Role Playing Games - Character Guide 1

Introduction: In role playing games, they win through skill and skill alone. No, they don't cause massive damage in a single blow. They can't take hit after hit without faltering. They can't hide in the shadow of a nearby sentry. They are simply, routinely successful. They are more likely than most to hit a foe (as long as it isn't a defender), or dodge a blow (if it doesn't come from an attacker), or spot an ambush (that isn't being initiated by a trickster). These are the achievers of the RPG world, the characters who win simply because they are better at succeeding an action than others.

In QoTR, the achiever is represented by the Aptitude preference. These characters routinely get bonuses on checks, improving their chance of succeeding whatever action they take.

Player Tactics: When you elect to play an achiever, understand both the strengths and weaknesses of the character type. An achiever has a high chance of succeeding any action, but it is not as good at any individual action as a specialist in that style. An achiever can't deal as much damage as an attacker, avoid attacks as effectively as a defender, or sneak as well as a trickster. An achiever minimizes the advantages of enemy specialties and maximizes the impact of their weaknesses. Conversely, the achiever maximizes any other specialties it may have (whatever you are good at, being able to succeed more often only improves the value) and minimizes the impact of those areas it leaves open.

An achiever is not strictly a front-lines fighter. This isn't to say they are weak, but they should not be put into a position that emphasizes immediate and direct confrontation with the foe (unless, of course, they are also skilled attackers!) An achiever works best when it is in a position to gauge its opponent's strengths and weaknesses, so it can capitalize on them. If the opponent is weak against stealth, the achiever might take to the shadows to claim an advantage. If the foe's defenses are poor, the achiever should attack as hard as it can.

On the flip side, the achiever is not necessarily a jack-of-all-trades. In role playing games in general, and definitely in QoTR, most characters are specialized in more than one broad area. If you've got it, flaunt it, as the saying goes. And if you are an achiever, you've got more of it than most. Adding specialization as an achiever compounds the threat of whatever your other specialties are. An attacker or blaster may be scary for their ability to deal phenomenal damage, but when they also have a good chance of hitting so they can deal that damage, they become tremendously dangerous.

Although all combinations have merit, achievers often work best when combined with specializations that rely on succeeding actions. Attackers, defenders, and tricksters who double as achievers maximize the value of both specialties.

GM Tactics: Achievers generally make good choices of opponents in an RPG. They are particularly effective as "elite" foes--not quite "boss" enemies but still ranking above "fodder" opponents. Used wisely, an achiever can put players through a lot of stress while not presenting a tremendous threat of imminent destruction.

An achiever hits often, and is generally difficult to hit. Other specialties aside, they tend to have less impact on any action than most. You probably want to keep numbers roughly even in battles against achievers, since hit after hit will quickly wear a party down, and achievers might have some trouble when faced with large groups--high success chance or not, the dice will roll high eventually! This is a primary reason for using achievers as elite foes, since such opponents tend to fight the characters with similar numbers.

From a game master's standpoint, adding a heavy offensive specialty to an achiever is a dangerous proposition. As always, challenging the players is good, but if the party is wiped out, well, there goes the story! However, adding a defensive specialty to an achiever can create a particularly annoying opponent, and one who (due to its improved ability to hit) poses a credible threat. Other miscellaneous specialties, such as trickster or speedster, also make good combinations for an achiever.

Achievers are the masters of succeeding actions--frequently, reliably, and without significant cost. They may not pack the raw power of other character types, but their skill and versatility allows them to win through either exploitation or attrition. Whatever your other specialty may be, skill as an achiever improves it--a fact that all players should use, but GMs in particular should take to heart as both a promise and a warning.

Copyright © 2006 Dustin Schwerman.

Dustin Schwerman has been playing RPGs for over a decade, using an analytical approach to critically evaluate the game systems (and so to create the most powerful characters he could get away with). He used the extensive experience gained doing so to create his own game, Quests of the Realm. QoTR focuses on unlimited character customization, relying on its author's understanding to detect and counter game-breaking power plays. Though balanced, QoTR still allows players to create highly effective characters and run them through heroic story lines. To contact Dustin, read more of his writings, or learn more about Quests of the Realm, visit his web site, Quellian-dyrae [http://www.quelliandyrae.com].

