I said yesterday that I'd have an example of the affinity trees to show off, but that was overly optimistic.

However, I want to talk about how I want to build the affinity tree system to work and what that entails, and perhaps even start some design document style commentary on the system.

Purposes

I already said this to an extent, but here's my idea behind the whole affinity trees thing: it's individualized complexity.

Characters in games are more interesting when they're specialized agents (I was originally going to simply say "powerful", but that's not exactly what I'm getting at), and the affinity trees enable us to do that specialization easily.

Unlike other games, we allow characters to have multiple affinity trees that they've bought into, so it's not like they're going to have a hard-core commitment.

I think this is one way that the affinity trees deviates positively from other games. If we look at other games, branching trees tend to be a singular element of a character, or else bound up in other things.

For instance, they represent an analogue to cults/advancement paths in Degenesis and Warhammer Fantasy/40,000 Roleplaying. The former is perhaps a better example of this, since Degenesis already has plentiful branching options to choose from.

At the same time, they can represent linear paths; an example of this would be if they were used similarly to disciplines in Vampire: The Masquerade or humanity in the same game (though this would probably use a sister system).

Another game which provides spiritual inspiration, though not so much in the way of mechanical inspiration, is Eclipse Phase, with its affinity-based reputation networks. However, these are largely unexplored in either edition of Eclipse Phase as far as mechanics go.

The affinity trees basically allow people to sign up for a variety of things. The Roles that currently exist in Segira will be a starting point for career-based affinity trees, which are themselves similar to guild membership in Elder Scrolls games (particularly Morrowind, which I particularly adore).

I'm also considering using this for fantasy species in Unsung Gods; characters who represent the paragons of what their species is good at can unlock special abilities related to this, but I'm not sure if this is really a good idea or if it's over-complicating the matter. When all you have is a hammer, as they say, everything looks like a nail.

Why Use Them?

Barring the initial obvious point that they're a great mechanics-setting intersection, which is something that I feel Hammercalled, by nature of being a genre-independent system, is fairly light on, the affinity tree system is able to help us deal with some of the issues that come up with building comprehensive characters.

I also think that they provide a concrete path to character advancement. One of the games that I love is Shadowrun, which provides players with "archetypes" that represent the most effective–or most common–ways of building a character.

The affinity path system allows us to do soft direction and reward players who really move in a particular way with their character. It may also enable us to add mechanics that wouldn't otherwise make sense. Having companions, for instance, doesn't quite make sense as a talent, but it makes more sense when worked into an affinity path that sets very clear prerequisites.

Another Happy Accident

Oh yeah, Presence becomes more useful now, since it also measures how many affinity trees a character can be active in.

The simplified combat system took a half-dozen talents with it, but the affinity tree system helps us add them back in.

This also lets us add in some rules for social combat and the like that are situational, meaning that they don't make the game worse for everyone and more complex, but can handle courtly intrigue and the like.

What they Need to Work

Right now the draft rules for affinity trees give them a short list of qualities:

• Initiation requirements
• Advancement and fall criteria

Further, each rank has the following:

• Duties
• Benefits
• A number to represent its ranking in general hierarchical terms

Making Good Initiations

Initiation is challenging, because it needs to be able to interact with:

• Narrative events
  -- Character backstory
  -- Current situations
• Game interaction
  -- Attribute requirements
  -- Specialization requirements
  -- Talent requirements
  -- Costs of entry (XP, other resources?)

The initiation needs to represent how difficult it is to join a faction, but it can also be used as a mechanical form of balance; generally narrative requirements win on fluff, but an XP cost or stringent requirements can be another balancing factor.

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Tomorrow I'll provide an example and go into more of the other elements.