Custom Backgrounds

Some custom backgrounds I'm working on that I'd love some input on:

{Techno-Mage

You are a half-elf skilled in both magic and technology. You were on the IFS Zephyr to Tarant in hopes of starting a new life after the death of your parents. Your father was human skilled with all forms of technology and your mother was a elf skilled in high levels of magic. The skills and knowledge learned from your parents gives you Intelligence (+2), Dexterity (+2), Perception (+2), Willpower (+1) and you gain an increase in Magickal Aptitude (5%). You also have minor skills in firearms and repair. You start with 500 gold, your father's high-velocity pistol and several of his schematics, and several scrolls from your mother.}

--Issues I'm trying to work out on this one:
How to keep the magic and tech balanced. While you can start the
character off with schematics (which right now I have as bullets and
electric light), I haven't figured out a way to start them off with at least
a healing spell. I'm also debating whether the high-velocity pistol is too
powerful for a starting character, but given how easy it is to kill yourself
with it when you start out (as I've found out the hard way playing
through with this one). I've also debated giving the character
magick leather armor, but again I'm concerned at overpowering the
character.



{Iron Man

A wealthy industrialist, playboy, and inventor, your life changed a year ago when you were captured by a criminal band who demanded you design weapons for them. In the capture you were seriously wounded and you only survived by using tech to fixed your damaged heart. After your escape you swore to keep your weapons and inventions out of the hands of those that would harm the innocent. Due to your injury you have in a penalty to Constitution (-3). But your genius and skill as an inventor you Intelligence (+4), a bonus to your repair and firearms, and Dexterity +1. Your charm as a playboy gives you Charisma (+2), Beauty (+1), and a bonus to persuasion. You start with 2000 gold.}

--Issues --
I'd like the character to start with some sort of plate armor but I'd love suggestions on what might work well without over powering the character.

{Amazon Princess

You were born into a society of female warriors as the daughter of their Queen. As the result you are one of their finest warriors. Your mother has sent you out into the man's world to learn from it and help your fellow women of all races. Given your background as a warrior you have Strength (+4), Dexterity (+3), Constitution (+3), and bonus in warrior skills such as bow, throwing and doge. While you are very beautiful (+2), you have -5 reaction to men and Charisma (-1) due to your unfamiliarity with society. You start off with a charmed bow, arrows, and studded Leather armor. You only have 100 gold.}

--Issues--
I have not tried to implement this one yet since I'm unsure if reactions can be set to gender.


Input and suggestions are more than welcome.

 

Are you planning to balance these backgrounds with the standard ones?

 

Too powerful? I was sort of afraid of that. I thought I'd kept in line with other custom background I've seen, but it seems I have not.

But I would like them balanced with the existing backgrounds, yes.

Any suggestions? Would dropping some of higher level gear in favor of standard issue plus lowering some of the stat bonuses help?

The strength bonus on the amazon is rather high.

(or did I misunderstand the question completely?)

 

The history you wrote about them was VERY good, but yes...they are a little bit too overpowerd.
The first one. There aint no minuses, only plusses and that makes this character overpowered. And the equipment you have chosen is too good. Gold amount is OK.
Iron Man- The amount of gold(2000) is too much.
You wrote that he escaped. So there won't be many ways to get gold. Ofcourse with stealing, but in this case, you should add thiefing skills. And remove some other skills like beauty or something.
Amazon princess-Too overpowered i think. If you want to keep these stat bonuses, then you should make it that way that reaction for men of -5 would NEVER go higher. Like there is an original background "Sold your soul" where your attitude( sry i don't really remember) can't go higher than -20. That would make it a little bit more balanced. And it would be even better if it would not work only on men, but on women too or on certain races.

But good job
Keep going!

 

I have noticed that any bonus to a statistic is usually balanced by an equal penalty to another statistic. The designers seem to have thrown in an extra penalty for the privelege of having character statistics adjusted such that a player choosing a custom background has a net loss of one point when compared to a player who did not choose a custom background.

This seems like a good convention to follow.

