[Honorable_Pawn]

I thought it would be fun to share a hypothetical manual entry for a new and improved player personality system. The goal of this thread is to discuss ideas that would improve the current morale system and breathe life into it.

I am not looking to discuss if my ideas are good ones or bad ones but feel free to express your opinions either way. I'm sure what you have to say will lead to interesting conversation.

Without further ado...




Player Personality
(all discussion below based upon 1-100 rating scale)


Each player will have an overall personality that is measured by how extroverted or introverted he is and how positive or negative his overall outlook is.


Primary Trait

Each player has a primary trait that has an impact on how that player interacts with his managers and teammates. The three primary traits are extrovert, ambivert, and introvert. In general, there will be an equal distribution of primary traits throughout the universe. Each specific primary trait has advantages and disadvantages that the GM may consider when attempting to improve clubhouse chemistry.

1. Extrovert—The extrovert receives a +5 relationship bonus with other extroverts and a -5 relationship penalty with introverts. Receives a +1.25% modifier to both positive and negative secondary traits.

2. Ambivert—The ambivert is a neutral trait that does not receive any bonuses or penalties.

3. Introvert—The introvert receives a +5 relationship bonus with other introverts and a -5 relationship penalty with extroverts. Receives a -1.25% modifier to both positive and negative secondary traits.


Primary Outlook

Each player has an overall outlook on the world. Some players see the cup as half-full while others see it as half-empty. In general, the player’s primary outlook gives the GM a good indication on whether a player is a positive influence on the team or a negative influence on the team. There are 7 primary outlooks that players may possess. See the following list for the types of primary outlooks that a player may have and the general overall distribution within the universe in parenthesis.

1. Very Positive (3%)
2. Mostly Positive (14%)
3. Somewhat Positive (22%)
4. Neutral (22%)
5. Somewhat Negative (22%)
6. Mostly Negative (14%)
7. Very Negative (3%)

The primary outlook will determine the types of secondary traits that a player receives. See below for more information detailing secondary traits. A very positive player will receive only positive secondary traits. On the other end of the spectrum, a very negative player will only receive negative secondary traits. Players in between will receive varying secondary traits that are both positive and negative.





Secondary Traits

Each player will receive 3-9 secondary traits that will tend to define their personality. These secondary traits will have an impact on how a player interacts with his managers and teammates. The types of secondary traits that a player receives will depend upon what type of primary outlook that he possesses. For example, extroverts tend run the gamut from clubhouse leaders to clubhouse cancers. In the following example we will look at two different players at each end of the extrovert spectrum. Keep in mind that both of these examples are extreme.

Player A
Primary Trait: Extrovert
Primary Outlook: Very Postive
Secondary traits: Accessible, Personable, Balanced, Agreeable, Gregarious, Helpful, Good-natured, Confident, Mature

Player B
Primary Trait: Extrovert
Primary Outlook: Very Negative
Secondary Traits: Impatient, Critical, Unreliable, Selfish, Dishonest, Egocentric, Excitable, Hostile, Impulsive

As you can see Player A is an extrovert with the maximum of 9 secondary traits all of which are positive. He will have a high relationship bonus with his teammates and managers and he will receive multiple leadership bonuses that will be added to his underlying leadership score on the BNN page. As long as this player has an average to above-average base leadership stat he is likely to be a clubhouse leader.

On the other hand, Player B also has the maximum of 9 secondary traits but in this case all are negative traits. This player will receive a low relationship bonus with his teammates and managers and he will receive multiple leadership penalties. This player would tend to create disruptions in the clubhouse.

Each secondary trait has a specific base bonus or base penalty. The bonus/penalty will be modified based upon several factors in the player’s profile such as their primary trait, loyalty, desire for winner, intelligence, and work ethic.

For example, let’s return to Player A above and let’s look at some of his base BNN page personality stats:

Leadership: 85
Loyalty: 75
Greed: 55
Desire for Winner: 80
Intelligence: 65
Work ethic: 80

Now let’s look at his secondary traits and their base bonuses:

Accessible: +5 relationship bonus to all primary traits
Personable: +10 relationship bonus with extroverts; +5 relationship bonus with ambiverts and introverts, +5 leadership bonus
Balanced: +5 relationship bonus with extroverts & introverts. +10 relationship bonus with ambiverts
Agreeable: +5 relationship bonus with all primary traits; +5 leadership bonus
Gregarious: +10 relationship bonus with extroverts; +5 relationship bonus with introverts & ambiverts
Helpful: +5 relationship bonus with all primary traits; +5 leadership
Good-natured: +5 relationship bonus with all primary traits
Confident: +5 relationship bonus with all primary traits; +10 leadership
Mature: +5 leadership bonus

Before we proceed please keep in mind that these bonuses/penalties will not be available to the GM. These scores will be processed “under the hood”. All the GM will have at his disposal are the base BNN scores, the primary trait, the primary outlook, and the secondary traits.