Role Playing Games--Character Guide 5

Introduction: Among the most feared of character types in a role playing game is the blaster. Whether a fire-throwing mage, machine-gun-toting soldier, or bomb-launching robot, these characters are respected not only for their ability to do phenomenal damage, but to attack multiple opponents at once. Their powers rarely come without cost, however, and the failure of their attacks is a larger setback for them than the failure of an attacker's stable strikes.

Blasters are the tide-turners of battles, able to attack multiple foes at once for high damage. However, they are not generally as good at attackers at causing solid damage turn after turn. In some games, they are limited in the number of times they can use their powers. In some (such as QoTR), they require extra time or effort to prepare their powerful attacks.

In Quests of the Realm, the blaster is represented by the direct preference.

Player Tactics: When playing a blaster, you should take care to understand your limits. Oftentimes, a large-area attack used in a thick melee will damage your allies as well as your enemies, limiting your effectiveness. If you have a limit to the number of times you can use your high-powered attacks, make sure they count, and be careful if you expect to meet several encounters before getting a chance to recover. If you require extra time or effort to utilize your skills, do what you can to ready your attacks during lulls, before battles, or in other safe periods as allowed by the game.

You don't want to go overboard with a blaster. One way or another, it will likely lead to burn out. Just because you can attack multiple foes doesn't mean you will succeed to hit them all, and there are often abilities available that can counteract an attack for all involved. In QoTR, for example, defenders have an ability called "intervene", which allows them to negate an action in its entirety. A successful intervention, thus, can counter a blaster's powerful attacks for all involved, resulting in wasted energy.

Bear in mind both your damage potential and your ability to attack multiple opponents. Together, these advantages make you the best choice for dealing with large groups of fodder foes. Don't waste extra effort dealing with individual opponents. With a blaster, it is all about getting the most out of every action.

Although all combinations can be effective, a blaster/attacker creates the potential for incredible damage, and also ensures that you have something to fall back on when you can't use your high-powered attacks. A blaster/speedster can get off its attacks faster, which leads to swifter victory but also a higher chance of burnout. Adding a defensive ability to a blaster makes for a fearsome opponent, while a blaster/trickster can wipe out entire enemy forces without even being seen.

GM Tactics: Putting blasters up against the party is always a risk. Since they are such capable damage dealers, and can attack the entire party at once, they are incredibly dangerous opponents. A blaster of roughly equal level to the party, backed up by other opponents, can make for a good challenge. A higher-level boss blaster is a deadly threat, but might not last long enough to be useful, since most parties will concentrate immediate and overwhelming attack to defeat such a foe before it can demolish them. Groups of elite or fodder blasters create a complicated scenario, since everyone has to defend against every attack from the enemy group. Generally speaking, if you want the party to have a good chance of winning, you should keep the number of blasters in any enemy group low.

As mentioned, the best way to use enemy blasters is to join them with other character types. A particularly effective tactic is to get a blaster with strong defenses. There is a good chance that the party will concentrate (and waste) significant effort on that opponent, allowing other foes the opening. If they don't, well, then they risk the power of the blaster's attacks.

In role playing games, blasters are feared for their ability to deal significant damage to multiple foes at once. Players can use blasters to eradicate large groups of fodder foes quickly and deal significant harm to boss opponents. However, overuse of a blaster's capabilities is likely to result in burnout, especially over a prolonged fight or series of fights. Enemy blasters can be devastating to the party, and are best kept to a minimum. In all cases, the ideal way to use blasters is not to try to pour everything they have into maximum-power assaults, but to use their puissant powers with deliberate decisiveness.

Copyright © 2006 Dustin Schwerman.

Dustin Schwerman has been playing RPGs for over a decade, using an analytical approach to critically evaluate the game systems (and so to create the most powerful characters he could get away with). He used the extensive experience gained doing so to create his own game, Quests of the Realm. QoTR focuses on unlimited character customization, relying on its author's understanding to detect and counter game-breaking power plays. Though balanced, QoTR still allows players to create highly effective characters and run them through heroic story lines. To contact Dustin, read more of his writings, or learn more about Quests of the Realm, visit his web site, Quellian-dyrae [http://www.quelliandyrae.com].

Role Playing Games--Character Guide 2

Introduction: Its stats are low, its abilities limited. Why should your character, a mighty warrior skilled in both offensive and defensive arts, fear this foe? You strike with confidence, only for a quick augmentation to increase its defense for the action, blocking your attack. It returns the blow, scoring a solid hit and improving its damage--and adding in one of its most potent special abilities to further augment the effect. Wary now, you ply your own powers to defeat its next two moves, but you can only use these abilities so often. Your opponent, however, confidently continues to activate two or three of its abilities on every attack.

