Topic: figuring the systems out and end up confused and frustated newbie issues.

[Nightblade42]

Nightblade, what I found was the training packages he was using with the RMC character. His stats all jumped-up out of proportion with the other stats of the group and he had far more DP to spend per level than the others had.  He had bundles of skills that he wouldn't have been able to purchase using the RM2 DP costs and purchase method.

That is interesting as there are no training packages in RMC.

I was about to say the exact same thing.  TP's are an RMSS/RMFRP thing.  There's no real equivelent in the core rules of RM2 or RMC.  I know in SM2 there was training a PC or NPC could get by being employed by a corporation or another group - after they successfully were admitted to those groups -  but that is probably the closest to RMSS/RMFRP's Training Packages in the RM2/RMC/SM2 ruleset.

I for one like TPs, they're one of the parts of RMSS that I've adopted to my bastardized RM2 "games" (I actually use the rules as the backbone to my creative writting).  I like them mostly because I can use them to give my characters more depth using a fairly simple & straight forward process.  I know most people don't like them because they find them unbalancing, but with some tweaks, I think they could even work in a RM2 game setting.

But if you're using a stripped down RAW RM2 ruleset (with RoCoII & Elemental Companion added in), then using TP's could be unbalancing.  Again, School Of Hard Knocks is an RMSS/RMFRP "Companion" & really should not be used with a purist RM2 ruleset like the one you are using.  I could see how this would cause problems.

Nightblade - >--

[Peter R]

I quite liked to principle of TPs initially but never implemented them as I could see them exploding into a world of bloat which I didn't want to go down.

As a way of boosting and rounding off a started character they have a lot to commend them.

[jdale]

I'm a fan of TPs but you definitely can't add them for one character and not have them available from the beginning to everyone. That would have huge balance ramifications.

[Nightblade42]

Sorry, I should have said "most RM2 fans don't like TP's" - not "most people".  My bad for being vague…

Nightblade ->--

[tbigness]

Big fan of TP's especially to round out the beginning character and giving better skills and bonuses with them.

[intothatdarkness]

I simply came up with bonus skills based on a character's culture of origin and used those. Never cared for TPs...I tend to consider them "light Professions" and often poor versions of those at that.

[Cory Magel]

I think Training Packages are an okay idea for new players, but I prefer to go another route if they know what they are doing.

To start with, I separate Race from Culture as it's possible to have an Elf be raised by Dwarves, or whatever creative backstory a player might come up with.  From there I simply find out what they player's character was doing before the adventures start and assign skills myself based on that for free.

[Peter R]

The common theme is that the number of skills in a full expanded RM is so great that everyone has some method of adding skills for free to round out characters.

Giving more DPs doesn't always work as some players will just pour ever more points into weapons and spells and end just as 'flat'. Free skills from culture, backstory or TPs all serve to round out a character.