 

takes 2

{Techno-Mage

You are a half-elf skilled in both magic and technology. You were on the IFS Zephyr to Tarant in hopes of starting a new life after the death of your parents. Your father was human skilled with all forms of technology and your mother was an elf skilled in high levels of magic. The skills and knowledge learned from your parents gives you Intelligence (+2) and Willpower (+1) and you gain an increase in Magickal Aptitude (5%). You can come off as a bit of a know it all earning a penalty of Charisma (-2). You also have minor skills in firearms and repair. You start your father's flintlock Pistol and a schematic for bullets and a resurrection scroll from your mother.}

--Issues and changes --
Cut out some of the bonuses and added the Charisma penalty, and brought down the level of gear.




{Iron Man

A wealthy industrialist, playboy, and inventor, your life changed a year ago when you were captured by a criminal band who demanded you design weapons for them. In the capture you were seriously wounded and you only survived by using tech to fixed your damaged heart. After your escape you swore to keep your weapons and inventions out of the hands of those that would harm the innocent. Due to your injury you have in a penalty to Constitution (-3) and Strength (-1). But your genius and skill as an inventor you Intelligence (+4), and bonus to your repair and firearms, but you have an aversion to magick and magick items. Your charm as a playboy gives you Charisma (+2), and a bonus to persuasion. You start with 300 gold you managed to grab upon your escape and the Machined Platemail you made while captive.}

--Issues --
Hopefully this is a bit more balanced.

{Amazon Princess

You were born into a society of female warriors as the daughter of their Queen. As the result you are one of their finest warriors. Your mother has sent you out into the man's world to learn from it and help your fellow women of all races. Given your background as a warrior you have Strength (+2), Constitution (+3), and bonus in warrior skills such as bow, throwing and doge. While you are very beautiful (+2), suffer -10 reaction and Charisma (-1) due to your unfamiliarity with society. You start off with a Short bow, arrows, and leather armor. You only have 100 gold.}

--Issues--
I’m still trying to figure out if I can set reactions to gender and races through character backgrounds. I know there must be a way since NPC’s react to gender and race. In the mean time (when I upload the files), I might just set it to a negreaction penalty overall.

{Zeppelin Gunner

Since a young age you dreamed of flying – and shooting things from the sky. As an adult you lived out your dream being the gunner for the first zeppelin while your job is fairly boring you have high hopes that the military applications of armed zeppelins will come to the attention of the world’s governments. The only child of skill gunman, you learned how to shoot before you could read. Due to this you have increased Perception (+2), but decreased Intelligence (-2). You have a bonus to firearms (+2). You start with a Flintlock Pistol, leather armor, and what’s left of your last pay packet, 90 gold.}

--Issues--


FrostyMixi – thanks your advice, hopefully I’ve got them a bit more balanced out.

I’ll probably create on or two more before I package them up for uploading (if anyone would be interested). I’ve been testing and running with Deathsangel custom mods, so any upload would include his (with proper credit given in the readme txt of course).

edit: I'm testing using AWIP in case anyone is wondering. My current character uses my origina techno-mage background.

 

Techno-Mage
The net bonus of +1 to statistics cries "unbalanced" but if the only starting resources made available by the background are those explicitly stated (not what is listed in addition to the starting cash) then that might offset the initial bonus to statistics.

Iron Man
A net bonus of +2 to statistics screams "unbalanced." Throw in skill bonuses and high-end armor at the beginning of the game and not even the Magick aversion can save you from straying from "unbalanced" to "overpowered."

Amazon Princess
Net bonus of +6 to statistics. I am not familiar enough with the game mechanics to understand how to weigh the affects of the reaction penalty, but I doubt that it and the low starting cash would balance the statistic and skill bonuses.

Zeppelin Gunner
No net bonus to statistics: Nice! I think the firearms skill makes this background a little unbalanced but I think this one is quite close.


From a creative perspective I like your backgrounds, but they don't seem to respect the balance of the game. When choosing backgrounds, the player should be faced with some pretty tough decisions among more than one background or no background at all. For example, why would anyone playing a female character choose no background over the Amazon Princess background? If nine out of ten players would choose one background over another, then the balance between the two needs critical evaluation.

