Fractayle: The Collision of Worlds

Character Progression

Introduction

Character progression in Fractayle: The Collision of Worlds occurs in three ways.

The first most obvious way is in the Tayle; as the character acts through the Tayle being told his/her personality begins to take shape and form into a more imaginable character.  This way cannot be measure by numbers, but only by laughs and tears through, in between, and after gaming sessions.  Notes taken in the groups Black Book and scribbled on the character sheet might help add to this, but the main stimulus is the player (and indeed the whole group).

This method of character progression is called "organic growth" and is often the most memorable.

Bardic Progression

The second way for a character to progress is a bit more controlled and involves some basic game mechanics:

At the end of each gaming session the group should decide who was the best Bard during the session.  This should be done in whatever democratic manner (where everyone's votes count the same, i.e. ignoring bardic rolls for this) suits the group, but this should be clearly communicated and agreed upon before the game begins.

Attributes of a good Bard are the following:

• Ability to generate an entertaining Tayle

• Ability to communicate that Tayle clearly and entertainingly

• Ability to generate a logical Tayle in the spirit of the campaign

• Ability to please the majority of players (note that this might not be the same as pleasing the majority of characters)

• Ability to handle tough decisions fairly and equitably

• Ability to start a scene and/or end a scene well and with a sense of continuity

• Ability to contribute to the group's Black Book

• etc.

Based on these (and whichever other traits the group feels are important) whoever is voted the best Bard of that session gets 1 bardic point to add to his/her character's Bardic.

This mechanic is designed to encourage good "Bardmanship" and to reward it.  Further more, if this mechanic is handled correctly, it will mean that the best/better Bard/s in the group will have characters with relatively higher Bardic than the others.  Hence, they will be the Bard more often and (as they tend to be the best at being the Bard) the group will be ensured greater and greater fun with a better and better Tayle.

Attribute Progression

The final method of character progression involves the character's attributes:

After determining who was the best Bard each player looks at what his or her character (only those that survived the session) did during that session.  Each player then picks the attribute (physical, mental, tech, magick, or spirit) that their character used the most during the session and explains their choice to everyone else.  When everyone agrees with everyone else's choice then each player can add 1 point to this attribute.