NRPG The Talent/Flaw system

[Pinky]

So let's say I start by taking Medical Ninjutsu for 2 points. Can I then spend only 1 point to upgrade it later? Or will that take the full 3?

You can "upgrade" it later, the same goes with getting something like Fire Nature Manipulation and later upgrading it to a Fire Affinity. The same goes with "Custom Techniques": you can make some cheesy D-rank jutsu then later upgrade it one point at a time if you want to ala Naruto's Rasengan.

With the Ninjutsu/Genjutsu/Taijutsu Ineptitudes, 2 points seems way too low for a completely and permanent inability to use an entire school of techniques. Will there be a way for someone with an Ineptitude flaw to later learn those kinds of techniques?

Flaws are supposed to give less points than Talents cost, it's to encourage people to gain Talents by developing their character instead of only exchanging Flaws for Talents. No Talent/Flaw is permanent. They can be changed or lost depending on how you develop your character. If you want something to be permanent then it can be, I suppose.

With the fear flaw, can a player specify what they're afraid of? Bill Yen, for example, might be horrible afraid of snakes, but nothing else. Would that fly?

Yes.

Does a player have to specify whether or not they're taking the common techs? I'm imagining a situation where someone wanted to RP their character actually learning to use equipment/basic techniques/chakra formation and have their "roster" -- if you will -- reflect their progress.

Candidates can be created without any of the Common Talents (Chakra Formation, Equipment Usage, Generic Skillset). However, characters who are officially ranked shinobi (Genin and above) must have these Talents because they're a prerequisite for becoming a shinobi.

Additionally, certain Flaws may disallow certain jutsu from the Generic Skillset (for example, 2-point Bad Ninjutsu doesn't allow you to use any Ninjutsu). It's assumed that taking on such Flaws will be balanced out with some kind of Talent so the character may still be created at an official rank.

Will you allow players to come up with their own flaws? Like maybe a Nature Ineptitude where I couldn't use any fire techniques and then you say how many points that would be worth.

Everyone is encouraged to make up as much as they can.

However, in the specific example you brought up I don't think I'd allow it. At one point I did have it set up so being unable to use a specific Nature Manipulation was counted as a Flaw, but after a while I figured that since most characters only use one or two types of Nature Manipulation anyway it would be abusive to gain points for something that isn't a true Flaw.

In Shippuden, we see a lot of people carrying around scrolls that contain things like basic weapons and the like. Would characters be able to do this for things like shuriken or kunai or med kits from the get-go, or would that require summoning/sealing?

The short answer is "you need Sealing to seal things inside scrolls". For instance, I'm sure that the manga character Tenten either knows someone who seals all of those weapons inside her giant scrolls or she does it herself. So, if you really need that kind of ability then your character should probably have that Talent or pair up with someone else who does.

In a worst case scenario I suppose there could be a "Sealing Specialist" in Konoha who will seal minor items for you when you're at the village, but don't hold your breath. :X

BTW, I really like having the "super" Nature Affinities provide different "statistical" bonuses.

Yeah, I thought that the Talent itself wasn't really good enough to justify it. I mean, it only gives you the ability to learn certain types of jutsu which also cost Talent points. Some kind of additional bonus had to be tacked on.