I overcomplicate things D:

[Wyrdling]

I know I'm being silly and all, but I can't quite get over it - this just keeps bugging me!

 

I love the idea of RPG'ing one's fitness goals and I'm hooked on creating my character (I'm only a newbie, still Level 0 and all, but I'm thinking ahead). I don't feel so attached to DnD (Dungeons & Dragons) though, at least not as much as I do to DoD (Drakar och Demoner, a Swedish role playing game system) and I really want to create my character in allignment with DoD instead (their trolls makes more sense to me, amongst other things).

 

Well, no big deal right? I'll just call my race "troll" instead of orc. Perfectly sensible solution. (And figuring out which class fitted DoD's "yrkes" wasn't much hasle either, so so far so good.)

 

But, and oh yes, there's a but. DoD have nine "grundegenskaber" (aka. what NF calls attributes) and they just doesn't really line up well with the six (slightly altered abilities) of DnD. (Some might suggest I just cut out the "extras", but I really like them - f.x. "psyke" that determines how mentally/psychologically strong you are (think willpower or the ability to cope with trauma - in other words, an ability that plays a role in how you react to challenges in life).)

 

Well, then, I thought I could just do both systems, side by side (assigning the same amount of points to the abilities that do match in the two systems and doing some clever fiddling with the rest to make it sensible).

 

But then I realise that the NF's system is quite a ways off from how it's usually done (roll dice for base stats (which are a lot higher than what our Level 1 ten points can create) + leveling up equals a slooow boost to one's abilities (+1 occasionally)), whereas here you might (if you get an A on a goal) get +5 to a single ability in one go), which creates some wierdly overpowered personel after a couple of challenges and then it no longer fits in nicely with either system really.

 

And it's frustrating, 'cause I want things to fit and make sense! Gosh, I feel a bit like a teenager who doesn't get her way, being overly dramatic about it and all. But... uahh!

[loidor]

I'm totally with you. Compared with RPGs, the levelling system is about as logic as counting points in quidditch. I never did DoD, but grew up with Neotech.

 

However, the NF level system reminds me more of how characters level up in video games, with more levels and the difference between them being less of a difference. In pen-and-paper RPG, +1 can mean an actual difference. In video games, +1 rarely ever makes a noticable difference at all (Your HP can be 300 or 301 and when the maximum is somewhere up at 999 it doesn't really matter).

 

So yeah, I think we have to rethink and think of this as a totally new video game levelling system more than a RPG system.

[DeRaiL]

Perhaps you might consider tracking your levels (as is one level per completed challenge), but not tracking the stats at all? I know, I know, that is a major departure for someone very attached to RPG stats, I get that. But I've noticed a few people here don't really seem to keep track of it (or at least it isn't evident in their signature). Perhaps they have come to the conclusion that the stats are only a distraction from the real purpose here, which is to level up your life. This is something that's been rolling around in my head recently, as I am considering just not bothering with the stat portion, as I know I over-think a lot of stuff too, and I can see myself falling into a lot of self-inflicted frustration over it in the future.

 

If I could offer a suggestion, just take a moment to clear your mind, accept that one think doesn't have to have anything to do with the other, that fitness goals can certainly have applicable stats....but they don't have to. Granted, I am very new to NF as well, but from what I have read so far, I don't think you need to worry about any "rules lawyers" challenging you on anything as far as RPG stats here. As long as you are gaining something from the experience, and hopefully finding some enjoyment from the experience, you might as well allow yourself to break from the mold however you see fit. If tracking RPG stats in anyway detracts from those two things (making gains, and enjoying the process), what good are they?

[Wyrdling]

@loidor: Ah, that was a pretty neat way of looking at it really. So the system got the flavor of RPG but the structure of video games... I can work with that.

 

@darylb: Yeah, I think you're right - that I shouldn't be so hung up about it and instead keep my focus on the goal: getting fit.

 

Thanks, both of you, for your input :]

I think I'll still try to make things "fit", but not right now. It's better to get going with the challenge (which I luckily have - I've worked out today, woohoo!) and then I can figure out the "game" part along the way.