Character points
From NWN2 PW Wiki
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A meta-gaming concept, Character points represent rewards that are given to players for the way in which they conduct themselves, how well they role-play their characters and for completing quests. These points can then be spent on various aspects of the game which are described below.
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How character points are used
Character points are used by various sub-systems:
Background Sub-system
Various Background bonuses, Background detriments, as well as the selection of Culture has a character point cost associated with it. This allows players who role-play well to try more powerful characters or to explore different aspects of the game which is only available to those who have built up good will whilst playing.
Character Levelling Sub-system
In order for a character to level, they must meet certain requirements. Some of these requirements may cost character points as they represent specific advantages that are not normally open to anyone when they first start playing the module. A character also gains a set number of character points when they level. These can then be used by the various other aspects of the game.
Class Selection Sub-system
Each class and prestige class costs a specific number of character points to select. The number of points represents the overall strength of certain classes as well as the intended rarity of other classes within the module. This mechanism will naturally restrict certain character builds, thus making the more exotic selections less common.
Death Sub-system
As the death system is based on perma-death, there is a need to buffer players from accidentally or tragically losing their characters to unfortunate events. This is done through the use of the Escaping death rules which incorporates a character point cost as a last resort. As long as you have at least 1 character point you will always be able to avoid those undesirable deaths. Alternatively, if you choose to retire your character, then you are rewarded a number of character points based on the level which was reached. Additional points may be awarded in the event that this retirement happens as a result of extremely good role-playing.
Quest Sub-system
There are more rewards than gold and loot, and certain rewards are richer when a character lives up to their nature rather than the player purposely manipulating events to gain the most benefit. As a result character points feature heavily in the quest sub-system and rewards are given based not on success or failure, but on how true to your character you are.
Sub-Race Sub-system
Just as certain classes come at a higher cost, so too do certain sub-races cost more to play. This is done to reduce the number of certain races as well as to reward more powerful sub-races to those who role-play well.
Starting character points
When a player first joins the server, they are given a certain number of character points from which they can build their first character and choose additional features. They should have enough points to give them a wide selection of starting classes and races ?. In the event that a player has to create a new character but has less than this starting total, enough points will be given to them so that they start as if they joined for the very first time.
