Welcome back to Willows Roleplay Perks Guide! This lesson is going to explain all about Knowledge & Ability points and how you can use them in your own roleplays. In my experience, I have used this system to introduce information and/or skills to the characters, that they wouldn't of had otherwise. Overall, when using this you should make sure the knowledge/abilities correlate with the plot of your roleplay in some way. Pairing Knowledge & Ability points with a leveling system is a great way to continuously introduce information and/or skills to your players, as well. Below, I will explain more about each point and also alternatives to using a number based system.
[bg=#2A734F]
Knowledge Points
[/bg]
Knowledge points are a great way to give your player's characters information. For a number based system, you'll want to decide how many Knowledge points your player's characters will need to gain the information. Each piece of information can be a different total number based on how important it is for your player's characters to know about. Knowledge points can be gained in a variety of ways, for example:
- Leveling Up
- Completing A Quest
- Engaging in Dialogue
- Performing a Class role
Once the character has gained enough knowledge points, you can reveal the information to them in the IC. If other characters have not gained enough Knowledge points, make sure to set the scene to where only the applicable characters can know about the information. There usually is no limit to how many knowledge points a player's character can receive, as long as the GM produces interesting and relevant information for the plot.
In my experience, I have found that is good to have most (if not all) information that can be obtained open to all players in the OOC. This way if they have an objection, or even a suggestion for what knowledge their characters learn, they can easily tell you (the GM). The information you provide after a character earns enough knowledge points can be anything that relates to your plot.
For example, if you were roleplaying a high school setting, the information could be a secret about the Headmistress. Or even lore about the world in which the characters live in. The possibilities are endless. Next, I will explain about Ability points and the skills you can learn from them.
[bg=#2A734F]
Ability Points
[/bg]
In my experience, I have used ability points to give my player's characters skills. These skills should be relevant to the plot of your roleplay, and allow the characters to advance with the plot. When using a number based system, you first need to decide how many ability points you want the characters to collect before granting them a skill. Each skill you have can be a different total number of points depending on how important and powerful the skill is. Characters can gain ability points in a variety of ways, for example:
- Leveling Up
- Performing a Class Role
- Gaining Information that explains how to accomplish that specific skill
- Engaging in a related Action to that Skill (i.e. Skill is knife throwing, and the character uses a knife to carve a pumpkin - 1 Ability Point)
Once the character has gained enough ability points for a skill, you (the GM) will engage in an IC event that allows the character to gain the skill. If you have classes in your roleplay, you could include skills that only specific classes can gain, as well as knowledge too. In my experience, I have found that tailoring skills to the individual characters can be a lot of fun for the players too. If you want to use Ability points in your roleplay, keep in mind that the skills you are giving to the characters should be relevant to the plot in some way. Finally, I will be explaining the different alternatives you can use instead of a number based system.
[bg=#2A734F]
Alternatives to Points
[/bg]
With Knowledge & Ability points, you don't have to use numbers to calculate what skill someone gets or the information they receive. For example, in my roleplay A Planet to Colonize: Floranota, the characters receive information or skills depending on what part of a flower they put on Knolskidge trees.
If you decide you want to include knowledge & ability points in your roleplay without using numbers, you can dedicate certain aspects of your roleplay to this. For example, a high school roleplay could dedicate gaining knowledge about the plot by reading textbooks. Or if you had a pirate roleplay the characters could gain abilities by finding treasure. The possibilities are endless as long as you can find actions in your plot that would allow the character to gain information or skills. Overall, Knowledge & Ability points are another perk to spice up your roleplay and allow the characters to gain new information and/or skills that further the plot! Stay tuned for the next Roleplay Perks Guide: Occupations!
