Advice/Help Should a pokemon rp have stats and mechanics?

[AtlannianSpy]

So I'm thinking about dipping my toe back into running a group rp and I had been eyeing off pokemon as a fun setting to try out, I've never run a pokemon rp myself. Normally when I run group rps I like to have some kind of rpg style stat system to track the overall capabilities of characters; I find it helps players balance their characters and make interesting tradeoffs and decisions.

But I'm unsure if such a system would be a good fit for pokemon. I worry that keeping track of such a system for up to six pokemon might be too fiddly for people and turn some away. To be blunt the last couple of RPs I tried to launch didn't seem to benefit from the effort I put into those systems and I wasn't able to generate the energy and interest I had in mind for them.

So I wanted to take RPNs temperature on this and see what people are interested or if they have tried one or the other approach, what worked for them. Really any advice or points people think might be helpful would be appreciated.

 

[Damafaud]

Personally, I don't like how a stat system can make the roleplay game-y. I think it's better to provide a guideline over the power level you expect everyone to play on and go with it.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Ah, the age-old question. RPG mechanics or freeform?

Why not both? XD

I have played a lot of Pokemon RPs, and I've made a few Pokemon RPs before. I prefer to take things a bit more realistic, but I still use the stats given to me to figure out a baseline for how well the Pokemon does. Pokemon stats are very.... difficult. In games, they require a large formula and it's honestly a pain in the ass to deal with. Not only does it require a large formula to determine Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed, but HP goes on a separate formula.

Let me show them:

(from Bulbapedia: Stat)

And if you use a different system other than this, it may not be accurate and the Pokemon may be too strong or too weak. This is just for determining stats of a Pokemon by how the games do it. If you're gonna do it by DnD standards of RPG, it may not work well because the base stats of Pokemon can go from 0 to 255 (255 is the highest base stat number in any given stat so far).

Freeform with a bit of mechanics to use as guidelines of how the Pokemon function and how good they are is a bit better. Like, yes, a Pikachu is fast and has decent Special Attack, but with the right nature and work put into it, it's Attack can be higher than its Special Attack but it's not going to beat a Machop's Attack.

As for levels, that's also iffy. I use it as a base guideline of how much battle experience the Pokemon has had. The higher the supposed level, the more they've battled and they've likely seen a lot.

For a move's stats, they also have their own damage formula:

(also from Bulbapedia: Damage)

So, it's just safe to say to eyeball it, as doing it any other way (if you do the thing with stats right) that they may end up fudging up how much the move is supposed to do and the stats their attributed to. Which also means you gotta put trust in your roleplayers to make the right calls or you can just oversee the battle.

Honestly, for battles, it's better to have an understanding of who wins or who loses or at least figuring it out mid-battle if they don't have a clue when they start the fight. So you can avoid people getting heated that their character isn't winning.

 

[The Dark Wizard]

So I'm thinking about dipping my toe back into running a group rp and I had been eyeing off pokemon as a fun setting to try out, I've never run a pokemon rp myself. Normally when I run group rps I like to have some kind of rpg style stat system to track the overall capabilities of characters; I find it helps players balance their characters and make interesting tradeoffs and decisions.

But I'm unsure if such a system would be a good fit for pokemon. I worry that keeping track of such a system for up to six pokemon might be too fiddly for people and turn some away. To be blunt the last couple of RPs I tried to launch didn't seem to benefit from the effort I put into those systems and I wasn't able to generate the energy and interest I had in mind for them.

So I wanted to take RPNs temperature on this and see what people are interested or if they have tried one or the other approach, what worked for them. Really any advice or points people think might be helpful would be appreciated.

I've seen spectacular Pokémon RP that don't have stats, and some that do. It really depends on preference. Then there's the extreme end of it which is Pokémon Tabletop United(A fan made system that is popular and online), which even the most dice heavy ST friends I have proclaimed that it's just too much work to run/maintain because it's the crunchiest system.

 

[AtlannianSpy]

Hmm some interesting points here. Certainly the base video game formulae are not practical for forum rp use.

I had stumped onto the Pokemon tabletop stuff and had been wondering about taking some inspiration from it so it's good to have input there. It seems umm... Unwieldy to me, though impressive in its own way.

 

[Steve Jobs]

The answer like for many things is, it depends. What's the plot and how vital are pokemon battles/PvP? For most of the mainstream games, the plot is fairly thin. A new trainer (you) sets out with their starter to become a master, fights some enemies, and meets a legendary along the way. A roleplay where that's all the characters are doing doesn't interest me very much because I can act that out within the game (where there are actual stakes). The lack of mechanics in that case can cause an endless back and forth when you are in PvP if the outcome of the fight is not predetermined.

Now if the plot is something closer to Legends of Arceus/Monster Hunter or Mystery Dungeon then I don't think it's as important (unless you enjoy dice rolling/PvE).

If you are going to introduce mechanics I would keep them as simple as possible. The average player is going to know that EVs/IVs are important but I see no benefit in following the in game formula 1 to 1. In a perfect world, the two battling players would go on Pokémon showdown/online play and then RP it based on what happens in the match but that would require too much coordination.

The way I would do it is using an altered 5e/DnD system where a level 1 Pokemon has their IVs like normal (where it has a minimum of 0 and maximum of 6 depending on the nature) arranged however you (the GM) or the player want it. Stat growth would come in the form of EVs but simplified so that the numbers don't get too big. Ex: 1 stat point = 4 EV points. Non predetermined battles would use a dice rolling system (maybe get rid of AC and just use move accuracy as the hit modifier?).

Ultimately it is about the playerbase you wish to attract and what you personally want out of the RP. There's always something for everyone and vice versa, you just need to find the right time and place.

 

[NeonFlow]

Keeping it simple sounds best in my opinion, as much as I'd like a Pokemon rp I wouldn't wanna be keeping track/score of how Pokemon level up and learn.

Keeping it to types and evolutions,
"Rock paper scissors" and the more evolved pokemon are usually stronger.

Then again maybe Pokemon attracts fans into numbers and stats somewhat, at least I remember the games turning into that aha

 

[Cresion Breezes]

A long time ago I did an RP where some battles were decided in an actual in game battle, let's just say don't do that unless you want one person to become an unstoppable metagaming god because they know what a choice specs is.

I think it depends on what your players want and also how much they actually know about Pokemon mechanics, or else it would be very tedious to explain. Pokemon has very very in-depth mechanics that I don't expect people who want to RP it to care about in the slightest. Like there's 13 different levels of move priority in Pokemon, and if you have an effective speed of over 1809 you out speed in trick room, but who tf cares about that. RPs can also ignore things like battle format and restrictions (ie. Four moves, six pokemon limits), which might happen for story reasons (even PLA did it). So yeah, it boils down to at what point do mechanics become too tedious for the players, know your audience and know yourself.

 

[AtlannianSpy]

humm. I'd always wondered what it would be like working in game battles into an rp so it's very interesting to hear the results of that, probably not somethin I would ever implement myself but I find the idea fascinating.

I think I am starting to get a sense of the direction I want to go in and it will probably be a compromise of sorts, a very, very limited mechanical system to be used as a jumpng off point for free form improvisation. Might even just be tracking level and leaving it at that idk.

 

[AtlannianSpy]

HI there, in case anyone who saw this thread would like an update, I am indeed launching the pokemon rp I was discussing here.

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