So I was reading through
this topic and it got me thinking that a team edge/karma pool (whatever you want to call it) would be pretty nifty. So I was thinking of some possible ways to implement some team based house rules. I am going to try them out for my current game, but I figured I'd post them here as well for others to use or to get feedback on them. I have two idea, one for team shared Edge and another for team shared Karma.
Teamwork Pool
[ Spoiler ]
The teamwork pool works kind of like the players' individual Edge Pools. There are, of course, some major differences.
First of all, the maximum is not 6, but is rather half the number of team members. So if you have 6 people on a team, then you can only have 3 Teamwork Points in your pool. Another major difference is that Teamwork points do not refresh after each session, once they are used they are gone!
During character advancement, whenever a player would spend Karma to increase his statistics, he can spend 10 Karma points to add 1 point to the Teamwork Pool. This can not be done during character creation.
Uses: Teamwork points are used like Edge in that they add dice to your roll and allow for rule of sixes. When using a Teamwork point, at least two people must be present and participating in the event. This does not mean that both people will get a bonus however! The extra dice can only be applied to one kind of roll, which must be chosen at the time of spending the point. The bonus is equal to the highest edge of all characters participating plus 1 for every additional character. So if the highest edge was 4 and there were characters then the total bonus is 6 (4 + 2 additional characters beyond the first).
Some possible scenarios:
a) Two (or more) characters are performing simultaneous actions of the same type, such as both simultaneously attacking the same target. They each gain the bonus and act on the same initiative pass.
b) Two (or more) characters are assisting one another in a task. Each person assisting as well as the person performing the task gain the bonus. Assisting is otherwise calculated normally.
c) One character is performing an action and another is not. Only the character performing the action gets the bonus. An example would be that one character picks a lock while another stands guard. Only one would get the bonus (they must decide who) but the other one is "helping" in that they are performing a secondary task which could be integral.
Participating in using a Teamwork Point uses your turn for that Initiative Pass, and if you have already acted that pass then you can not participate. In special cases, a participant(s) may act as if they had Delayed their actions, such as in example "c" wherein the guard may act as if delayed as soon as enemies appear. In this case he might act immediately before the enemies, since he was ready for them. This is based on GM discretion.
Team Karma
[ Spoiler ]
This is essentially a Karma resource that any character may use to upgrade their abilities. It functions the same as normal Karma.
Players can gain Team Karma in two ways:
a) Particularly good plans or exceptional teamwork will grant between 1 and 3 points. This is not simply accomplishing a Run successfully, but rather utilizing and succeeding with complex plan or considerably well done improvisation and teamwork. These should not be awarded lightly or often.
b) At a cost of 5 Karma points, characters may add 2 Team Karma to the pool.
One thing I am particularly wanting feedback for is the cost of each thing. I'm curious whether people think they are too expensive/not expensive enough. Feel free to leave feedback on anything else of course, and hopefully I will post here again on how well it worked with my group.
Also, if you have any questions on how the Teamwork Pool should work, feel free to ask. I can think of new stuff pretty well in my head but writing it down is kind of....eeehhhh....