Character Advancement!

Post by **ManWithDoor** » Wed Apr 26, 2017 6:33 pm

So everybody likes the sweet, sweet rewards of well-earned EXP. I am no exception. However I've found that, in general, PbP characters advance a heck of a lot slower than Tabletop Games. Now part of that is simply the format. The Boss Battle in the Prologue took us weeks to get through, while it would have only taken an hour or two if it had been done with everyone Live, and in person. So Scenes & Adventures simply take more time. But unfortunately that means you can play a character for a year or more, and they barely improve at all.

So here's what I'd like to propose (and you can approve/disapprove/discuss in the standard OOC forum to keep this one clean). Instead of giving you a straight amount of EXP, instead at the end of each Chapter I will give you Upgrades that you can use however you wish. So here's what I would like to give as an Advancement Reward for the Prologue:

+2 Ability Dots (If you want to go above 3 in a Skill, you need GM Approval though)
+1 Background or Willpower Dot
+1 Sphere Dot
Sphere Specialty Unlocked: Foci no longer needed for your Primary Sphere. If you do use Foci anyways, -1 TN to Cast.

Now this does mean that different PCs will get different "bang for their buck" versus straight EXP, but this lets you upgrade your character a lot, and however you want to focus.

So again, if you want to generally discuss, have that conversation in the standard OOC. However, once you decide how you'd like to upgrade your Character using the above guidelines, post your Upgrades in this Thread (ex. Athletics 1 to 2, Melee 2 to 3, Resources 0 to 1, Time 2 to 3, Primary Sphere is Time).

Muskrat · Post by **Muskrat** » Thu Apr 27, 2017 5:47 pm

So, under the system you propose, will we also have opportunities to boost things like our ability scores and willpower?

Muskrat · Post by **Muskrat** » Fri May 05, 2017 10:22 pm

I am requesting GM approval to increase my Technology skill from 3 to 4.

Post by **ManWithDoor** » Fri May 05, 2017 10:28 pm

@Muskrat - Approved. Virtual Adept and such, no problem.

Post by **Trogdor** » Mon May 08, 2017 4:45 pm

One of my goals is to get a mentor in San Francisco. Of course. one dot doesn't give you much of a mentor. And the way mentors are written, there doesn't seem to be a way to upgrade an existing mentor. If you have a one-dot, inexperienced mentor to start, it looks like you have to swap mentors if you put more points in and want to get a better one.

It seems like a better way to scale the background is to make the mentor as good as you think he (or she)ought to be and then say that the dots tell how much the mentor is willing to help. One dot is not much help, He (or she) doesn't know much about you and isn't willing to give much help. But as you get to know each other better (and put more dots in the background), the mentor is willing to do more for you.

In the alternative, it seems like building a decent library would be a laudable goal. I could always start along that line.

Of course, even with points for backgrounds it's going to take a long time to build up a background to the point where it's useful (especially since we're going to want to raise Willpower too.)

This shows the disadvantage of simply assigning points to backgrounds, Its great for the PC when it's going from 3 to 4 or 4 to 5. But it's painful when it goes from 0 to 1.

Post by **ManWithDoor** » Mon May 08, 2017 5:10 pm

I agree with your interpretation of Mentor. That's usually how I've considered it in the past. Upgrading the Mentor Dots is improving your relationship, and like you said, how much they're willing to help you out. May also necessitate Plot Hooks of you helping with their projects occasionally, but that's to be expected.

If you want, it's a worse EXP exchange rate, but I'll allow you to use Ability upgrade Dots for Backgrounds as well (but not vice versa). So if you only want to take your Do from 2 to 3, and use the other Ability Dot for Backgrounds instead, you've got that option.

Post by **Trogdor** » Mon May 08, 2017 5:37 pm

Alas, that's robbing Peter to pay Paul, and doesn't get me very far in the long run.

Would you be willing to let me put two dots in Do, to bring it up to 4? I was really hurting from it only being able to start at level 2.

Post by **ManWithDoor** » Tue May 09, 2017 3:03 am

Sure, that's fine. Do at 4.

Post by **Trogdor** » Wed May 10, 2017 1:12 pm

I've just about figured out advancement, but I'm still debating on what Sphere to raise. So far I've got:

+2 Do
+1 Mentor

That leaves me with +1 Sphere. So far I'm looking at either getting to 1 Correspondence, 1 Prime, or 4 MInd (to allow astral projection). Obviously the Mind buy is by far the most efficient. But it seems like so many things in Mage require multiple spheres that starting to raise the others might be a good idea. Any thoughts from the peanut gallery?

Post by **ManWithDoor** » Wed May 10, 2017 1:18 pm

Can't do Mind 4. You're Arete 3, and that won't be changing for a while. Your Sphere rating is capped by your Arete. So you're going to have to spread out. If you're looking for utility, Correspondence is always great (which is why I think at least 2 of you have invested in it). Once you get to Corr 2, you could heal / do mind stuff at a distance. If you're looking to Create stuff, then moving towards Prime 2 is where things open up. You could create a Wall of Thorns out of nothing at that stage (Life 3 / Prime 2). Stuff like that.

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