Alien Design (part 2)

One of the core concepts I outlined when we began building Solar Echoes was regarding the way each playable race would function in the game. I have never liked it in other RPG's that, through attribute tinkering (adjusting Strength, Intelligence, Dexterity, and other scores), every race could essentially mirror another. It never felt right to me that a player could dump all his available points into Strength for his halfling (think hobbit) character and make him as strong, or stronger than, an orc. In Solar Echoes, we decided that we would limit the amount of attribute tinkering—we allow only a single attribute to be boosted, and no further than a set maximum. At first, seasoned RPG players balked at the idea, but once they tried our game they accepted it readily. The attribute scores in Solar Echoes decide how many dice you are allowed to role when attempting something, and you must pick the highest roll for your score. The more dice you can roll, the greater your chance at a high number. So, in a melee fight between a powerful Archaeloid (who can roll 4 dice) and a weak Erwani (who can only roll 2 dice), the Erwani could roll a 6 and the Archaeloid a 1, which means that the Erwani could still beat the Archaeloid in a fist fight with a lucky shot. It's just far less likely, when considering probability.