with lots of options is how is that going to effect the PC stats section of any product? How about the monster stats and options?
Lets start with Monsters - just because its always best to start with monsters.
- HP - I do not see how optional rules would effect that.
- OB/DB - Again, I do not see much of change in this catagory. I suppose that a GM could add combat styles to each of their monsters, but this would really be best handled on an individual GM basis and would not need to be a part of the monster stats in a module.
- Armor Class/Type - This one may very depending on which level of options are chosen. Right now with RMX, Combat Companion, and Arms Law, one can have 5 armor types, 10 armor types, or 20 armor types. This may be an area that would be best to keep one standard - like combat companion's 1-10 Armor types. Options would be for armor by the piece rules, and not introduce whole new levels of armor types.
NPC and PCs - key to success with this is to make sure that all optional rules scale nicely from the base game. Here is an example:
Bob the Fighter is a key NPC in a module titled, "The Curse of Bob" (ya I'm not going to be invited to write modules). Bob's stats would be based on the core game as this is area that I do not see as needing to be moded. It would be silly to have a core game with say 6 stats, and then upgrade to 10 different stats. How those stats are derived, or adding the concept of potentials, these are areas that could be upscaled options, but they would have no impact on game modules.
Skills would be easy as well. Core game has at most ~20 skill catagories, while the advanced options (going with an RMFRP flavor) would have maybe hundreds of subskills. Bob could have his skill levels listed using the base skills - but in the description of the NPC relevant details for those GMs who use the subskills can be added as a subset. Rarely wood an NPC need to be that "fleshed out", most could be designed with core rules only - but using higher level options would be easy to add. Going with my idea of color coding it might look like this:
Crafting 15 ranks
Leather Working 14
Wood working 12
Smithing 5 The base game teaches newbees about how to use options and to understand a toolkit approach to game design. Thus, when they are reading a suppliment or playing a module, anything color coded blue or red means that those are more advanced rules that should be ignored if they are not using them. Thus NPC Bob for a newbee has - Crafting 15 - but for anyone playing the option of increased skill choices, they would use the blue options.
Thus modules would normaly be written with the base rules but could easily throw in advanced rules without causing severe injury to the newbees.
