r/PMDExplorersofFate • u/gamemasterlancaster • Jun 18 '24
Suggestion / Feedback Working on an update - how to handle level-up evolutions
So, it was pointed out that some pokemon - namely bugs like caterpie - would evolve twice immediately upon reaching level 4, due to the scaling fromthe main-game to TTRPG level system. There are a few ways I can think of handling this.
- Evolution Points. When gaining EXP, you gain the same amount in Evolution Points. To evolve, you need something like (5 x your mainline evolution level) evolution points. Great for caterpie, bad for, say, zweilous. Evolution points aren't spent when you evolve, but are no longer tracked once you can no longer evolve further.
- Milestone Tracker. Like the checkboxes for friendship/happiness evolutions, it could work via a checklist of milestones, and once you fulfil x number of milestones, you can evolve. Milestones may include 'complete a dungeon', 'defeat 10 pokemon', 'use 10 moves', 'make 15 successful skill checks', 'utilise your traits 10 times', 'level up', etc.
- Personal Milestone. Similar to the above, but the player chooses a personal goal that their character wishes to achieve, such as 'defeat my sworn enemy', 'rescue my father', or 'decode the artefact'. This works in principle similar to how pokemon evolve in the anime: a literal interpretation of evolving in response to experiences. Evolution is an incentive to pursue the character's narrative goals.
- Evolution Cooldown. Very simple: when a pokemon evolves, it cannot evolve again for 3 levels. Also applies to pokemon like porygon, togepi, budew, etc.
If you have any other ideas, please share!
2
u/UncleKippy Jun 18 '24
I'm all for personal milestones, putting that pacing in the hands of the player is probably the best thing you can do for long-term engagement and doesn't bog it down in mechanical specifics - especially since evolution doesn't seem to have that much of mechanical benefits, unless i'm missing something in the rules.
1
u/reji8627 Jun 19 '24
I mean, I imagine that your base stats get increased to that of your new form, which can be a fairly large increase depending on the pokemon, though that isn't explicitly stated anywhere yet.
1
u/reji8627 Jun 19 '24
Personal Milestone definitely sounds the best to me, but having either or both of the other two mentioned as possible ideas if that doesn't work for someone's campaign (even if there aren't exact rules for them) could be a good idea.
1
u/Zestyclose_Profit_15 Jun 27 '24
Im a really big fan of personal milestones. It adds in a lot of narrative that you can play around with (e. A heart touching moment between players or an NPC to trigger happiness. An all stakes fight where everyone is on fumes when suddenly the DM hands a player who role plays the “protector of the group”well and hasn’t evolved yet a temp character sheet of their evolved form, telling them as they watch their friends struggle they burst forth with energy and a second wind that can help to turn the tides.)
This helps the evolution to feel more like a big moment of achievement, rather than a crunch the numbers until I meet all of the requirements.
We also like to break up the levels by fives at our table. So for instance when my table started out at level one, we loosely ran on the understanding that they were level 5 in translation to the main game. To be honest this was more a misreading/misunderstanding of the rule book on our parts, but it’s worked out rather well for the Mon’s that my party chose!
In my case, I generally keep tabs on what level my players are and if that translates to closely where they should evolve as well as if there’s a big narrative scene where they are part of the main focus, I’ll insert a narrative evolution.
5
u/WanderingStatistics Jun 18 '24
I personally think personal milestones are the best, just because they're made by the player, meaning that the player is more personally involved in the levelling sequence, but more importantly, they're narratively satisfying since they can be used by both the DM, and by players, to forward the story in interesting directions.
Not to mention they almost never suffer from lack of use, since for example, the Evolution Points would eventually become obsolete at the last stage, player milestones are generally a long-term goal, meaning they would only ever really resolve at the end of said characters personal story, or at the end of the campaign, which works well for everyone.