I see that certain elements of the new CDBZ system is lifted from the NRPG development, and honestly that's all for the better. However, I don't understand why you guys stopped short of adding "negative abilities" or disabilities. As fun as it is to gain special skills to flesh out a character in concrete terms, it's also useful to be able to do the same by adding developmental problems.
This was a main issue throughout the Dragonball manga: Goku was a thoroughly uneducated doof, Bulma was incompetent in battle and self-centered, Yamcha was cripplingly shy in front of a vagina, Roshi being a shameless pervert, Oolong being bad at controlling his ki, and so on. Although negative, it really helped to define the characters as more than just super-fighters.
In an RPG context, it would give the players a goal to overcome. Not that the problems could simply be roleplayed away - in the manga, the flaws often caused the characters to seek the Dragonballs as a solution. The rules for abilities seem easy good enough: a maximum of two, and to incentivize it the characters could gain some bonus XP depending on the severity of the problem gained. I think it would be beneficial to the game to make the Dragonballs something more than a mere power-gaining tool.
I tried to think of a way to balance it out so Dragonballs could be used to inflict extra flaws on characters, but that was overpowered. Plus, it only happened in GT and nobody wants to validate GT.
Example problems:
Inner Weakness: Removes 15% from the character's total Stats percentage. +10 XP.
Ki Blindness: Cannot have the Ki Sense Ability or learn the Fighting Sense Technique. +5 XP
Ki Ineptitude: Poor ki manipulation. Cannot have Ki Specialization Ability or learn the Ki Control Technique. +5 XP.
Martial Arts Ineptitude: Inferior hand-to-hand fighting ability. Cannot have M.A.S. +10 XP.
Phobia: Un-ignorable fear that causes disabling fright. XP Bonus depends on the commonality of what causes the fear. +5/10/15 XP.
Plus custom disabilities, too.
This was a main issue throughout the Dragonball manga: Goku was a thoroughly uneducated doof, Bulma was incompetent in battle and self-centered, Yamcha was cripplingly shy in front of a vagina, Roshi being a shameless pervert, Oolong being bad at controlling his ki, and so on. Although negative, it really helped to define the characters as more than just super-fighters.
In an RPG context, it would give the players a goal to overcome. Not that the problems could simply be roleplayed away - in the manga, the flaws often caused the characters to seek the Dragonballs as a solution. The rules for abilities seem easy good enough: a maximum of two, and to incentivize it the characters could gain some bonus XP depending on the severity of the problem gained. I think it would be beneficial to the game to make the Dragonballs something more than a mere power-gaining tool.
I tried to think of a way to balance it out so Dragonballs could be used to inflict extra flaws on characters, but that was overpowered. Plus, it only happened in GT and nobody wants to validate GT.
Example problems:
Inner Weakness: Removes 15% from the character's total Stats percentage. +10 XP.
Ki Blindness: Cannot have the Ki Sense Ability or learn the Fighting Sense Technique. +5 XP
Ki Ineptitude: Poor ki manipulation. Cannot have Ki Specialization Ability or learn the Ki Control Technique. +5 XP.
Martial Arts Ineptitude: Inferior hand-to-hand fighting ability. Cannot have M.A.S. +10 XP.
Phobia: Un-ignorable fear that causes disabling fright. XP Bonus depends on the commonality of what causes the fear. +5/10/15 XP.
Plus custom disabilities, too.
![[Image: rsz_jqvaz_1.jpg]](http://z6.ifrm.com/4805/72/0/p1022159/rsz_jqvaz_1.jpg)