The NWN Persistent World > Layonara Server
The Fortune System
Dorganath:
--- Quote from: "Aphel"&cid="2750918" ---Dorg, you said that
One way to think of it is a representation of a character's "social capital", their influence, reknown or reputation, though in some other ways it is also just a way for us to reward and thank you for spending time in-game. Despite Fortune being earned simply by being in-game, as you'll read below, the Fortune rewards for more RP-focused activities are greater, and so there are some significant RP ways to spend one's accumulated Fortune.
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Does this also encompass infamy, or will that be tracked by loss of fortune? Does fortune also encompass a certain amount of luck, or karma (there, I said it) that is accumulated and can be spend (but never lost)?
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Good question!Regarding infamy, yes, it covers it, but probably not in the way you are suggesting. If we were to do that, it would skew Fortune toward the Good-aligned characters and/or encourage Neutral or Evil to be "good" in order to gain Fortune. That's absolutely the opposite of what this system is about.So "infamous" characters can gain Fortune just as any others, and in the few definites we have listed above (exchange for XP/True/Graceful Pleas), there's really no difference between Good characters, Evil characters or Somewhere-In-The-Middle characters. It's all the same. There is no loss of Fortune due to the type or quality or RP, the actions of a character or anything like that. Infamous and famous characters will gain fortune in exactly the same ways.However, there's the parts which I hinted about but which are not yet fully-defined. This is a little difficult to talk about without the particulars being more solidified, but I'll try to give a general example while remaining vague to the details. There'll be uses of Fortune for quests, uses for projects and possibly other sorts of uses. These will always be handled with GM involvement, and in such cases, the infamous character will have more difficulty using their "social capital" with the "good" people of the world, though they may find more purchase among thieves guilds or other "underground" groups. Likewise, the more highly-regarded people might find the opposite to be true. For these more RP-oriented aspects of Fortune, there will never be a set of specific outcomes, only guidelines. They will be worked out between player and GM to make a degree of sense for the situation and the character in question. I hope that makes more sense, and I hope you understand that I can't fully answer your question right now.Lastly, I'm not sure what you mean by "but never lost." Fortune can be "lost" in that it can be exchanged for things, as discussed. It's never to be lost based on whether a character is infamous or based on the type/quality of RP. Fortune can be exchanged for things, which does cause one's total Fortune to be reduced as a result. It can be earned back, naturally, but you will lose it as you use it. One reason I framed Fortune, in part, as "social capital" is that in some ways to use it, it is very much like leaning on one's reputation (or luck, or "karma", though the concept doesn't exist in Layonara) as a finite resource. There's only so far a person can throw their own name and reputation around before it starts to wear thin for everyone else. Similarly, eventually your luck may run out, or you'll use up any "goodwill" toward you or any number of things. Again, this is difficult to answer fully because of the various uncertainties, but it may be sufficient to say that Fortune is always a finite resource, and you can use it up. Use too much, and when you really need it, you won't have it. Hope that helps.
Aphel:
With "lost" I meant something similar to losing XP (which can happen as a penalty, for example, if a character dies repeatedly) - if I understand you correctly, you say that such a mechanic is not intended in the Fortune System as it is now (hence, no fortune penalty in the sense of fortune loss, but rather slower gain in fortune or different means - or loss of means - that a character has to spend it). Thanks for the explanation, it cleared things up a little. Are there any plans for the future to to include for example the donation system into this as well? And can characters gain fortune as a CDQ reward?
Rowana:
By donation system, do you mean giving items to various chartiy causes or deities for Fortune points or am I not understanding that quite right?
Characters gain Fortune points at the normal rate of accrual during a CDQ. It's literally always on if you are active. Will GMs be giving out -extra- points during a CDQ? This is not answerable at this time, unfortunately. I have logged it in the FAQ that we will be posting later when we do have an answer.~row
ShiffDrgnhrt:
(side note)I logged in for the second time since the server fiasco a few minutes as of this post, and found I have 5 fortune. Also, every so often since logging in I got the "Your fortune has increased" message. Twice, so far. Yet I still have 5 fortune. Is that the system catching up or a potential bug?
Dorganath:
--- Quote from: "ShiffDrgnhrt"&cid="2750928" ---(side note)I logged in for the second time since the server fiasco a few minutes as of this post, and found I have 5 fortune. Also, every so often since logging in I got the "Your fortune has increased" message. Twice, so far. Yet I still have 5 fortune. Is that the system catching up or a potential bug?
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Read the section labeled "Keeping Track" in my original post. It tells you all about the messages, how to find your exact total, etc.
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