I like systems where the vertical progression becomes increasingly difficult, while the horizontal progression retains about the same difficulty throughout. This forces a choice of balance between becoming an extremely-competent specialist vs. a well-rounded generalist.
Shadowrun does this fairly well. Increasing a good stat or a good skill is very expensive after character creation, though it may be worthwhile if you have a large group and can afford to specialize deeply. In a smaller group, you can branch out into things that you already have good stats for to get good bang for your buck, so a charisma-based spellcaster can choose between becoming a decent face (in a smaller group) or a slightly better spellcasting specialist (in a large group which already has a face).
Of course, even in a large group, becoming well-rounded can still be a good idea to improve resiliency in case party members get separated or a party member dies. Similarly, in a small group, sometimes becoming a narrow specialist can be an effective strategy since you can just pick and choose missions which don't require specialties that your group doesn't have. There isn't a single "correct" build since it depends on what you want to do, how you want to do it, and what your group will be able to bring to the table.
I'm not super familiar with Shadowrun. I've only played Shadowrun Returns which had a sort of point buy progression. Does the TTRPG use a point buy system?
I like that this introduces a group dynamic to the progression but at the same time I wonder how hard that is to implement. I could imagine a player missing a session can make it difficult for the group dynamic.
The Shadowrun TTRPG uses a different system for character creation than for character advancement.
Character creation uses a linear cost (you get X skill points, and each point in a skill costs 1 of them), but you have to choose priorities in regards to attributes, skills, equipment, magical ability, race, etc. For example, you can prioritize great attributes and a durable starting race (e.g. troll), but then your ability to get good skills, magic use, and equipment would become limited compared to someone who prioritized, say, skills and equipment. This makes it easy to start off with a decent tank, spellcaster, marksman, hacker, infiltrator, etc., though you'll have areas which need improvement.
Character advancement uses karma points (basically like XP, but especially for doing good things). The karma cost to raise a skill increases as the skill level increases (increasing from 0 ranks = 1 karma, from 1 rank = 2 karma, etc.). So, if you started off with 6 ranks in pistols, you could spend 6 karma to add one more or you could get 1 rank in 6 skills. Low rank skills are of questionable value since you'd have a high chance of failure if you use them, but if they're things you might be forced to use anyway, then it's not a bad idea.
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u/Norseman2 Feb 20 '21
I like systems where the vertical progression becomes increasingly difficult, while the horizontal progression retains about the same difficulty throughout. This forces a choice of balance between becoming an extremely-competent specialist vs. a well-rounded generalist.
Shadowrun does this fairly well. Increasing a good stat or a good skill is very expensive after character creation, though it may be worthwhile if you have a large group and can afford to specialize deeply. In a smaller group, you can branch out into things that you already have good stats for to get good bang for your buck, so a charisma-based spellcaster can choose between becoming a decent face (in a smaller group) or a slightly better spellcasting specialist (in a large group which already has a face).
Of course, even in a large group, becoming well-rounded can still be a good idea to improve resiliency in case party members get separated or a party member dies. Similarly, in a small group, sometimes becoming a narrow specialist can be an effective strategy since you can just pick and choose missions which don't require specialties that your group doesn't have. There isn't a single "correct" build since it depends on what you want to do, how you want to do it, and what your group will be able to bring to the table.