Kyeudo
One Thousand Club
In putting together my social fix, I found that Appearance is just plain annoying as an Attribute. It seldom gets rolled by itself, so currently most of its value is determined by the bonus to MDV it gives in social combat and in what Lunar or Alchemical Charms you are trying to learn. So, I finally found out what the NWoD uses in its place, and I have to say that Composure sounds a little more useable than Appearance.
First, it just seems to slot into the system so very nicely. You simply replace Willpower with Composure in the calculation of Dodge MDV, where it logically seems to go, and it immediately gets enough importance to bother putting dots in. It would even make Lunars and Alchemicals able to use their Excellencies to boost their Dodge MDV. I can also see new possibilities for rolls opening up. I can practically hear a Storyteller say "Alright, roll Composure+Socialize to avoid commiting a faux pas at the state dinner and get close to the king."
Second, it allows for us to get rid of this wierd "everyone has the same ideas about beuty" meta-explanation that doesn't really work out. Look at the following: Erembour is a rat-tailed black demon. The Lover Clad In the Raiment of Tears appears to be a youthful seductress so hot she should melt the bedsprings just by thinking about it. They have Appearance scores within one or two dots of each other. They look so vastly different that they shouldn't both fall into any given person's standard of beuty, yet everyone in the universe will find them almost exactly as appealing. That strains believability. There's not even any accounting for taste. Whether your character likes his women tall or short, blonde or redhead, whatever, Appearance score is god in this general area of physical impressiveness.
Third, well, I don't really have a third item, but I felt the need to say third. So, third.
Anyway, the only problem I see is that this would mess with existing Lunar and Alchemical Charms something terrible. Charms about disguise would have to hop over to Manipulation or something, social charms building on Appearance wouldn't have a leg to stand on, and so on.
So, do you guys think sorting out the whole mess would result in a generally cleaner system, or would it just amount to trading one set of problems for another?
First, it just seems to slot into the system so very nicely. You simply replace Willpower with Composure in the calculation of Dodge MDV, where it logically seems to go, and it immediately gets enough importance to bother putting dots in. It would even make Lunars and Alchemicals able to use their Excellencies to boost their Dodge MDV. I can also see new possibilities for rolls opening up. I can practically hear a Storyteller say "Alright, roll Composure+Socialize to avoid commiting a faux pas at the state dinner and get close to the king."
Second, it allows for us to get rid of this wierd "everyone has the same ideas about beuty" meta-explanation that doesn't really work out. Look at the following: Erembour is a rat-tailed black demon. The Lover Clad In the Raiment of Tears appears to be a youthful seductress so hot she should melt the bedsprings just by thinking about it. They have Appearance scores within one or two dots of each other. They look so vastly different that they shouldn't both fall into any given person's standard of beuty, yet everyone in the universe will find them almost exactly as appealing. That strains believability. There's not even any accounting for taste. Whether your character likes his women tall or short, blonde or redhead, whatever, Appearance score is god in this general area of physical impressiveness.
Third, well, I don't really have a third item, but I felt the need to say third. So, third.
Anyway, the only problem I see is that this would mess with existing Lunar and Alchemical Charms something terrible. Charms about disguise would have to hop over to Manipulation or something, social charms building on Appearance wouldn't have a leg to stand on, and so on.
So, do you guys think sorting out the whole mess would result in a generally cleaner system, or would it just amount to trading one set of problems for another?
