b-04-bal...rs-hi-q-240201
Book 5: Memory Bank Omega, the Adversary's version of Book 3 Appendices.
>>>Pending Release Feb 29, 2024.<<<
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