Multiple skill point pools.

[EightBitz]

OK, I've been mulling something over in my head for a while now.

The old Doctor Who system, the one published by FASA in the Dark Ages (acoustic modems and no public internet) has a group of attributes, like most games do.

Each of those attributes then becomes its own pool of skill points.

So, say STR=7, DEX=5, INT=6
(It's not D&D)

Now I have a group of skills where each skill is associated with an attribute.

Combat is associated with STR, Stealth with DEX, and Math with INT (just building an example here).

Now, if I apply 1 point from my STR pool to combat, there's a multiplier. So 1 point turns into 4 points or 10 points or whatever. Same if I apply points from DEX to stealth and from INT to math.

Say I'm all done applying associated points, and I still have 3 points left in STR. I can apply those points to a DEX or INT skill, but there's no multiplier. Since it's not an associated skill, it's a 1:1 ratio.

During character creation and advancement, people are going to be assigning points, changing their minds, and unassigning then reassigning points.

This means a lot of tracking. There are four pools of skill points. Points can come from any and all pools into a single skill, but only the associated pool has a multiplier.

Each skill has to track how many points it has from each pool to allow for dynamic tracking.

Then the UI would need a method of assigning, unassigning and reassigning all these points in a manner that allows the user to control the source and destination as skill points flow back and forth.

So, my question is, has anyone already done anything like this? And if so, are you willing to share?

I have some ideas, but they're clunky and imperfect.

[Mathias]

Are you familiar with the d20 system's HL version? Have you seen that game's skill tab when used for a multi-classed character? Would that be a solution to this?

Also, please re-phrase your explanation. I'm having trouble following how exactly these skills work, and how the assignment to an attribute happens.

[EightBitz]

Originally Posted by Mathias

Are you familiar with the d20 system's HL version? Have you seen that game's skill tab when used for a multi-classed character? Would that be a solution to this?

Also, please re-phrase your explanation. I'm having trouble following how exactly these skills work, and how the assignment to an attribute happens.

I have not looked at that. I will take a look at that before I try to rephrase. Thanks for the reply.

[EightBitz]

So, that looks like it would work.

To try to clarify things, this system has six attributes, each with a default starting value of 6.

Strength (STR)
Endurance (END)
Dexterity (DEX)
Charisma (CHA)
Mentality (MNT)
Intuition (ITN)

As additional points, I have 36+2d6 to apply to these attributes. Say, for simplicity's sake, I role 12 with the 2d6. Now I have 48 points to distribute between these attributes.

I add 9 points each to STR, DEX, CHA and MNT which now puts each of those at 15 and leaves me 12 points left in my pool. So I'll add 6 each to END and ITN which puts each of those at 12.

STR: 15
END: 12
DEX: 15
CHA: 15
MNT: 15
ITN: 12

There's a table that gives you the level of your attribute based on how many points are assigned.

1 pt. = level 1
3 pts. = level 2
6 pts. = level 3
10 pts. = level 4
15 pts. = level 5
21 pts. = level 6
28 pts. = level 7

There are related skills for STR, DEX, CHA and MNT, but not for END or ITN.
Some of the related skills for STR are:
Armed Combat
Unarmed Combat
Wilderness Survival

Some of the related skills for DEX are:
Armed Combat
Unarmed Combat
Climbing
Vehicle Operation

Some of the related skills for CHA are:
Carousing
Gambling
Leadership

Some of the related skills for MNT are:
Engineering
Medical Sciences
Streetwise

If I distribute points to a related skill, I multiply the points by the attribute level. In this example, STR, DEX, CHA and MNT all have 15 points, which puts each of them at level 5.

So I have 15 points to distribute from STR. I apply 5 of those points to Armed Combat. Since that's a related skill, I multiply it by the attribute's level (5), so that gives me 25 points. in Armed Combat, even though I only spent 5 from STR.

The same level table applies to skills. I can't go above level 7, which requires 28 points. I need three more points for that level. Applying one from strength would be wasting 2 points. So I instead take 3 points from Intuition. This attribute is not related to the skill, so there's no multiplier. 3 points is 3 points.

So now, my point pool is:
STR: 10
END: 12
DEX: 15
CHA: 15
MNT: 15
ITN: 9

And I have the skill of Armed Combat at level 7 (28 pts.)

Now I do the same thing for Climb. Take 5 points from DEX, and 3 points from ITN.

So now, my point pool is:
STR: 10
END: 12
DEX: 10
CHA: 15
MNT: 15
ITN: 6

And I have the following skills:
Armed Combat at level 7 (28 pts.)
Climbing at level 7 (28 pts.)

Now I want to put points in Gambling. So I take 5 from MNT, 1 from ITN and 2 from END.

So now, my point pool is:
STR: 10
END: 10
DEX: 10
CHA: 15
MNT: 10
ITN: 5

And I have the following skills:
Armed Combat at level 7 (28 pts.)
Climbing at level 7 (28 pts.)
Gambling at level 7 (28 pts.)

Unarmed combat is related to both STR and DEX, so I can take 2 points from STR, 3 points from DEX, and I can apply the multiplier to each set of points, so that would still give me 25 points. Etc, etc, etc.

In relation to the D20 system, I would need six columns, one for each attribute. And I would need to highlight the incrementer based on whether or not that skill is associated to that attribute.

Is the code for the D20 skills tab available?

[Mathias]

The tab's code isn't the key here - the key is that d20 uses an array to store things, and based on what you've explained, an array will work here. Laying things out is just a matter of adding 6 different display portals, each displaying a specific piece of the array. And then use the centerpoint operation on each of those portals, so they're always displayed in the same left-right position, which will make them look like columns once they're stacked together, especially if you combine them with vertical lines in-between each portal, each of which goes from the top of the template to the bottom.

Also, you will always have exactly 6 columns - you don't need d20's complex calculations of where those portals belong depending on how many columns need to be shown.

I think this will be best with two arrays + 6 user fields. The arrays will be 6 row arrays, since you have six attributes. You'll need to pick an order for the attributes, and keep that order consistent between the arrays. When naming the user fields, I'd include that same number - it'll help you remember which is which. Don't forget that arrays in Hero Lab are 0-based, so your fields might have Ids like skStr0 (skill-related field, Strength, position 0), skEnd1, skDex2, etc.

Your first array will store the multiplier that's coming from the corresponding attribute.

Your second array will be that multiplier, times the appropriate field.

Then, you can have a field that stores the total of everything in the second array. Remember that you'll probably want to display to the user how many points they are away from the next threshold, so that might need to be a field of its own.

[EightBitz]

Thanks. This is beyond anything I've done in HL before, so I'll have to look up all this stuff and find syntax and examples.

But I know it's possible now, and I have a direction to explore. And I may have more questions as I do.

Thanks.