Dark Side Points, recalibrate or give out fractions?

[ZzaphodD]

When trying to read up about Nar Shaddaa I have come across a lot of KOTOR material. Mostly maps, but also 'walkthroughs' that describe the environment. From what I can understand you can choose to go down the light or dark path in the game. Different actions will give you different amounts of 'Light Side Points' or the familiar DSP:s.

First, this seems to be some kind of balance thing if im not mistaken. Different actions will move you on a scale between light and dark. How exactly this works I dont know though. I assume that you start on the light side. If you get DSP:s, can you 'balance' your bad actions with LSP:s so to speak?

Second. As far as I can understand the LSP/DSP system in KOTOR has a larger scale between Light and Dark than the D6 system with its DSP mechanic (which some of you might remember I have already altered quite a bit). What bugs me this time is that a DSP has such a major effect on the character it becomes a bit all or nothing both in the power effect and the turning effect. I want more granularity which can be used to put players on edge when it comes to where their character is on the Light vs Dark scale. An example from these boards is the force sensitive character that earnestly accepts a contract to kill another being. Even if he hadnt gone through with it, just signing up for it with the intention of going through with it should mean a brush with the Dark Side. A Jedi that roughs someone up should mean the same thing (but perhaps less so), making him move a few inches closer to the Dark Side.

I have been thining of two ways of doing this. One was to multiply DSPs by 10 and have each full 10 represent one RAW DSP when it came to Force Skill bonus and turning to the Dark Side. However, DSP:s would be awarded in numbers between 1-10 where 10 would represent getting 1 DSP in the RAW. The exact numbers gained, if below 10, should only be told to the player 'in character'. That is, if the character gained 8 DSPs he would be told that he was on the brink of the Dark Side. If he got 2 DSPs he would be told that he could feel the touch of the Dark Side. This means that small actions can 'add up' and draw the characters slowly to the Dark Side without the player knowing exactly how close he is to gaining a DSP. While this was a solid mechanic I felt that the idea of multiplying the DSPs by 10 changed the 'known' single digit system which my player knew by heart and could relate to when it came to the threat of the Dark Side.

So the alternative was to introduce some small mechanic between 0 and 1 DSP that represented the small steps toward the dark side that might be difficult to spot. Basically its the same system as above (ie characters will receive these points secretly and 10 will mean the character gets a full DSP), but I (the GM) keep these 'small steps' separate from the 'official' (ie, what the player knows) DSP:s. My main problem now is that I havent come up with a suitable name for these points. Not neccessary of course, but good to keep the atmosphere of threat of the Dark Side.
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My Biggest Beard Retard award goes to: The Admiral of course..

[Bren]

[ZzaphodD]

[garhkal]

Prob is most of those computer games even when you do willful dsp stuff (such as kill an innocent bystander just for the heck of it) you don't get much 'darkness'... and that is imo a product of the pc gaming environ... rpgs on the otherhand do have a lot more stricture to deal with.. I like the DSP system as is, but IF (big if) i was to do something akin to this, i would have it go in halfs and holes.. Minor dsp worthy event, gain a half a dsp. Major one, gain a hole one.
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Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[cheshire]

Yeah, I think that the comparison to to KOTOR gets us skewed anyway. The major consequence of being darkside is that using "light side powers" takes up more power from your Force meter, and you are restricted to certain endings of the game. The opposite goes with being light and using dark side powers.

The game is set up so that you cn be a "gray Jedi" as well.

I understand about what you say bout the severity of some moral consequences, though that's generally because we have quite a bit of consequentialist leanings in our ethical evaluations as 21st Century Americans (at least most of us on the board are Americans). That is just one kind of ethical evaluation. It is possible that when the system was designed that the Force was considered to be a metaphysical moral construct where all transgressions were considered more or less equal. (Such as saying, if you have broken one of the laws, you have broken the whole of the law.)

However, I must confess that the graded scale is somewhat alluded to when one of the Dark Side powers gives you two Dark Side points. Nonetheless, I think that IF you were to go with it, you should give them out in half increments, and not tenths.
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Before we take any of this too seriously, just remember that in the middle episode a little rubber puppet moves a spaceship with his mind.

[Bren]

[Raven Redstar]

The problem with drawing anything from the video games is that even a light side Jedi can barbecue any combatant with force lightning, and still be a shining pillar of light and hope. As in, no dark side points for cooking people alive. The only way to receive a DSP is to say something mean, or attack someone who's unarmed via a social option in dialogue.

Taking anything from the games other than little bits of fluff and background is in my opinion useless and a waste of time.

[ZzaphodD]

[cheshire]

[garhkal]

The other thing is in most rpgs losing your character to evil (going to the darkside) makes him an NPC, where as in KOTOR, etc, you still play them, just with a different ending.
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Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!