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Post by Jake10102006 on Dec 8, 2016 1:33:12 GMT
So I took the time to read (most) of the rulebook PDF and truthfully, the only thing that confuses me is that I'm not entirely sure how exactly these aspects are supposed to be used. I can't seem to figure out if there's some kind of list of these sort of things or do we simply have to make these on our own? If we have to make aspects on ourt own, would it be alright for someone to have a list of example aspects to help players out?
I'm rather new to this sort of system, so I'm terribly sorry if this question is rather dumb to some people! Thank you all so much!
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Post by Ljcyan on Dec 8, 2016 2:12:10 GMT
It's no problem ^_^
Aspects are character traits that help flesh out your character, while also giving a small mechanical benefit. They're similar in a sense to Specialties in other systems.
They're supposed to represent inherent knowledge or skill in a particular area and sometimes, even a weakness. Whenever you feel your aspect would help in a given scenario, you can add a bonus to certain rolls. Likewise, when you or the GM in particular feels that it would be a hindrance, you get a penalty to those rolls.
For example, you could have the Aspect: Kind, which would represent your character being nicer than most. This could give you bonuses on certain skill checks, like Persuade. Circumstances such as trying to gather information from strangers or trying to have an opponent surrender rather than fight to the death could grant you bonuses. However, in some situations, your kindness could be a problem. Perhaps you are loathe to join fights and could suffer a penalty to initiative. Maybe you struggle with conflict and suffer penalties when intimidated.
There's no hard list of Aspects, and that's because there are tons of different possible character traits. Nearly any part of a character can be turned into an Aspect. What I like to do when my players have trouble deciding aspects is to give them 2 categories: Physical and Mental/Emotional Aspects or, in games with older characters, Occupational and Character Aspects. That gives them something specifically to think about and helps narrow down some concepts.
So let's run a little example. Say you're playing a friendly giant sort of character. You look big and menacing but deep down you're a kind-hearted soul. So for your physical Aspect you decide on Slow and Steady. You reason that your character is large and probably isn't the fastest but has a lot of endurance. You may not come first in the race but you'll sure as heck finish it. For your Mental/Emotional Aspect, you pick the aforementioned Kind. You look scary but you much prefer to avoid conflict. So in any situation where these Aspects will come up, you can add a bonus to those rolls (final say always goes to your GM, however.) Slow and Steady examples could be when your party has to travel a tiring, long distance walk or when you suffer from rough conditions like high temperatures or keeping standing in strong winds. And with Kind, you can use the examples from before. As mentioned earlier, these Aspects can also bring penalties in certain situations. Slow and Steady might give you penalties when you have to try and squeeze into a small area such as a cave or trying to run from an enemy chasing you.
Now, once you're decided on your two Aspects, you just have to pick which will be the Major and the Minor. The easiest way to decide is to pick which Aspect came up most often in your life. Were you picked on a lot for your size or did it influence you to join a sport that became a big part of your life? Pick Slow and Steady to be the Major. Conversely, did your kindness make you a close friend or were you famous for helping out those weaker than you? Pick Kind to be your Major.
Phew, I hope that helps in some way. I tend to be a bit long-winded but I hope this clears things up for you ^_^
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Post by Jake10102006 on Dec 8, 2016 5:11:01 GMT
Ah!! Thank you so much!! So it's a lot easier than I thought! Thank you so much, Ljcyan!!
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Post by Ljcyan on Dec 8, 2016 7:39:11 GMT
No problem. Glad I could help ^_^
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