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Old 05-03-2021, 11:08 AM   #1
Anders
 
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Default Buckets of CP

Has anyone worked with buckets of Character Points awarded during play? So if you give out 4 CP per session, 2 of them must go to advantages or something like that?
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Old 05-03-2021, 11:22 AM   #2
SionEwig
 
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Default Re: Buckets of CP

I've done it unofficially as a player. I tend towards putting approximately half my earned CPs into skills, advantages, buying off disadvantages, and such that were actually used in that adventure. But the GM usually doesn't require it. It is just something that makes sense to me.
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Old 05-03-2021, 03:00 PM   #3
Donny Brook
 
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Default Re: Buckets of CP

For some time now, I have had players declare a 'long-term saving' goal which the character is presumed to be working toward 'in the background' into which part of their awarded points go (usually 1 per session out of a usual 2-3). It serves several different purposes:

-replaces the training rules;
-allows players to pursue character development independent of the events in-game; and
-sinks some points away from too rapid skill development.

The criteria for a LT goal are that it must be a trait (including removing a disad) worth at least 10 points and something permissible to gain after chargen according to the setting.
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Old 05-03-2021, 03:10 PM   #4
ericthered
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Default Re: Buckets of CP

I've used buckets of points during character creation, but never with awarded points. On the other hand "Awarded in Play" Points often end up being a separate bucket.
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Old 05-04-2021, 07:22 PM   #5
Morgan
 
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Default Re: Buckets of CP

I've done it before, or at least something similar. I would award points towards specific advantages and skills depending on what the characters did that session. For example, the young noble character got points towards Combat Reflexes and High Pain Threshold everytime he got into a fight and/or beaten up. He would also get points towards whatever combat skills he used in any significant encounter. They would also gain points for training during downtime. Learning new skills requires training or a bunch of practice by rolling at default. Rolling a critical on the first default roll for a given skill would grant a free point in it to represent a hidden knack for the skill. When the character accrues enough points, they gain the advantage or another level in the skill.

In addition to this, I would award points that could be spent on anything the players wanted when they accomplished a story goal or did something really cool or impressive or played their character really well. I would also award such a point for the MVP.

I found it worked quite well and it encouraged my players to use more of their skill list. I just made sure to limit it by only allowing 2/3 increases per session to prevent advancing too quickly.
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Old 05-05-2021, 05:01 AM   #6
johndallman
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Default Re: Buckets of CP

Quote:
Originally Posted by Anders View Post
Has anyone worked with buckets of Character Points awarded during play? So if you give out 4 CP per session, 2 of them must go to advantages or something like that?
I have occasionally awarded an extra point to go into a specific skill that the character(s) had used heavily, but that's all I've done. I feel that the characters are the players' primary way of affecting what happens in the game, and with a system like GURPS, I should let them make use of it in their own way.
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Old 05-05-2021, 05:21 AM   #7
Icelander
 
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Default Re: Buckets of CP

It's entirely unofficial with me.

There is an understanding among players that awarded points must be spent in a plausible manner, toward traits that seem likely to result from what the character has been doing, the connections they made in play, feats they accomplished, etc.

Players will usually discuss what they are planning to work toward with the characters and ask what they should be doing in the sessions to make that more plausible.
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Old 05-07-2021, 02:48 PM   #8
Black Leviathan
 
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Default Re: Buckets of CP

I did a variant that I liked a lot. I restricted players from spending more than 1 point on any increase per session. So you could slowly up a skill you've trained over 4 sessions or increase your dexterity over 20 sessions. I made an exception for advantages that would normally be bought with a CP debt like gaining an ally or Patron in game.

The net effect is that skills were easy to improve but buying up blocks of skills by increasing DX or IQ was rarely worth the long-game investment. Also I didn't have to worry as much about how long someone was training a skill before it merited an increase, generally if you were only spending a point per session and roleplaying that improvement it came out about right in my head.

My players hated this because the record keeping was a pain in the ass for them. So we let it go.
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Old 05-07-2021, 03:22 PM   #9
Anaraxes
 
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Default Re: Buckets of CP

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Originally Posted by Black Leviathan View Post
I restricted players from spending more than 1 point on any increase per session... My players hated this because the record keeping was a pain in the ass for them.
How so? That is, what did they find burdensome?

It seems to me that you pretty much have to note how many CP you spend on a skill at character build time. There's already a spot for that on the character sheet and in build tools.

Spending advancement XP is just "add one". You don't need to record the date that CP was earned. It's either spent on that skill, increasing the total by one (say 4 goes to 5, which has no immediate effect), or it's not. Next time around, same deal - you can add one to 5 to make it 6, or not.

Saving up XP for one lump still means you have to add, though not as many times (trivial as that may be), and actually making up your mind what to spend the points on is the same either way.

Trying to record how long it's been since you spent on any particular trait to make sure N sessions had gone by to ensure that you've earned the right tos spend that many would be burdensome, but there's no need to do it that way if you spend as you go. Make the rule that if you haven't decided how to spend the the points by next session, you just haven't spent the point. No spending extra to "catch up' with what "I might have done". If the player is just saving because they don't know what they want to do, that's fine -- but the penalty for not having a proactive plan is just that it takes longer to spend your bank of points -- narrowly, anyway. You could still dump them all on a wider variety of traits. Not being able to do focused spending in minimal time without having that as a plan seems like a benefit, actually.
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