In a role playing game, this sort of character type can be referred to as the "user", a character who can quickly but temporarily improve otherwise low stats and/or activate its powerful abilities very frequently. The user is not a jack of all trades, but a versatility specialist. They may not have all the powers of other specialists, but those they do have they can use nearly as well, and much more often.

In Quests of the Realm, the advantages of the user are reflected in the ARN preference.

Player Tactics: In QoTR, a user--that is, a character with the ARN preference--has two main advantages. They can increase their stats on a by-action basis, and they can use their special preference aspects more often. Other RPGs might have characters that function as users with one or both advantages to varying degrees. Being a user is much less straightforward than being an attacker or defender. The advantages of the user--especially in the area of being able to use special abilities more often--can vary strongly based on the game.

Thus, the first step to effectively playing a user is to understand which advantages your character has, and to what degree. If you have both, you might also want to consider which you plan to use most often, since using one might impact the other. In QoTR, for example, simply activating the action improvement is itself a special ability, and so carries a correspondent cost in and of itself.

If you expect to most frequently use stat improvements, understand that while you can probably face a character so specialized on its own terms, you are unlikely to overpower its advantage. Much like with the achiever described in article one, you are skilled in all arts, and you have a strong advantage over the standard specialist if you specialize as both a user and the other specialty. Unlike with achievers, users are not so much the masters of succeeding actions as being able to improve the value of their actions. Thus, the best way to use stat improvements, much like with an achiever, is to minimize the foe's advantages (as by improving defensive stats against a powerful attacker) and maximize its disadvantages (improving stealth skills against unsubtle foes).

If you prefer the significant ability access, use it but don't get overconfident. A user might be able to utilize its abilities more often, but that does not mean they can do so forever. A user is also more likely to tap its special abilities, which can lead to burnout if they aren't careful. You might also want to consider not overusing your abilities. Use them only as needed, and win through attrition. This is particularly effective if you also have some sort of defensive specialty.

All combinations are valid, and the user specialty combines as well as any, but creating a user/tanker (or better, a user/defender/tanker) creates a character with a very good chance of winning through attrition. Combining user with achiever and/or enhancer creates an incredibly versatile character.

GM Tactics: Users can make very effective opponents thanks to their versatility. Generally, they aren't necessarily the best fodder foes, since they don't tend to get the chance to showcase all of their talents. Also, multiple users in the same battle can make for something of a headache to run. Users, thus, are best utilized as "boss" enemies, and can be particularly effective as recurring villains. Even better, a single opponent of similar power to the characters can make for a very effective user. Such a villain can stress the characters greatly by engaging them when they separate, attacking one at a time and always using tactics that work best against them. Such an opponent should probably make use of a defensive specialty as well, and it certainly wouldn't hurt for it to also be a troubleshooter--particularly, one who can teleport away when the going gets tough.

Users in numbers can be a bit more deadly than you might want, mainly due to the attrition aspect. Such battles promise to be long, grueling, and probably overly complicated, with a reasonable chance that the characters will be slogging away through most of the fight and then be virtually unable to utilize their powers and forced to retreat or fall after an hour or so of difficult fighting. Not the most entertaining scene.

In a role playing game, users are the masters of versatility. Whether they use their powers frequently or boost whatever stat is necessary to the situation, they often seem to always have another trick or tactic to ply. Players can take advantage of this versatility to improve whatever other specialties they possess, or utilize it in its own right to claim an advantage over foes. Villains, too, can find this build advantageous--especially for thoroughly annoying the players!

Copyright © 2006 Dustin Schwerman.

Dustin Schwerman has been playing RPGs for over a decade, using an analytical approach to critically evaluate the game systems (and so to create the most powerful characters he could get away with). He used the extensive experience gained doing so to create his own game, Quests of the Realm. QoTR focuses on unlimited character customization, relying on its author's understanding to detect and counter game-breaking power plays. Though balanced, QoTR still allows players to create highly effective characters and run them through heroic story lines. To contact Dustin, read more of his writings, or learn more about Quests of the Realm, visit his web site, Quellian-dyrae [http://www.quelliandyrae.com].

