Transitioning from Numbers to Verbal Values
By Kevin Manus-Pennings
In my article “The Known and the Unknown,” I discuss the reasons why in Karandrin RPG I limit player knowledge to only what the character could have known given their background and experiences to date. If you’ve looked at Brise’s character sheet, you’ll have realized that I even limit player knowledge about the character too. Where lovely numbers should represent Strength or Constitution or Throw Spear instead stand only verbal impressions to guide a given player. Weird? Maybe, but give me the space of an article to explain.
A constant refrain you will hear both on the stream and in my articles is my desire for immersive play in a world rather than just a game. In “Killing the Robots,” I also talk about how min-maxing play began to erode the sense of Karandrin’s realism. Well, in a two-birds-with-one-decision approach, I realized that the fewer numbers players had to cope with, the less min-maxing players could do. In addition, the players would feel like real people who think of their skills and attributes in real terms such as “pretty good” or “terrible.” Less often would purely mechanical statements intrude upon the game setting. Instead of a character saying, “I’ve got a 121 in Battle Axe. What’s your best attack?,” characters would say, “I’m excellent [or what have you] with a battle axe. Anybody got a better idea?” Conversations felt natural and immersion in Karandrin is maintained.
You’ll see from Brise’s character sheet that not all the numbers went away. That sense will be corroborated if you look at her equipment sheet. The simple truth is that I need help running the game. A shameful truth is that I know min-maxing is fun and wanted to leave some of it in. To those ends, stats such as Hit Points, Power Points (magical energy), and others are maintained by the player. Also, magical or otherwise special items are replete with numbers to let players know that their gear is improving and to keep track of what certain enchanted items do. I acknowledge that in role-playing there are few pleasures as great as getting that powerful bow you’ve been after or finding that one magic item you didn’t even know you needed.
I know this approach to game values will not appeal to everyone. I even suggested the idea at a video-game-design panel at a conference and the idea was immediately rejected as being hated by players. Such a response might not be surprising given that particular game is entirely tactical and it’s plot little more than a veneer. For a more immersive world with a definite element of combat and danger, Karandrin strives to marry the best of both worlds, and I certainly hope you’ll join us on the stream to see for yourself.
© 2022 by Kevin Manus-Pennings
Karandrin 