Topic: first level development

[Dirz]

If I well understood, when I create a PC, I develop everything 3 times before beginning playing.

1 for Adolescence
1 for leve 0
1 for level 1

So, I could have 6 ranks in my preferred weapon, or up to 6 spell lists if I spend a lot in DPs ... and I'm also quite lucky.

Am I wrong?

Did I miss something?

Thanks

[yammahoper]

Unless there has been a big change in the system, you get adolescence and level one.

lynn

[Dirz]

you mean that adolescence is the famous "level 0"? Probably too many rules in a full immersion just blow my brain away 

[Elton Robb]

It blew my brain away when I first read Rolemaster way back in 1990.  But then, it did make a lot of sense.  Adolescence development represents the skills you learned in Childhood and adolescence.  At level 1, you learn the skills you picked up in your early young adulthood.

[Dirz]

ok, so lev 0 is the Adolescence level ... the cost for skills is obviously the cost for the Profession choosen.

I know it's obvious, but just to be sure of it.

Thanks

[Rasyr-Mjolnir]

you mean that adolescence is the famous "level 0"? Probably too many rules in a full immersion just blow my brain away 

Correct.

You do 2 full levels worth of development. That makes you a first level character with 10,000 XP.

[Elton Robb]

Yes, which makes investing the character and his background so much richer.  I realize that most people just want to get their character created so that they can just sit down and play.  I have not played GURPS, but in Rolemaster at least there is the encouragement to think about how your character learned these skills and the background he came from.

I use a lot of GURPS books in world building, by the way.

For RMC, you can describe your character in how he got the skills he got.  "Well, he was an orphan raised in a village.   His adopted parents encouraged him to explore the world.  So he spent his days exploring the wilderness outside his village.  He jumped over tree stumps and climbed trees. . . ."  *Justifying two ranks in jumping and climbing.*
 

[Marc R]

I always preferred the purchased 0 level to a flat adolecence package. . .and though it is a bit more time consuming, at least you can't die in character generation. . . .heheh.

[Dirz]

What do you mean with "flat adolescence package"?

[munchy]

I think he refers to prefering to develop level 0 like any other level instead of getting a high man adolescence package which does not allow you to choose which skills to learn but only put skill ranks in preset skills.

[Marc R]

And dying in chargen is a dig on Traveler. . .at least the version I played, where you could die in some of the lifepath choices in CharGen.

[Elton Robb]

Oh, wow.  you can play a dead guy in Traveler? 

[twh]

And dying in chargen is a dig on Traveler. . .at least the version I played, where you could die in some of the lifepath choices in CharGen.

I had forgotten all about that.  Of course, I haven't played Traveller since <cough> 1982.

[munchy]

I think you couldn't, you just ended up with a character that you can't play at the end of character creation, can't play because he was dead. Weird system.

On the other hand, Arms Companion and/or RMCV also had these tables to roll on for events that you experienced during time off or during time ourside the game.

[Fornitus]

Wouldnt a good GM just make you "mostley" dead?

[pastaav]

If I well understood, when I create a PC, I develop everything 3 times before beginning playing.

1 for Adolescence
1 for leve 0
1 for level 1

RMC way is 1 levelup for level 0 and 1 levelup for level 1
RMSS/RMFRP way is Adolescence and hobby ranks and 1 levelup for level 1. (but TPs can give you more ranks if you have less than 10 ranks)

[Fidoric]

I like adolescence ranks because they translate the cultural background a PC belongs to. Maybe it could be less extensive, giving only some ranks in particular skills (like a TP) which cost is then reduced from the level 0 DP. The remaining level 0 can then be spent normally.

[Rasyr-Mjolnir]

I like adolescence ranks because they translate the cultural background a PC belongs to. Maybe it could be less extensive, giving only some ranks in particular skills (like a TP) which cost is then reduced from the level 0 DP. The remaining level 0 can then be spent normally.

The next issue of Express Additions (as soon as I can get it written) will be doing cultures, and they will work somewhat like you are saying. I won't spoil it by giving too many details.    but simply put, cultures will cost about 20 DP to acquire, leaving the rest of the DPs available for normal customization.

[Balhirath]

ok, so lev 0 is the Adolescence level ... the cost for skills is obviously the cost for the Profession choosen.

I know it's obvious, but just to be sure of it.

Thanks

Not quite that obvious since I sometimes have players to develop level 0 using the skill cost from the No Profession.
I do this because unless the player is trained from childhood on his choosen profession, why should he or she use the skill cost of that profession. It also give the players a reason to their characters childhood and there are many interesting things that can be learned in childhood. Like Stalk/hide, jumping, running and all the other things that we did as children when playing hide & seek. A child is not bad a hide and seek, just because he or she later starts training in how to be a sage.
I had also had characters that started out as being trained as mages, discovered that it wasn't their calling in life and switched to becomming bards or fighters (I allow this as a total change of profession as the only point in a characters life, where they can do that) Ofcause they never learned anything else than a few prosaic spells, but it was fun anyway to play anyway.

read this post http://www.ironcrown.com/ICEforums/index.php?topic=4504.msg61051#msg61051 to see how I normally start out in rolemaster especially with players that are new to the system.