>>47508949
>As We gear up for the release of v2.5, we wanted to share some of the thoughts that went into it v2.5 with our community. Our Dragon Ball Z RPG isn't just a combat simulator, like other imitators, it is a revolving system with more than just smashing bad guys. We felt, players shouldn't have to pretend when it came to non-combat skills and situation. Intelligence and other like minds aptitudes should be just as important as Strength and Stamina. Right?! Dragon Ball Z is about something other than fighting. DBZ is about the adventure, the story, friendship and family. Our aim is to bring those aspects to v2.5

>>47508960
On one hand, they're right. You got people like Bulma and Briefs who were fucking geniuses that contributed more than half the fighters. On the other, they got tangled up in things before by trying to expand on DB. Like status effects, equipment, and the breakdown for alien species.

Overall, I'm just not a big fan of their style, but don't wish them any ill.

>>47509086
I understand their intent but I feel it is somewhat superfluous. Wanting to adventure in the DB world sounds great, but you have to bear in mind that not only does it literally have predatory dinosaurs and saber toothed tigers and shit, it also has hostile aliens that show up ALL THE TIME.

Even in DB, having a skillset isn't nearly as important as being strong: just ask chiaotzu or krillin.

Their goal is to let the fights happen in the background while that guy wants to rp as gohan "making really good grades".

>>47509086
>>47509277
At least they post a few times a month to let everyone know what's going on and that they're active.

So, what about the upcoming Kaioken rules?

>>47508960
>Dragon Ball Z is about something other than fighting
Is this a joke?

>>47514323
Apparently they read the suggestions doc for the other game. One of the newest (I say 'newest', it's quite old by now) suggestions is that Regalia and EMM ditch all non-combat skills and remove Intelligence and Charisma as stats from the game, since fighting is all that matters and you can handwave everything else.

>>47514370
>>47514323
[Suggestion: Remove INT and CHA]
[High Priority] (spending experience on these stats creates significant differences in balance)
Non-combat doesn't need stats! Your character can be as smart or charming (or not) as you want them to be, regardless of stats. Characters who focus on these stats are immediately destroyed by any competent character. That there is an option to gimp your character (significantly, considering the costs involved) by allocating valuable experience points into dump stats is no good.
Dependent mechanics (Skills, Willpower, some saving throws) can be changed to rely on other stats, rely on NO stats, or be removed (in the case of noncombat skills) without much fuss. I like the idea of giving Toughness more saving throws, and giving Agility the Stealth and Perception-type skills.
For that matter, please get rid of the Social aptitude, too.

>>47514396
>[-1] Given the amount of people who seem to want to play ‘Normal’ citizens or leader types, I don’t agree with this. Some people, shockingly enough, want to play things other than combat all day, erry day. That said, of COURSE balance is thrown off in early games, because 500 EXP is for starting characters! Have you tried making more experienced characters, like with 750 or 1000 EXP? They can easily handle the balance. Early game is where you have to specialize and focus on what you really want out of it, whether it be combat, support, or whatever. Late game is where you can spread out and get a comfortable balance OR continue on your specialization

>>47514417


Reply below:
I would say playing a "normal" citizen has nothing to do with having non-combat stats in the game. As in, you can still do it. (Though, I believe you shouldn't do this, because playing something weak gimps your party, and if the character is entirely noncombat, then you get to be useless for the parts of the session where the others play what the game was designed to do. Which is fighting!)
With INT and CHA removed, you can be good at whatever it is you want to specialize in WITHOUT gimping yourself in combat, on which the game undeniably focuses.
Even if you cap your stats somehow, an (increasingly) effective Ki technique can cost quite a bit, and any experience points you spend on dump stats aren’t being spent to create incredibly powerful techniques. The gap should remain for pretty much any achievable value of EXP, even if it becomes less significant if your rate of EXP gain increases as you progress through the game.
That being said, if it somehow WERE the standard practice for combat characters to put points into INT, CHA, and noncombat skills as they progress, then what would be the point of having a “normal” support character? The “fighters” would fill that role anyway. It’s also worth noting that, under the current system and given the same relevant stats, a Super Saiyan would be better at engineering than a “normal” engineer.

>>47514432
>[Discussion] If someone wants to play the Pilaf, the Bulma, or the Red Ribbon-types, then the system should support that. They’re legitimate characters in the canon, after all. How many times would the series have ended without some non-combatant’s tech-wizardry or actual magic advancing the plot?
>Again, there are people who don’t want to play fighters. Maybe they’d rather sink points into crafting that Dragon Radar or the space ship you need to get to Frieza Planet 186? Even if the game promotes combat above all else, you’re still going to get people who want to play in a support roll. Look at how the evolution of a system like Dungeons and Dragons moves from pure fighting to allowing for diplomacy and negotiation. Just because you don’t see a reason for people to get involved in things that aren’t punching it doesn’t mean that there shouldn’t be room for things that don’t involve punching. If it’s a big problem for you, then don’t use those skills or stats. The only time INT affects combat is with Willpower, resisting Blinding, and resisting Burn’s stun. CHA only affects combat with Deception rolls, and high Agility can counter that.
>Super Saiyans only get bonuses to physical stats.

Reply: Like I said, you could still do all that support stuff without INT and CHA being stats in the system, since it would largely be fluff. As is, it still remains true that “normal” support characters become redundant if “combat” characters eventually put points into INT, CHA, and noncombat skills; removing these stats allows for anyone to be a “support” character without gimping their combat strength. And separate from stat bonuses, being higher tier (Super Saiyan) makes a character better at everything that involves rolling dice.

>>47514450
>[Discussion] Honestly speaking, my groups wouldn't play this game if it were purely combative. While that may be the slant of the series by the end, it is very far from all it has to offer. Beyond that, any gaming group that wants to focus on anything outside of a strictly combative character is going to be turned away by a purely combat driven game. Not one of the characters in my two groups plays a purely combative character. Not a single one! We have everything from bikers to scientists in play currently, and no number of 'fluff rules' could make them feel like they were a part of this game like solid social rolls.

>If anything, instead of hurting the game by removing these things, why not amp up their importance? One of the most important distinctions between Goku and Vegeta is his intelligence. He is conniving and sneaky throughout the Namek arc. He uses stealth and deception to get what he wants.

>Maybe it doesn't seem to have a place in the game to some, but to most others who sit down to play games like this, there has to be more than bashing baddies. And if all of that is handled without mechanics, then the game will feel shallow and incomplete.

>Non-Combat Skills do more than give the game flavor. They provide ways of interacting with the world on a much more real level. While Dragon Ball Z did eventually devolve into a purely combative franchise, the aspects of adventure are interwoven into every arc. The players expect to have a bit of adventure to tie their battles together, otherwise the game would lose a lot of appeal. Any system with the Long Game in mind is going to need something beyond combat to pull players in. Fighting can be fun, but players are going to be turning to other systems once it gets old. - RwE

-But you can just ~pretend~ whenever you’re not being a combat wombat!

>I shouldn’t have to ~pretend~ that there are rules for roleplaying in a roleplaying game. - RwE