Reasons Behind Design Elements
Below, I have given the reasons behind some of the design elements in Psi morphs.
Plain Names for Sciences
I've chosen to give many of the sciences in Psi Morphs plain names that aren't very descriptive. I did this to allow players to come up with their own descriptions for what the sciences look like. Let's take Energy Blast I as an example. A player who creates a character who has this science can decide what sort of energy blast his/her character uses. It can be a blast of laser, electricity, fire, or perhaps something wild like a beam that gives several of a robot's components a positive magentic chanrge so that they repel each other (effectively tearing the robot apart.) To sum things up, I chose non-descriptive science names in order to give players creative freedom.
Combat-Oriented Negotiating Sciences
I know of at least one person who has noticed that most of the negotiating sciences in Psi Morphs are combat-oriented, and has taken this as an indication that the only type of negotiator that can be played in Psi Morphs is a combat negotiator. However, this is not my intent at all. The reason there are so few non-combat negotiating sciences is so that players don't need specific sciences for non-combat negotiating. If a player character has many ranks in Negotiating, the player need not worry about his/her character not being able to handle a specific non-combat negotiating situation due to not having the right science. So, the lack of non-combat negotiating sciences is actualy intended to encourage non-combat negotiating while also ensuring that negotiatiors will be able to participate in battles.
Simple Miscellaneous Skills System
Readers of this site may notice that there isn't a long list of miscellanoues skills. There isn't a piloting skill, computer-use skill, swimming skill, or the like. Instead, there is just Misc Mental, and Misc Physical. I put this system in place so that the variety of exciting situations that can occur won't be limited by what skills the players have chosen. If the GM wants an exciting vehicle chase, players can pilot the vehicles by using misc skills checks. If there were a more complex skill system, this idea would fall through if none of the players chose to have the piloting skill. The same could be said of a scene involving computer hacking, dangerous swimming, or any number of other things. It also means that the skills a player character can have aren't limited by what appears on a list. I feel that this simple miscellaneous skill system creates more possibilities than a more complex one.
No Instant-Kill Sciences
I wanted players to have a good chance of getting to play their characters for a long time and be part of true epic campaigns. Sciences which cause instant death regardless of remaining hp would have seriously reduced the odds of this happening.
Both Types of Psionics Can Heal
In many RPGs, there are two types of magic. Often, one type can be used to heal, while the other can not. Of course, the type that can't heal ahs other advantages. Yet, I feel that healing is such an important ability that in RPGs where only one type of magic can heal, characters who use the type of magic that can heal are far more valuable to a team than those who use the non-healing type of magic. I also feel that healing is such a vital ability that it's far too dangerous to be without a team member who uses the type of magic that can heal. So, in Psi Morphs, both Psi Energy and Psi Atom sciences can heal. I hope that this will prevent either type of psionics from becoming too much more valuable than the other, and that it will allow a team with only one psionics user to survive no matter which type of psionics the character uses. As for the strong points of the two types of psionics, I designed Psi Energy to have more raw power, and Psi Atom to be more versatile.
No Equipment System
There are several reasons why I didn't design rules for equipment. Reason number one: to keep things simpler and give players less to keep track of. Reason number two: to help maintain game balance. I have seen many cases in other RPGs where a player character becomes overly powerful as a result of certain character abilities not being overly powerful, but when combined with powerful equipment, add up to too much power. Reason number three: I have noticed that fighting over equipment and money is one of the most common causes of a lack of unity among groups of player characters. Reason number four: the biggest reason of all is to give players more creative freedom. By not including specific lists of equipment, players can come up with their own descriptions for their weapons, armor, and other equipment.
Special Powers for All
In Psi Morphs, all players characters have some sort of special powers. This is so that certain types of player characters won't be more limited than others. For example, in another RPG, a warrior character might supposedly be an excellent climber, but be unable to climb sheer surfaces because it just isn't humanly possible. On the other hand, a magic-using character might be able to climb sheer surfaces with the aid of magic. In Psi Morphs, the GM can go ahead and allow a warrior-type character to make a Misc Physical check in order to climb a sheer surface. The character might have super-sharp claws, psibernetic electromagnets in his/her paws, or any number of other special abilties. I hope that this encourages creativity among players and GMs.
Robotic Foes
In most combat-oriented RPGs, the enemies whom the players battle are living, breathing creatures who spill blood as they are wounded and killed. I made the villians in Psi Morphs robots who are not truly alive and don't bleed. I wanted to make this game at least somewhat less violent than other RPGs. Moreover, I feel that robotic foes can put a new spin on roleplaying. For example, in other RPGs, a negotiator-type character can play up on the emotions of people he/she negotiates with. In Psi Morphs, a negotiator can do so when negotiating with human NPCs, but when negotiating with emotionless robots, one must play up on things robots understand, such as logic and efficiency. I hope this will allow players to take their creativity in new directions.
Anthropomorphic Characters
Some people might be wondering why I made Psi Morphs center around anthrompomorphic animal heroes instead of human heroes. One reason is that anthropomorphs provide an element of whimsical fascination. Another reason is that anthropomorphs can inspire creative ideas. For example, if a player who has played a human character in another RPG often had his character yell a battle cry, the same player might play a lion psi morph and have his character roar mightily as he charges into battle while his mane rises and falls like a blazing red fire. At some point, that player might add some humor to the game by commenting on how he now has to spend a lot more money on shampoo than he did as a human. If another player is playing a bird psi morph, one of that psi morph's friends might feel jealous of
the bird's flight capability. Still another player miught play an elephant psi morph who used to be small and weak, but is now huge and very strong. Perhaps he was so happy about this at first, but now feels awful because his size and strength sometimes cause him to accidentally hurt people. A player might even do something highly unexpected such as play a physically weak elephant psi morph (perhaps one with a body type of limber) who was very strong as a human and was supposed to become even stronger as a result of the transformation, but a glitch caused him to become weaker instead. The player might enjoy portraying the emotions the psi morphs would experience as a result. I hope that the use of anthromoporphic animal characters will inspire much creativity in players and GMs.
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