Curious question about adding to character creation

[Captain Nikon]

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

[DreadPirateJim]

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

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.

[Captain Nikon]

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.

I was mostly curious. I Wanted to add a little extra flavor to the game. I have nothing really.

[Owen E Oulton]

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.

[UFC465537]

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