I have a character who's intended to slowly change over the course of a campaign, and l was hoping for some advice on how to scale that change, so it's not to fast or slow. I figured some kind of "Exp Bar" or Point system type thing could be used, with certain milestones causing slight changes.
(Edit: I don't really care if the other players notice. This is a mechanic l want to create for personal book keeping reasons. So, please, help me figure out a good system for my character to gradually go from Black hair and Blue eyes, to White hair and Red eyes, preferably tied to them being a necromancy school wizard using necromancy spells.)
The idea is, they're a necromancer who starts with Blue Eyes and Black Hair (Think Ciel from Black Butler) and by the end, they have White Hair and Red Eyes (Like Sophia from My next Life as a Villainess) With Purple eyes (Lelouch from Code Geass) and grey hair in between. (Also, maybe they loose a few inches of height? haven't fully decided) The slow change is supposed to be caused by the necromantic energy slowly altering their body, with them potentially turning into a Reborn at the end. This is intended to be done over several levels, weeks or maybe months of in game time.
Any ideas? Like, should the eye and hair colour shift be separate, like the eyes are purple while the hair is still black, for example? Should a Point be gained whenever a necromancy spell is cast, and if so, how many points should cause a change? 5? 10? Should the number increase after every "Rank up"? Should points be gained for every Hour you have a Reanimated Minion, or every day? Should it be one point per undead under your power? Or should I just slowly shift every time I Level Up?
I Know this is stuff that could be worked out with a DM, but l want opinions on it, as l want to have a more thorough idea of the system before l pitch the character.
This is all flavor stuff. I wouldn’t invent a mechanic for it, just go with it. Either decide for yourself when it happens, and time it with appropriate story beats to make it more impactful, or turn it over to your DM, assuming they’re willing, and let them work it into the story.
If you know how many levels you will gain through the course of the campaign, just make the changes whenever you gain levels. However, these kinds of details are so inconsequential that if you put too much effort into it, you're more likely to detract from the game than add to it. Nobody but you is really going to care about your eye color, hair, and a few inches of height. People regularly forget other players' races and class, and those actually matter.
One of the less discussed drawbacks of GMing is that GMs carry an understanding of the game world that is 99x more rich and vivid than the players will ever appreciate, and there isn't anything that can be done to share that internal world fully.
If you want to have your character change in a way that the other players will care about, it should be something they can interact with, such as slurred speech, a change in behavior, or something else that you, as a player, can bring to life. Anything else is just descriptive flavor.
I'd recommend more of a "milestone" system for something like this than an "XP" system. It will be more dramatic if your appearance changes in response to significant events in the game. Let your DM know of your plans, and they can plan for things to happen to your character that will induce the changes. Or you decide on the spot when you do a dramatic action that it will bring about the change. Maybe a mix of both: you control the eyes; DM controls the hair?
If you know how many levels you will gain through the course of the campaign, just make the changes whenever you gain levels. However, these kinds of details are so inconsequential that if you put too much effort into it, you're more likely to detract from the game than add to it. Nobody but you is really going to care about your eye color, hair, and a few inches of height. People regularly forget other players' races and class, and those actually matter.
One of the less discussed drawbacks of GMing is that GMs carry an understanding of the game world that is 99x more rich and vivid than the players will ever appreciate, and there isn't anything that can be done to share that internal world fully.
If you want to have your character change in a way that the other players will care about, it should be something they can interact with, such as slurred speech, a change in behavior, or something else that you, as a player, can bring to life. Anything else is just descriptive flavor.
This is a really good point. Other people aren’t going to be as invested in your character as you are. Heck, I barely know the names of the other characters in my party, let alone their hair color.
If you know how many levels you will gain through the course of the campaign, just make the changes whenever you gain levels. However, these kinds of details are so inconsequential that if you put too much effort into it, you're more likely to detract from the game than add to it. Nobody but you is really going to care about your eye color, hair, and a few inches of height. People regularly forget other players' races and class, and those actually matter.
One of the less discussed drawbacks of GMing is that GMs carry an understanding of the game world that is 99x more rich and vivid than the players will ever appreciate, and there isn't anything that can be done to share that internal world fully.
If you want to have your character change in a way that the other players will care about, it should be something they can interact with, such as slurred speech, a change in behavior, or something else that you, as a player, can bring to life. Anything else is just descriptive flavor.
