As I see it, this system would still allow for the free-form nature of our games, but add in a few guidelines so relative power levels are more visible.
The idea is this - each character starts with a certain number of points, which can be spent on attributes and special abilities. Choosing weaknesses will grant you extra points initially, but cost more to buy off later.
The point costs of special abilities and the bonuses granted by weaknesses would have to be determined by the GM on a per-game (and perhaps per-character basis), but that would be expected.
An example:
Alright, so what does all that mean? It wouldn't provide absolute values, but it would serve to show where Goldfly would stand against a comparable Transformer. For instance, if Goldfly in game was attempting to dodge laser fire from a Decepticon with an Agility of 4, then Bob would know that it would take a miracle for Goldfly to dodge. By the same token, Goldfly getting into a pushing match with a Decepticon who has a Strength of 1 would likely end up with the Decepticon getting knocked over.Bob wants to make a character for Dark Silver's Transformers: Steel Reign game. Dark Silver has dictated in the Transformers OOC thread that all characters begin with 15 points to spend, and that the stats used in his game are Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Endurance, and Power.
As he defined it, Strength means pure physical brawn; Agility is how quick or light on the feet a given Transformer is, and would serve as a measure of how good their aim is; Intelligence would be how canny or clever a character is, Endurance would represent armor and resilience; and Power would represent gun and special ability strength.
Bob decides to use 12 of his initial points to create his Autobot character Goldfly as follows:
Strength: 3
Agility: 2
Intelligence: 3
Endurance: 2
Power: 2
After a discussion with Dark Silver, Bob gives Goldfly the Weakness of "Energon allergy; Goldfly must always take a special lead sulfide additive when refueling, or his engine will experience severe knocking, nausea, as well as give him a rust rash." Dark Silver determined this Weakness is worth 3 points, though will cost 6 points to buy off later on with experience points from play.
With this Weakness, Bob now has 6 points left to spend. He decides to add one more to Power, to give him 5 points remaining, and the following stats:
Strength: 3
Agility: 2
Intelligence: 3
Endurance: 2
Power: 3
Lastly, Bob decides to purchase the special ability of "Triple Changer" for Goldfly, a special ability that costs his remaining 5 points.
Finally, Goldfly looks like this:
Strength: 3
Agility: 2
Intelligence: 3
Endurance: 2
Power: 3
Special Ability: Triple Changer (Dodge Ram truck, and Chinook helicopter, can change forms twice as fast as normal)
Weakness: Energon allergy. Goldfly must always take a special lead sulfide additive with his energon, or suffer severe engine knocking, nausea, and rust rashes.
Weapon: Laser Pistol (The default gun - Bob could have purchased a more powerful gun for Goldfly, but chose to give him other bonuses instead)
For my game, I'm still ironing out the basics of this, but since I was planning on using this sort of system (though with 4 stats instead of 5), I thought it might be useful to others - and it would give players a good means to measure up their characters with much less fear of min/maxing.
If this is helpful to you, then you have my complements. I'll answer any and all ideas or thoughts posted as replies; if you've an idea or comment, I'd like to hear it.