 

My temptation keeps straying to what makes good storytelling over balance I guess.

Should I give it another go or just abandon this?

Edit- I'd forgotten I'd left the magickal aptitude in the techno-mage. That should have been cut since the character is a half-elf and has a magic bonus already.

 

I say you do what pleases you. I don't think you should have to sacrifice game balance for good storytelling. Making things more extreme will make them more dramatic. Take for example your Amazon Princess. She is a beautiful and able warrior, two remarkable traits that lend themselves to good storytelling. Focusing on her weaknesses more would not only flesh her out as a character but could help achieve balance in-game. She might suffer extreme penalties to Haggling and Lock Picking for example.

 

TheDavisChanger -First off thank you for taking the time to help me out. I took your advise and tried to make sure any bonuses were offset with penalties. I'd been focusing heavily on what the character would gain not loose. Hopefully the two new backgrounds I've added are much more balanced than my original attempts.

{Techno-Mage

You are a half-elf skilled in both magic and technology. You were on the IFS Zephyr to Tarant in hopes of starting a new life after the death of your parents. Your father was human skilled with all forms of technology and your mother was an elf skilled in high levels of magic. The skills and knowledge learned from your parents gives you Intelligence (+2) and Willpower (+1). You can come off as a bit of a know it all earning a penalty of Charisma (-2) and Persuasion (-1). You also have minor skills in firearms and repair. You start your father's flintlock Pistol and a schematic for bullets and a resurrection scroll from your mother. Since you spent the last of your gold booking passage on the IFS Zephyr, you start with no gold.}


{Iron Man

A wealthy industrialist, playboy, and inventor, your life changed a year ago when you were captured by a criminal band who demanded you design weapons for them. In the capture you were seriously wounded and you only survived by using tech to fixed your damaged heart. After your escape you swore to keep your weapons and inventions out of the hands of those that would harm the innocent. Due to your injury you have in a penalty to Constitution (-3) and Strength (-1). But your genius and skill as an inventor you Intelligence (+4), and bonus to your repair and firearms, but you have an aversion to magick and magick items. Your charm as a playboy gives you Charisma (+2), and a bonus to persuasion. You start with 100 gold you managed to steal upon your escape and heavy wool clothing. While the machined platemail you made was damaged beyond repair in the escape, you do have the schematic for it.}



{Amazon Princess

You were born into a society of female warriors as the daughter of their Queen. As the result you are one of their finest warriors. Your mother has sent you out into the man's world to learn from it and help your fellow women of all races. Given your background as a warrior you have Strength (+2), Constitution (+3), and bonus in warrior skills such as bow, throwing and doge. While you are very beautiful (+2), suffer -10 reaction and Charisma (-2) due to your unfamiliarity with society. You also suffer penalties in haggling (-1) and gambling (-1). Your high sense of honor keeps you from being willing to picklocks (-2) or pickpocket (-2). You start off with a Short bow, arrows, and leather armor. You only have 20 gold.}



{Zeppelin Gunner

Since a young age you dreamed of flying – and shooting things from the sky. As an adult you lived out your dream being the gunner for the first zeppelin while your job is fairly boring you have high hopes that the military applications of armed zeppelins will come to the attention of the world’s governments. The only child of skill gunman, you learned how to shoot before you could read. Due to this you have increased Perception (+2), but decreased Intelligence (-2). You have a bonus to firearms (+2). You think most magick is trickery resulting in a penalty in magick (-1). You start with a Flintlock Pistol, leather armor, and what’s left of your last pay packet, 90 gold.}


{Dime Novelist
You are the writer of a series of successful dime novels supposedly about your adventures as an adventures and gunman/woman. The truth is you made all of it up and have never been outside your home city, expect for minor press tours. You were on the IFS Zephyr to Tarant hoping for new material for your latest book. Since your reputation processed you people have a good reaction (+2) to you, as well as added bonuses to Charisma (+2) and Persuasion (+1). You sadly though have never handled a gun in your life (firearms -2) and without your glasses, unfortunately lost in the crash, you have vision problems (Perception -2). Your mostly sedentary life as a writer makes physical activity difficult for you (Constitution -2 , Strength -1, Willpower -1). You start with a flintlock pistol you carry around for 'realism' and 600 gold.}

