Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - [Character Creation] How many have used point buckets?

philosophyguy · 12-22-2016, 06:14 AM

I've used point buckets in several campaigns. I found it very useful for two kinds of situations in particular. The first is new players: point buckets make it easier for the players to make the array of choices manageable. It's a lot quicker to decide how to allocate 100 points in attributes and 50 points in skills rather than 150 points among everything.

The second scenario where point buckets shine is with powers/supernatural abilities. Point-equal characters aren't balanced, so rather than fiddling with balance issues I can give the characters points for their "base" character and then give them a second bucket they can tap for magic, psionics, cinematic advantages, etc. That way, all the characters have a comparable foundation - their base attributes and skill levels will be in the same ballpark.

12-22-2016, 06:14 AM	#2
philosophyguy Join Date: Feb 2014	Re: [Character Creation] How many have used point buckets? I've used point buckets in several campaigns. I found it very useful for two kinds of situations in particular. The first is new players: point buckets make it easier for the players to make the array of choices manageable. It's a lot quicker to decide how to allocate 100 points in attributes and 50 points in skills rather than 150 points among everything. The second scenario where point buckets shine is with powers/supernatural abilities. Point-equal characters aren't balanced, so rather than fiddling with balance issues I can give the characters points for their "base" character and then give them a second bucket they can tap for magic, psionics, cinematic advantages, etc. That way, all the characters have a comparable foundation - their base attributes and skill levels will be in the same ballpark.