04-20-2014, 05:31 PM
Alright I'm back.
Just for context: I'm coming from the perspective of someone who has played the game across mediums and as both an admin and a player. I believe that players who put a lot into the system are going to get a lot (i.e. XP) back and the cost of increasing Arete and Spheres is just the nature of the beast.
For the purposes this argument I'm ignoring analogies to other systems (rank in Werewolf or Disciplines in Vampire) because I really don't think comparing the three main "splat" systems does anyone any favors. If anyone wants a treatise on why Werewolf and Vampire are more costly from a survival standpoint I will write another post.
Arete is the dice pool a Mage draws upon to do the things a Mage does. I recognize that current level x 8 is steep. But this setting is generous with its XP allotment. If a character is active in the system, the ST will reward him/her with XP. This has been a constant across sites and individual admins.
In an ideal situation the XP justifying an increase in Arete and the conversation about the character's advancement would be somewhat aligned. I think we have that ideal situation. I haven't seen a lot of Seekings happen when the character wasn't ready.
Seekings already don't cost anything if you fail them under another ST Handbook ruling. If you fail you just take the XP you would have dumped into the Arete boost and use it to bolster your PC's stats so the next time they have a Seeking they're more likely to succeed. This may be by buying off Flaws or buying new Spheres or boosting their Willpower. Maybe buying up Attributes that are weak.
We already as a system have conversation with the ST (Samael, in this case) before a Seeking happens. He, as far as I'm aware, has to approve player-ST arrangements for anything that isn't an Awakening or an Arete 4+ Seeking. So someone might be going into an Arete 2 or 3 Seeking not being ready, necessarily, but the conversation has happened so that Sam is aware the PC is Seeking.
I recently have run a Seeking where the PC was not ready but Sam and the Avatar decided to test the PC anyway. It made for great RP and conversation about where to better spend the XP and potential future RP to change the PC's mindset and increase the chances of a future successful Seeking. But I don't feel as though a reduced cost to the Arete increase would have been beneficial.
If anything eliminating the XP cost will reduce the drive to RP efficiently, which is what Court is doing. Certain players don't have a ton of time to RP and when they do have the time they choose to do "meaty" scenes that will affect their character's worldview and increase the likelihood of their accepting a Seeking if the Avatar thrusts one upon them. That's awesome and ought to be encouraged.
If the concern is that it's difficult to gain XP as a player with minimal time - I would say continue to RP efficiently. Write mood posts or run one-shots and/or SLs. Devote time when it comes time to write XP journals to the Character Development section. Do something that shows the admin you're thinking about your PC's development even if you aren't online 24/7. It will generate XP to pay for Arete boosts.
Oh shit I'm getting dragged out again that's my 2 cents bye!
Just for context: I'm coming from the perspective of someone who has played the game across mediums and as both an admin and a player. I believe that players who put a lot into the system are going to get a lot (i.e. XP) back and the cost of increasing Arete and Spheres is just the nature of the beast.
For the purposes this argument I'm ignoring analogies to other systems (rank in Werewolf or Disciplines in Vampire) because I really don't think comparing the three main "splat" systems does anyone any favors. If anyone wants a treatise on why Werewolf and Vampire are more costly from a survival standpoint I will write another post.
Arete is the dice pool a Mage draws upon to do the things a Mage does. I recognize that current level x 8 is steep. But this setting is generous with its XP allotment. If a character is active in the system, the ST will reward him/her with XP. This has been a constant across sites and individual admins.
In an ideal situation the XP justifying an increase in Arete and the conversation about the character's advancement would be somewhat aligned. I think we have that ideal situation. I haven't seen a lot of Seekings happen when the character wasn't ready.
Seekings already don't cost anything if you fail them under another ST Handbook ruling. If you fail you just take the XP you would have dumped into the Arete boost and use it to bolster your PC's stats so the next time they have a Seeking they're more likely to succeed. This may be by buying off Flaws or buying new Spheres or boosting their Willpower. Maybe buying up Attributes that are weak.
We already as a system have conversation with the ST (Samael, in this case) before a Seeking happens. He, as far as I'm aware, has to approve player-ST arrangements for anything that isn't an Awakening or an Arete 4+ Seeking. So someone might be going into an Arete 2 or 3 Seeking not being ready, necessarily, but the conversation has happened so that Sam is aware the PC is Seeking.
I recently have run a Seeking where the PC was not ready but Sam and the Avatar decided to test the PC anyway. It made for great RP and conversation about where to better spend the XP and potential future RP to change the PC's mindset and increase the chances of a future successful Seeking. But I don't feel as though a reduced cost to the Arete increase would have been beneficial.
If anything eliminating the XP cost will reduce the drive to RP efficiently, which is what Court is doing. Certain players don't have a ton of time to RP and when they do have the time they choose to do "meaty" scenes that will affect their character's worldview and increase the likelihood of their accepting a Seeking if the Avatar thrusts one upon them. That's awesome and ought to be encouraged.
If the concern is that it's difficult to gain XP as a player with minimal time - I would say continue to RP efficiently. Write mood posts or run one-shots and/or SLs. Devote time when it comes time to write XP journals to the Character Development section. Do something that shows the admin you're thinking about your PC's development even if you aren't online 24/7. It will generate XP to pay for Arete boosts.
Oh shit I'm getting dragged out again that's my 2 cents bye!
Look. I have school. And RP. And all my other time is taken up by sheer, unreasoning panic. I don't have time for Reddit.
-- ixphaelaeon
-- ixphaelaeon