{Former Prostitute
You used to make your living on your back, but you final put aside enough money to start a new life in a new place. Your old Madam gave you Madam Lil's address in Tarant, in case you fall on hard times but you're determined never to go back to that life. Since your looks and charm were your trade you have a increase in beauty (+2), charisma (+1) and persuasion (+1). You spent more time in front of a mirror then with a book you suffer a penalty in intellect (-2). You also suffer a penalty in strength (-3), Willpower (-1) in weapon use (Melee -1). One of the half-orge bodyguards at the brothel took a shine to you and taught so you have a bonus in backstab (+1). Due to him you are very fond of half-orges. You start with the fine steel dagger your bodyguard friend gave you and 400 gold.

 

Very good!
Btw. I have an idea how to make Ironman more real. In the description you write that he built himself an iron heart. You could make a limit to your hitpoints(100 or something) OR...he does not get any hp from any stat. He gets it from his tech aptitude-the higher tech aptitude he has the more hp he gets. I don't know of course if this is possible, but this is my idea

 

I'm not sure I can tie the hp into tech aptitude but it be great if I could. I'll take a look it and see what I can do. Limiting the hp is a good idea though.

I'll play with in the am.

 

If you could do it it would be Perfect, but ofcourse if you can't then it doesn't make much difference
Keep up the good work!

 

It was my pleasure to help you, Kijikun. Your old backgrounds seem much more balanced and I feel like your new backgrounds have benefited from the approach as well! I don't think the creativity has suffered at all from the balancing, do you?

 

{1092}{Techno-Mage

You are a young half-elf skilled in both magic and technology. You were on the IFS Zephyr to Tarant in hopes of starting a new life after the death of your parents. Your father was human skilled with all forms of technology and your mother was an elf skilled in high levels of magic. The skills and knowledge learned from your parents gives you Intelligence (+3). You can come off as a bit of a know it all earning a penalty of Charisma (-2) and Persuasion (-1). You also have minor skills in firearms and repair. You start your father's flintlock Pistol and a schematic for bullets and a resurrection scroll from your mother. Since you spent the last of your gold booking passage on the IFS Zephyr, you start with no gold.}


{1093}{Iron Man

A wealthy industrialist, playboy, and inventor, your life changed a year ago when you were captured by a criminal band who demanded you design weapons for them. You were seriously wounded and only survived by using tech to fix your damaged heart. After your escape you swore to keep your weapons and inventions out of the hands of those that would harm the innocent. Due to your injury you have in a penalty to Constitution (-3) Strength (-1), and maxhp (-10%). But your genius and skill as an inventor give you a bonus in Intelligence (+4), repair and firearms skills, but you have an aversion to magick (-10%). Your charm as a playboy gives you Charisma (+2), and a bonus to persuasion (+2). You start with 100 gold you managed to steal upon your escape and heavy wool clothing, along with the knowledge to make a few useful inventions. While the machined platemail you made was damaged beyond repair in the escape, you do have the schematic for it.}

{1094}{Amazon Princess

You were born into a society of female warriors as the daughter of their Queen. As the result you are one of their finest warriors. Your mother has sent you out into the man's world to learn from it and help your fellow women of all races. Given your background as a warrior you have Strength (+2), Constitution (+3), and bonus in warrior skills such as bow, throwing and doge. While you are very beautiful (+2), suffer -10 reaction and Charisma (-2) due to your unfamiliarity with society. You also suffer penalties in haggling (-1) and gambling (-1). Your high sense of honor keeps you from being willing to picklocks (-1) or pickpocket (-1). You start off with a Short bow, arrows, and leather armor. As you come from a female only society you prefer your followers to be female. You only have 20 gold.}

