On Mon, Jan 12, 2009 at 12:46 PM, Joshua OKelley <heropenguin@...> wrote:

That said, I think if you give the pyramid some time, it'll really
grow on you. I was a point-buyer myself until I got into Fate, and
while the pyramid doesn't necessarily jive with reality, it does make
a very nice tool for keeping a game level.

We recently looked at the pyramid in some detail for our own project
and one of the chief conclusions we came to is that the pyramid makes
you build a character that is ABOUT something. Driver-5? You are
Driver Guy. Driving is the most important thing about your character.
This is because the application of skills is so flexible that players
will be able to push narration into their pinnacle skill with
significant frequency and so the pyramid openly declares what the
character is about and therefore what the game is going to be about
from his perspective.
That turns out to be powerful stuff. I would consider dodging the
pyramid only if this is an effect you certainly do not want. The
"realism" argument never really got any traction with us (despite
writing a hard sf game) because the story power of the pyramid is much
more interesting in play and verisimilitude is maintained through
effective narration and not mechanical effect.