Versatility and Simplicity

            When I first began creating classes, races, spells, etc for other systems, one of the things I noticed was the underlying complexity of the other systems.  It always seemed that as the character gained more and more levels, they became more and more difficult to manage in terms of abilities, equipment, and other items.  This is most likely one reason why so many gaming groups I have been in have many low level campaigns, and so few high level campaigns....each person needing 3 or 4 minutes to figure out what they can do, and will do, is just too slow!  So, one of the things I continually keep in mind while I am designing this system is to keep it simple.  If the system is simple, actions are resolved faster, and players don't get bogged down in decision-making between which ability is best to use.

            The problem with simplicity is the current "philosophy" that you have to sacrifice versatility for that simplicity.  This is untrue, and to understand why this is untrue we have to understand how the philosophy came to be, which is the topic of next week's blog "concept shoehorning."  Versatility represents the ability of a system to create the exact image of the character the player envisioned.  Being able to create a character that can perform the actions that the player wants is a major reason I started this undertaking.  Other systems have fallen short of this goal.  Unfortunately, those other systems soon discover this, and try to patch the "holes" of their system, which in turn creates power creep and an even greater amount of "concept shoehorning."

            Versatility and simplicity are the two goals I kept in mind while building this system from the ground up.  Trying to keep the game energetic, fun, and thrilling comes from these two fundamental principles.  They are what have made certain games so enjoyable, and other games (that didn't stay true to these principles) not so enjoyable.  One of my friends that I gamed with for over a decade had a rule "If it requires more than one sheet of paper to keep track of my character, I don't want to play it."  Versatility and simplicity are the two main strengths of the system I am creating, and I hope you will all enjoy these aspects of the game.

The dagger is one of the simpliest weapons, yet is exquisitely versatile in the ways to use it, and the number of uses it has.  The one pictured above is from Mark Banfield's website.  Stop on by and view his selection, they are beautiful!  http://www.banfieldblades.com/index.html