{1095}{Zeppelin Gunner

Since a young age you dreamed of flying – and shooting things from the sky. As an adult you lived out your dream being the gunner for the first zeppelin while your job is fairly boring you have high hopes that the military applications of armed zeppelins will come to the attention of the world’s governments. The only child of skill gunman, you learned how to shoot before you could read. Due to this you have increased Perception (+2), but decreased Intelligence (-2). You have a bonus to firearms (+2). You think most magick is trickery resulting in a penalty in magick (-1). You start with a Flintlock Pistol, leather armor, and what’s left of your last pay packet, 90 gold.}

{1096}{Dime Novelist

You are the writer of a series of successful dime novels supposedly about your adventures as an adventures and gunman/woman. The truth is you made all of it up and have never been outside your home city, expect for minor press tours. You were on the IFS Zephyr to Tarant hoping for new material for your latest book. Since your reputation processed you people have a good reaction (+2) to you, as well as added bonuses to Charisma (+2) and Persuasion (+2). You sadly though have never handled a gun in your life (firearms -2) and without your glasses, unfortunately lost in the crash, you have vision problems (Perception -2). Your mostly sedentary life as a writer makes physical activity difficult for you (Constitution -2 , Strength -1, Willpower -1). You start with a flintlock pistol you carry around for 'realism' and 600 gold.}

{1097}{Former Prostitute

You used to make your living on your back, but you final put aside enough money to start a new life in a new place. Your old Madam gave you Madam Lil's address in Tarant, in case you fall on hard times but you're determined never to go back to that life. Since your looks and charm were your trade you have a increase in beauty (+2), charisma (+1) and persuasion (+2). You spent more time in front of a mirror then with a book you suffer a penalty in intellect (-2). You also suffer a penalty in strength (-3), willpower (-1) and in weapon use (Melee -1 dodge -1). One of the half-orge bodyguards at the brothel took a shine to you and taught so you have a bonus in backstab (+1). Due to him you are very fond of half-orges. You start with the fine steel dagger and the sliver ring your bodyguard friend gave you and 400 gold.}

{1098}{Fire Witch

You are novice fire Witch (magicpts +5%), who has set out from home to seek your fortune and gain more experience. You have high resistance to fire (+20), but your tendency to accidentally set things on fire when your upset or angry makes people wary of you (reaction -20 charisma -1). Your unusual red hair makes you look quite striking (beauty +1). You start with 100 gold your teacher gave you, and a staff}


I couldn't tie the hp into tech using character backgrounds. It be possible to create an item that would do this, but I'm trying to keep this backgrounds compatible with both the unofficial patch and A:WIP. It is also impossible to tie reactions to gender (at least that I've found with numerous testing).

Wishes: That the Dime Novelist could have a copy (or two) of one of his/her novels. This again would go into item creation, so unless I can sweet talk rroyo into making one this is also a no go.

I'm going to be packaging up the files into a zip shortly (probably will put it up on megaupload, I'll put a link here and do a announcement over in the module discussion), so any requests for any particular backgrounds before I do so?

I'm tempted to make a sparklepire background for laughs but I'm not sure if anyone would really play with it. XD

 

I love Dime Novellist a LOT. Fire Witch also looks rather fun in a 'I wanna watch the world burn' kinda way.

They all seem pretty balanced now and I hope the file appears soon.

 

Glad you like them. ^_^

I must admit the Dime Novelist is based off of Richard Dean Anderson's short lived show Legend.

The file should be uploaded soon.

Edit of edit: Here it is with the sparklepire included and some spelling errors corrected> removed

Yeah, missed something that was keeping the amazon princess stats from working properly. Try this one: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=GSFR44H0

 

Very cool
Exellent work!

 

*spittake* SPARKLEPIRE??? As in 'Breaking Dawn is unparodyable because it parodies ITSELF'?? SMeyer?

Dude. I don't know whether to cry or crack up laughing.

 

Twilight means never having to say your kidding. XD

{1099}{Sparklepire
You are a Sparklepire. Other vampires laugh at you and joke about how you're 'de-fanged'. Your kind are dazzling beautiful (+4) but not very intelligent (-5). While people are drawn to you (reaction +5) you have the charisma of a wet bag (-6). You have increased strength (+4) and speed (+4). You tend to be a loner (maxfollowers -2). You tend to use your prowling (-1) skills for watching people sleep. }