Crutch Character: Difference between revisions
→Tabletop Games
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* The pen and paper RPG ''[[Mekton Zeta]]'' has options for Rookie and Veteran characters. Veteran characters start with higher skills, but gain experience half as fast as Rookies. The Game Master's section even includes helpful advice on how Veterans tend to die or retire halfway through a series to let the younger protagonists take the lead...
* Not so rare; [[Dungeons & Dragons]] had a similar addition of this type of character. Often called an 'Advanced NPC' by 2nd Edition rules or in more modern terms 'The Over Powered NPC' -- a DM can run a pre-generated character who starts at least 3 levels or more higher then the party of players, has high level spells, equipment, abilities, skills, psychic powers, etc, and often leaves either early on, dies off fast, or only helps to a point.
* Another example of this type of character is found in ''Anima'', a fantasy anime-style game based off [[JRPG]]s. As a [[Game Master]] you can run a summoner, archer, sorcerer, or healer type as a temporary NPC who only lasts for the first six levels of new players or even adapted to overcome a big nasty boss battle for one story arc.
* ''[[Cyberpunk (role-playing game)|Cyberpunk]]'' has crutch items in the form of Skill Chips. They set the level of the user in the relevant skill to 3, making one moderately competent immediately, but cannot be leveraged as a springboard to higher levels of mastery, and the effects disappear as soon as they are removed.
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