Post by helioskitty on Dec 28, 2022 15:03:33 GMT -5
I'm not sure what the scaling should be, but I think a cool rule or variant rule would be to give a scaling bonus to characters who have yet to use a transformation/release of the tier available to the party based on their levels but who *could* acquire them (since Sealed characters are already getting a benefit out of not using their releases). It obviously shouldn't be as good as Sealed since nobody would ever take Sealed then, but I think some kind of bonus for not having used the highest available release tier in the campaign (whether or not they've taken the feat) would still help the game fit the tropes of the anime a lot better. It lets you keep Bankai as an unusual thing in the setting without making all the characters who don't take it ASAP terribly weak by comparison, and also lets characters who both have Bankais act as being on the same playing field even if one makes using Bankai a defining part of their fights from the beginning and the other waits until a dramatic moment to reveal it. Since in Bleach, the trend for everyone but Ikkaku is that the Captains/etc who use Bankai from early on and the ones who don't reveal it until later are portrayed as being on a similar playing field, but once the ones who were saving it reveal it later it doesn't usually make them infinitely superior and often becomes part of their standard combat strategy going forward.
For example, Rangiku and Renji in the fight against the Arrancar are portrayed as equally capable of eviscerating the Arrancar post limiter removal. Or like how Soi Fon has a bunch of fights before revealing her Bankai and is portrayed as just as much of a threat as the Bankai-using Captains despite keeping hers in her back pocket, but once it's revealed against Barragan she immediately whips it out against BG9 and is portrayed as being unable to make up the difference with just her Shunko powers. Once she's shown off her Bankai she becomes comparatively less impressive than she was when it was a secret.
(On a semi-related note, my favorite houserule I use is that people get full heals when using a release or transformation on screen for the first time and then lesser healing on subsequent uses, which incentivizes the "build-up to usage of a special thing especially the first time" structure where a character gets beaten down using their old tools before making a dramatic comeback with the next release. Lets everybody feel like the main character a bit when they get to turn a losing fight around like that. Maybe not worth making an official rule, but it's one of my favorite ways to undo how punished you get in the base game if you don't use your highest release on turn one, especially in Bankai's case where it doubles current HP and so any hits you take before using it essentially have their damage doubled.)
I'm not sure what the scaling for such bonuses ought to be though, or how to apply them. I was thinking some kind of general combat rolls bonus, but only because it's really easy and quick to recalculate once you lose the bonus (as opposed to something like Sealed where the way it increases your totals is woven intricately into all your calculations).
For example, Rangiku and Renji in the fight against the Arrancar are portrayed as equally capable of eviscerating the Arrancar post limiter removal. Or like how Soi Fon has a bunch of fights before revealing her Bankai and is portrayed as just as much of a threat as the Bankai-using Captains despite keeping hers in her back pocket, but once it's revealed against Barragan she immediately whips it out against BG9 and is portrayed as being unable to make up the difference with just her Shunko powers. Once she's shown off her Bankai she becomes comparatively less impressive than she was when it was a secret.
(On a semi-related note, my favorite houserule I use is that people get full heals when using a release or transformation on screen for the first time and then lesser healing on subsequent uses, which incentivizes the "build-up to usage of a special thing especially the first time" structure where a character gets beaten down using their old tools before making a dramatic comeback with the next release. Lets everybody feel like the main character a bit when they get to turn a losing fight around like that. Maybe not worth making an official rule, but it's one of my favorite ways to undo how punished you get in the base game if you don't use your highest release on turn one, especially in Bankai's case where it doubles current HP and so any hits you take before using it essentially have their damage doubled.)
I'm not sure what the scaling for such bonuses ought to be though, or how to apply them. I was thinking some kind of general combat rolls bonus, but only because it's really easy and quick to recalculate once you lose the bonus (as opposed to something like Sealed where the way it increases your totals is woven intricately into all your calculations).