Since Player A has an 85 base score on leadership he will receive 85% of the leadership bonuses awarded from his secondary traits. In this example, he will receive 30 base leadership point times 85% for a sub-total of 25.50. Keep in mind that since he is an extrovert he receives a +1.25 modifier to both positive and negative secondary traits. His modified leadership bonus is 32. This score of 32 is added to his base leadership score of 85. His adjusted leadership score is 117. This player would most-likely be the leader of the clubhouse.

(See below for more on adjusted scores and how they impact team chemistry).

Similarly, the relationship bonuses for each secondary trait are modified by loyalty, intelligence and work ethic.

Greed and desire for winner are handled separately and are independent of the adjusted leadership score or the relationship bonus to team chemistry. These two aspects directly impact player morale and impact team chemistry directly. (More on this below)




Team Chemistry

*Need to finish this section before posting*

Relationship Scores

All players have a relationship bonus or penalty with the other players and managers on the team. The total relationship bonus/penalty for each player is summed and divided by the number of players on the active roster. This average relationship score is a good indicator of how well the team gets along with one another. A large positive number would indicate a happy clubhouse while a large negative number would indicate an unhappy clubhouse. This score would be hidden from the GM but the team chemistry happy face for each player would provide valuable insight. Players that are happier with team chemistry probably have higher relationship bonuses and vice versa.

But there is more to team chemistry than relationship scores. The team needs to have balance. For instance a clubhouse of 25 extroverts would be a madhouse where no one could get a word in edge-wise. With a clubhouse of 25 extroverts there would be multiple conflicts. Collectively, there just wouldn’t be enough people internalizing issues and helping one another come to resolutions. The opposite would have its disadvantages as well. A clubhouse where everyone is an introvert might run into problems with turning around the culture or. They might have problems with not enough fiery team speeches when one is in order. There are many reasons but the most-important is game-mechanics.

What this means to the GM is that a well-balanced clubhouse will receive a slight team chemistry bonus to the average relationship bonus. On the other hand, there are penalities for imbalance that get progressively more disadvantageous.

If the ratio for all 3 primary trait are 40% or below then the team receives a +2.5% team chemistry bonus.

The following team would receive the bonus:

8 Extroverts
9 Ambiverts
8 Introverts

For every 2% above 40% in each of the 3 primary traits there is a -2.25% penalty applied to the average relationship bonus.

For example:

12 extroverts
10 Ambiverts
3 introverts

In this example there are 48% extroverts. 40% Ambiverts (no penalty) and 12% introverts (no penalty). This would create a 9% penalty to the average relationship score.

In a nutshell, this is the adjusted relationship score average that impacts team chemistry.


Leadership

Another factor that impacts team chemistry is the effectiveness of leadership in the clubhouse. Each player will have an adjusted leadership score. Scores above a certain threshold indicate that a player is a leader. Players with very high scores are considered captains.

A good clubhouse will have 3-4 leaders with one good captain.

Teams with a weak captain or fewer than 3-4 leaders will receive penalties on leadership . Sometimes this can be offset by good managers with very strong leadership skills or if there is a second captain on the team that is also not strong.

On the other hand, if your team has multiple strong captains this can cause cliques to form especially if the team is losing or if the team has a lot of veterans. On a young team it is sometimes beneficial to have more than one strong captain.

In general, if you have 3-4 leaders on your team and one strong captain your team’s leadership is considered effective and you will receive a slight bonus to team chemistry. If your team has too few leaders or no captain you can expect a penalty to team chemistry. The penalty is greater for younger teams. Veterans tend assume roles of leadership in the case of a void.

The worst situation on a team is when there is too many chiefs and not enough Indians. This situation should be avoided when possible.

Winning

Having a winning record or excedding expectations is the best cure for all chemistry issues. Obviously, winning is more fun than losing.