Yakuza 4 Trailer Gives a Beatdown

Yakuza 4 is coming to North America on March 15, and a gentleman with an oddly pleasant voice would like to introduce gamers to the fighting styles of its main characters. Although Yakuza 4 continues the story of semi-reformed gangster Kazuma Kiryu, it will have three additional playable main characters. Players will experience all of their individual stories, which will weave together into the game's climax.

Here is the trailer, showing off the combat moves of the four characters:

View the original article here

Role Playing Games--Character Guide 6

Introduction: The majority of role playing games available rely on dice to create a system of random chance. As such, one can never truly predict how things will go. Even an attacker, blaster, or speedster can't guarantee victory before the foe gets a chance to make a crucial attack. Even an achiever, trickster, or defender can't assume that a foe will never succeed to score a hit. Eventually, sometimes even often, characters will take hits. If anything in an RPG is guaranteed, it is this simple fact.

How to deal with it? Play a tanker. Tankers are the characters who take the hits and keep on going. They do not fall easily, do not succumb to single blows. All tankers are alike in their ability to take the hits, but in some games, they also heal rapidly over time, making them virtually impossible to wear down through attrition and compounding their incredible stamina with constant recuperation.

In Quests of the Realm, tankers are represented by the endure preference.

Player Tactics: The tanker, like the defender, is primarily a protective specialty. In QoTR, tankers supplement their stamina with some functional options. They can sacrifice their resilience to improve their actions, and can ignore some of the penalties that come from being badly injured (and, indeed, gain bonuses instead!) This isn't always the case, however, and being able to take a lot doesn't matter much if you can't likewise dish it out.

The tanker, thus, is a specialty that helps to maximize other advantages more than granting benefits of its own. Since a tanker doesn't fall easily, it has more chances to make use of its abilities. When other characters are falling back to get healing, the tanker is still going strong, possibly even stronger than it was in the beginning of the fight.

A tanker should never go for minimal impact. Do whatever you can to pester your enemies so they turn their attention onto you. As with a defender, your value to the party, other specialties aside, is strongly limited if foes elect not to attack you. On the other hand, don't let the value of your strength defeat itself. Tankers are hard to take down--but not impossible. You want to draw attacks off of your allies, but much as with a user, if you rely too heavily on your ability to resist hard, it will be used up when you need it later.

Although any combination can prove effective, tankers do lend themselves to certain other specialties. A user/tanker, used wisely, is a master of winning through attrition. A blaster/tanker might risk a high chance of burnout, but played with some caution, can devastate the enemy force without fearing being taken down quickly due to the perceived threat of blasters. An enhancer/tanker, able to take the hits and heal, is virtually immortal on the field, while a defender/tanker is not only hard to hit, but also requires more hits to drop (and may be able to lower the damage of those hits it takes, to boot).

GM Tactics: Tankers share many of the same advantages of defenders for villain design. They make great boss opponents, especially if a lot of the players have high-damage characters that would otherwise eradicate a boss in one or two hits. If tankers can gain in effectiveness as they are injured (as in QoTR), the challenge of such a battle increases as the characters get closer to winning, not unlike in some video game RPGs.

Attacker/tanker fodder opponents are a pretty safe bet. Since they are lower level than the party, their ability to take more hits and deal more harm make them credible threats. And, since their tactics are straightforward, the GM can use them without having to worry about complicated strategy. As with defenders, though, tanker fodder can mean a much longer battle. On the flip side, they're a great choice if the party contains a slightly-too-effective blaster.

Tanker elites can prove effective, especially if combined with more powerful allies. A trickster/achiever boss, for example, with a couple of tanker elites can make for an interesting challenge. All in all, the tanker specialty is among the best choice for villains--it makes them effective without making them unnecessarily devastating, and nicely complements any other specialty they have.

Tankers can take the hits and keep on fighting. They lack powerful offensive abilities of their own, but if they have a halfway decent fighting specialty to back them up, they can win their fights through attrition. Players should value the added survivability of tankers, since a player's character is naturally subject to more attacks--and more successful attacks--over the course of a long-running game than any individual villain. However, enemies too can benefit from a tanker's capabilities, allowing them to actually stay in the fight long enough to cause an effect, even against a group of high-damage characters.

Copyright © 2006 Dustin Schwerman.

