Selecting Options
From D20advanced
Now you've learned how to help your players create characters, got some ideas for your world, and run the game. You've been given a whole toolbox of possibilities with these rules. But are you actually expected to use the whole darn book? Not at all. In fact, this section will help you fine-tune the options in your game to make it play just the way you want, and how to make sure that your game's rules won't trip your players up along the way.
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Your World
The first thing you need to decide is what sort of game you want to run for your group. What kind of world is it? How would you "sell" it to your group? What makes it exciting to play in, and what makes it different from other worlds they could be adventuring in?
Campaign Era
Decide which era your game belongs in. If you're using an alternate world or alternate history, don't worry if the dates don't line up exactly. The goal with selecting a campaign era is to give your players an understanding for just what they can expect to come across in your game in terms of available technology and the lifestyle they'll be expected to live.
- Stone Age
- Classical Age
- Medieval Age
- Renaissance
- Industrial Age
- Information Age
- Fusion Age
- Gravity Age
- Energy Age
- Cosmic Age
Campaign Feel
You should also select your campaign's feel to help your players better know what sort of game they're going to be playing. If they show up expecting something four-color and you want to run something gritty, you could have problems in terms of expectations and what sorts of characters they'll bring, so it's important to clear this up early as well.
- Utopian
- Four-Color
- Typical
- Gritty
- Against All Odds
- Hopeless
Realism
Deciding just how realistic your game will be is also useful in helping your players understand what sorts of characters they'll be able to bring to it, though it isn't as essential as the other considerations in this section. It is necessary for some calculations they might need in character creation and during gameplay, though.
- Mundane
- Cinematic
- Epic
Genre
As a final bit of help in guiding your players' decisions, you want to make it clear what sort of genre your game is going to be. After all, you don't want a bunch of knights and wizards showing up for a futuristic space opera or a few plucky explorers for a spandex-and-capes superheroes games.
Character Creation
You'll have to be clear with your players from the get-go exactly what sorts of options are available to their characters. As a rule, players like to run wild and scrounge up every option they can find in the rules for their characters. It's up to you to decide what is and what isn't appropriate for the game.
Power Level & Character Points
Probably the first thing on your players' minds will be how many character points they start with, and what the game's starting power level will be. Set a starting number which you're comfortable with and decide how you want to allow for advancement.
PC Templates
Are PC Templates available? Are they the only option, or can players use the normal point-buy method if they'd rather do that? Will characters advance using templates or point-buy?
Abilities
This is a good time to make sure that players are clear on what are appropriate benchmarks for their character's abilities. For most games, a 10 Intelligence score does not mean "the smart kid in high-school", it means "a genius attributable only to supernatural ability".
Skills
Are you adding any new skills to the game? Are there any particular specializations for skills like Survival or Expertise which the players should know about? How about skills like Toughness and Might? Are you removing skills from your game in favor of another option?
Feats
Are new feats available to your players? Are there any groups of feats which you're disallowing for your game?
FX
How are you going to allow FX in your game? Are you going to pre-construct FX templates for your players to buy? Are there any FX you're removing from the game? How many points should players be allowed to spend on their FX?
- High-FX
- Moderate-FX
- Restricted-FX
- Gear-FX Only
- Excising Specific FX
Gear
Depending on what level technology has advanced to in your game, different levels of gear might be available. Are players allowed to make use of Devices or just Equipment? Can players purchase Vehicles or Structures? Will the optional Wealth rules be used in your game?
Action
Finally, you need to decide how you'll be handling the action in your games. How are players expected (and allowed) to deal with the challenges they'll face? What rules should they be expected to know?
Combat
Are you going to be making use of tactical options? Will you use a battlemat? Are you going to use the standard Combat Advantage, or do you prefer Attacks of Opportunity? Will you let characters make use of Maneuvers?
Environment
Are you going to be making use of Zones during the game?
Dramatic Interactions
Are you going to make use of dramatic interactions How about Reputation? Will you use options like Mental Strain or Taint?
