thread: 2009-12-18 : Seed content
On 2010-01-26, Simon C wrote:
Oh! Here's an illustration of what I'm talking about:
So, you could make a game that says something like:
"When making a character, choose one of the following classes:
WARRIOR: +1 to attacks
PRIEST: +1 to prayers
WOODSMAN: +1 to hunting
and choose two of the following items:
SWORD: +1 to attacks and defense
BOW: +1 to hunting and attacks
VESTMENTS: +1 to prayers and defense
SHIELD: +1 to defense and pushing
etc."
Which is seed content, right? Not very evocative seed content, but whatever.
OR, you could do it like this:
"Are you attacking? If so, answer the following questions:
Are you trained in combat? If yes, +1
Have you survived a battle? If yes, +1
Are you armed? If no, -1
Is your weapon honed and ready? If yes, +1
etc."
So it's the same kind of thing - making some elements of the fiction more significant to the rules than others. In the first example it "pushes" classes into the fiction, by telling you to choose if your character is a WARRIOR or not. In the second example, it "pulls" classes from the fiction, by marking a clear mechanical distinction between characters with combat training and experience and honed weapons, and those without.
Is this a useful observation?