I disagree. Whether you can pull off something like this depends on your play style. If you are a voice actor, then yeah you're not going to pull it off, because it's not something you can convey by dialogue or tone or even facial expressions. But there's no rule that says a player can't give as vivid a description of their appearance as the DM does when you enter a dungeon or city. Deliver a dramatic description of your character changing appearance before their eyes, and they will remember. (Or ask the DM to deliver it for you, if you don't feel up to doing it justice.)
I never said it was bad to have striking visual characteristics. Just that there were diminishing returns for investing effort into making it a campaign long process. If someone is going to obsess over a point tracking system for a year just to say that their eyes have gone from champagne to light yellow, then it's a lot of stress for nothing. Especially if the DM is adding it to their plate as well.
Don't fuss, just do it. People like vivid descriptions. People like nuanced stories, but elegance is about making it look and feel easy. There is no point overcomplicating it.
I have a character who's intended to slowly change over the course of a campaign, and l was hoping for some advice on how to scale that change, so it's not to fast or slow. I figured some kind of "Exp Bar" or Point system type thing could be used, with certain milestones causing slight changes.
(Edit: I don't really care if the other players notice. This is a mechanic l want to create for personal book keeping reasons. So, please, help me figure out a good system for my character to gradually go from Black hair and Blue eyes, to White hair and Red eyes, preferably tied to them being a necromancy school wizard using necromancy spells.)
The idea is, they're a necromancer who starts with Blue Eyes and Black Hair (Think Ciel from Black Butler) and by the end, they have White Hair and Red Eyes (Like Sophia from My next Life as a Villainess) With Purple eyes (Lelouch from Code Geass) and grey hair in between. (Also, maybe they loose a few inches of height? haven't fully decided) The slow change is supposed to be caused by the necromantic energy slowly altering their body, with them potentially turning into a Reborn at the end. This is intended to be done over several levels, weeks or maybe months of in game time.
Any ideas? Like, should the eye and hair colour shift be separate, like the eyes are purple while the hair is still black, for example? Should a Point be gained whenever a necromancy spell is cast, and if so, how many points should cause a change? 5? 10? Should the number increase after every "Rank up"? Should points be gained for every Hour you have a Reanimated Minion, or every day? Should it be one point per undead under your power? Or should I just slowly shift every time I Level Up?
I Know this is stuff that could be worked out with a DM, but l want opinions on it, as l want to have a more thorough idea of the system before l pitch the character.
Edit: Nevermind, l figured something out.
This is all flavor stuff. I wouldn’t invent a mechanic for it, just go with it. Either decide for yourself when it happens, and time it with appropriate story beats to make it more impactful, or turn it over to your DM, assuming they’re willing, and let them work it into the story.
If you know how many levels you will gain through the course of the campaign, just make the changes whenever you gain levels. However, these kinds of details are so inconsequential that if you put too much effort into it, you're more likely to detract from the game than add to it. Nobody but you is really going to care about your eye color, hair, and a few inches of height. People regularly forget other players' races and class, and those actually matter.
One of the less discussed drawbacks of GMing is that GMs carry an understanding of the game world that is 99x more rich and vivid than the players will ever appreciate, and there isn't anything that can be done to share that internal world fully.
If you want to have your character change in a way that the other players will care about, it should be something they can interact with, such as slurred speech, a change in behavior, or something else that you, as a player, can bring to life. Anything else is just descriptive flavor.
I'd recommend more of a "milestone" system for something like this than an "XP" system. It will be more dramatic if your appearance changes in response to significant events in the game. Let your DM know of your plans, and they can plan for things to happen to your character that will induce the changes. Or you decide on the spot when you do a dramatic action that it will bring about the change. Maybe a mix of both: you control the eyes; DM controls the hair?
This is a really good point. Other people aren’t going to be as invested in your character as you are. Heck, I barely know the names of the other characters in my party, let alone their hair color.
I disagree. Whether you can pull off something like this depends on your play style. If you are a voice actor, then yeah you're not going to pull it off, because it's not something you can convey by dialogue or tone or even facial expressions. But there's no rule that says a player can't give as vivid a description of their appearance as the DM does when you enter a dungeon or city. Deliver a dramatic description of your character changing appearance before their eyes, and they will remember. (Or ask the DM to deliver it for you, if you don't feel up to doing it justice.)
I never said it was bad to have striking visual characteristics. Just that there were diminishing returns for investing effort into making it a campaign long process. If someone is going to obsess over a point tracking system for a year just to say that their eyes have gone from champagne to light yellow, then it's a lot of stress for nothing. Especially if the DM is adding it to their plate as well.
Don't fuss, just do it. People like vivid descriptions. People like nuanced stories, but elegance is about making it look and feel easy. There is no point overcomplicating it.