Dustin Schwerman has been playing RPGs for over a decade, using an analytical approach to critically evaluate the game systems (and so to create the most powerful characters he could get away with). He used the extensive experience gained doing so to create his own game, Quests of the Realm. QoTR focuses on unlimited character customization, relying on its author's understanding to detect and counter game-breaking power plays. Though balanced, QoTR still allows players to create highly effective characters and run them through heroic story lines. To contact Dustin, read more of his writings, or learn more about Quests of the Realm, visit his web site, Quellian-dyrae [http://www.quelliandyrae.com].

The Psychology of Multi Media Online Role Playing Games

A character in a MMORPG is a reflection of how players see or intend to see themselves.

Most Massively Multi-Player Online Role Playing Games or MMORPG provide the players with an option on what character to play. This involves choosing their abilities and their looks. The player may want to become a healer that helps other players stay alive while they fight. Other become long range fighter through their bow and arrow or guns. Others find hand to hand combat more exciting.

This is already tells you a part of how they want to see themselves especially if the game they are playing allows them form teams and communities. Leaders will naturally gravitate towards setting the goals of the team, setting a common time so that teams can play together, and even dictate which teams they will fight.

It is also not a strange thing to encounter female players posing as male figures and kids becoming the most powerful character. A game may also be a place where they live out their frustrations. It is empowering for a lot of women to play a male character and "experience" the privileges that come with it. Express their aggression online instead of doing it in the real world.

It is also an license to do what they want without suffering the consequences. In the game, they can kill as many opponents as they want, curse, laugh, love and not have to live with the results of what they did. They can be careless and irresponsible and the only thing that will suffer is their character. There is a way around it, just restart the character. The only thing that is lost is the time they invested in their old character but at least they get a new start. That is something you can't do in real life.

MMORPG, in other words is a chance for players to live life a second time.

Abel Alexander has been internet marketing for nearly 8 years. Come visit his latest website over at Hearing Aids Prices which helps people find the best Used Hearing Aids and useful tips and information.

Choosing Character Class in Role Playing Games

When players want to enter the rich, exciting world of Dungeons and Dragons, they will do so through the use of a specially constructed character, which fits into that world. The universe of Dungeons and Dragons is a different one than the Earth on which we reside and, therefore, common people who populate the world today would not fit appropriately into this rich fantasy environment. Therefore, any player who wants to enter the world of Dungeons and Dragons will have to invent a character that they can participate in that world as. Using the Player's Handbook, any participant in the game can quickly and easily make a player who they like and feel comfortable using to move about the world created in the game.

The first thing that a player needs to do when constructing a character is to figure out what type of character they want to play. This comes down to the dissection and examination of the different character classes located in Dungeons and Dragons. Many different options are available to new players, especially once one takes into consideration the edition of Dungeons and Dragons, which is being played. Each edition revises the one before it, adding certain character classes and dropping others as the designers of the game see fit.

The most current Fourth Edition of Dungeons and Dragons presents eight different character classes that players can choose to make their character, although each of these eight classes fits into one of four different roles, whom each draw their power from one of three different sources. Players can either play as a Cleric, Fighter, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Warlock, Warlord, or as a Wizard. Many of these classes seem to be similar at first glance, but when one takes into consideration the role that these classes play, the game suddenly opens up into a much more expansive tone.

Each of these eight character classes will either work as a Controller, Leader, Defender, or a Striker. Controllers are players who will focus on multiple targets at one, either in an attacking or supporting format. Currently, only Wizards fill this role, making them one of the more valuable members of a team. Leaders will more traditionally be used to support allies, making them stronger or healing them, although they will attack under the right circumstances.

Clerics and Warlords both serve as Leaders. Defenders work to not only block enemy attacks, but work to make those enemies focus on the Defenders themselves. Fighters and Paladins fill this role within the game. Finally, Strikers are the sort who have advanced mobility, moving quickly around the fighting space, delivering blows and trying to avoid being attacked themselves. Rangers, Rogues, and Warlocks all work as Strikers.

Finally, though, each of these characters will draw their power from a different source. If a character has a divine source of power, they will draw their power from the gods. If a player has an arcane source, though, the power will instead be drawn from the magical energy of the cosmos. Players with martial sources instead find their power from their own training and willpower. Each of these combinations works to make all of these characters incredibly unique within the confines of the game.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for board games, chess boards, and dungeons and dragons miniatures. You will find all these things and more if you visit used board games, chess boards