PTU GM Guidelines

(changelog 8/23/19: more starter clarification, added stuff about post-battle capture)

HOW 2 PTU GM: THINGS TO KNOW OK

1) Decide whether you want your game to feature trainer combat. If so, make sure everyone takes at least one combat class. If not, ban combat classes.

WHY THIS: Having two combatants on the field (combat trainer + pokemon) instead of one (support trainer's pokemon) will sharply increase your damage per round, effective HP, and combat options. Support trainers can't really match that with their toolkits, so a game split between support and combat trainers will leave the former feeling underpowered.

1b) Decide whether you want to allow supernatural characters. If so, consider making sure everyone takes at least one supernatural class. If not, ban supernatural classes.

WHY THIS: Supernatural classes have a LOT of narrative power - and not just stuff like 'I can talk to pokemon!', 'I can teleport' or 'I can see the future'. Even powers like 'I can set fires whenever I want' and 'I can make illusions' hold a lot of power in the hands of a creative player. Just like with combat classes in general, situations where a few but not all people have access to that sort of narrative control make it difficult for everyone to contribute equally.

2) Don't run one-on-one fights.

TLDR: PTU isn't built for it. Remember that video games don't translate 100% to tabletop games.

WHY THIS, longer version: PTU is built with the assumption that players will be working together for every fight. Classes like Cheerleader and Commander are built on that assumption. The way EXP is awarded is built on the assumption that all players will clear milestone combat. Unlike in the video games, where you can just go to a Pokemon center and rechallenge a gym literally whenever you want, a tabletop game has to consider the fact that there are multiple people involved, as well as an ongoing story. Do you put the plot on hold and have the other players wait while the straggler keeps rechallenging the gym until they beat it? Do you just move the plot along, and leave the straggler permanently behind the rest of the group? Don't do either of those, because both are stupid. Just run all fights for all party members.

(this doesn't even consider solo content that might straight up not be repeatable, like raids on a team base or whatever)

Also: PTU combats tend to run long, and no matter how you run solo content, you're not going to be able to keep your entire group engaged while you're focusing on one person's gym battle.

3) Give people access to TMs and tutors.

WHY THIS: Even in PTU, not all pokemon are created equal. Many Pokemon require access to tutors and TMs to be functional or to strengthen an otherwise lackluster level-up movepool (Consider Sneasel or Serperior). Keeping TMs and tutors out of your game, or making it incredibly difficult for players to take advantage of them, isn't a way to limit power levels or keep your players from breaking the game, it's just a good way to make sure that the pool of Pokemon they can actually use, especially at high levels, is sharply restricted.

This is not to say that you should hand out free Hyper Beam TMs at character generation or whatever - the September 2015 playtest has some pretty good guidelines on when to make moves available to your players.

4) Don't use Seen/Captured EXP.

WHY THIS: It's a lot of bookkeeping in an already bookkeeping-heavy system and will almost 100% lead to everyone in the party having a different level (which is a big headache, especially in a system with fairly large power spikes at certain levels). It also encourages party conflict by way of rewarding players for hoarding as many Pokemon as possible. Instead, give everyone the same amount of EXP or just use milestones.

5) Make sure your players are actually getting money.

WHY THIS: Currency = advancement in PTU. Even setting aside things like 'people will want/need to buy potions and bandages', a game that's stingy with the pokeyen is a game where people will struggle with everything from adding new pokemon to their team (because pokeballs cost) to purchasing those tutors and TMs that you should have made available. Don't feel obligated to have the only source of currency be trainer-on-trainer battles, either - maybe your group has a sponsorship of some sort, or maybe the local professor is paying them a stipend. Whatever you work out with your group, make sure they're being paid regularly and well enough that they can cover their necessities and save for more ambitious purchases.

6) Consider removing BSR (at the very least, for HP).

WHY THIS: The base stat relations rule is a holdover from PTA and can make pokemon, especially those with a very low base HP stat, nigh-unplayable. A player will never want to be in a situation where they're raising 3-4 other stats before they get a chance to raise HP, but it's a situation that happens depressingly often (alas, poor Diglett). Even pokemon with perfectly even stats are not immune to BSR problems - a nature roll/pick that drops HP or their required attack stat can cripple them. since again, you'd have to raise every single one of their other stats before you could raise the one that's fallen behind.

If you're worried about Enduring Soul/stat aces, just give them another feature from their class with no prerequisites (other than the class itself) as the base.

7) Make starters special, but also make them balanced.

WHY THIS: It's important for players to start with a Pokemon that they can see themselves using throughout the game - but not a pokemon that's so rare, powerful, or unique that every other catch opportunity seems less exciting in comparison. Here are some guidelines for picking starters, especially for games that start at low levels, in rough order of importance:

- is Underdog
- isn't steel or ghost type
- evolves at least once, preferably twice, but isn't a pseudolegendary or Porygon
- has a STAB move using its primary attacking stat under level 10
- has good natural moves in general under level 20

If a Pokemon choice fits the first three requirements but maybe not the last two, consider homebrewing their move pool. Gamefreak's not really all that great at developing move pools anyway.

WHY THESE GUIDELINES: Restricting starter choices to Underdog Pokemon that evolve at least once will keep all the players on a relatively even power level and make it easier to design encounters that can challenge the party without being overtuned. Steel and Ghost types have resistances and immunities that can be hard to work around, especially in games where the starting level is so low that most opponents will mostly be stuck with normal type moves. Porygon is a special case; the Wired capability is very narratively potent. Pseudos just take forever to evolve and generally have poor starting move pools.

ADDENDUM: Here's a guide to making most Pokemon that would fit the requirements other than 4+5 useful (thanks, cast!):

1. Give every Pokemon that doesn't have it a DB 4 or 5 AW will of their primary type and offensive stat. If one doesn't exist, homebrew it. You can basically just model off a Move like Ember or Ice Shard.

2. At level 15, if they don't have one by then, give them a DB 6 or so Move of their primary type/stat (Feint Attack, Psybeam, etc) and make sure they have at least one other non-normal typed decent move along the lines of the first move. For two type Pokemon, choose their secondary type. For single type Pokemon, choose another thematically appropriate type. Use your best judgment.


7b) Allow players to stat and customize their starters.

WHY THIS: While you should probably be allowing your players to pick nature and ability for every Pokemon they catch (see 6), it's especially important to let them build their starter, a Pokemon they'll probably be using for the rest of the game, to their tastes. Allow your players to pick the nature and ability for their starter, and consider allowing them to pick egg or inheritance moves (following the guidelines in the September playtest) to give their starters a little bit of extra oomph.

8) Consider just letting people capture the Pokemon they want AFTER the battle ends.

WHY THIS: Yes, I know, it goes against the video game's 'if you ko'ed it, it's gone forever' system, but as we've already mentioned, stuff that works in a video game doesn't always work in a tabletop game. Here are just a few problems with in-battle captures:

- they drag out battles that should have ended a long time ago, in a system where battles already take way too long. Do you know what's not fun? Sitting there waiting while people chuck balls at that one HP Pokemon they've been trying to catch for the last ten rounds.
- whoops lol I crit that pokemon you were trying to catch lol sorry man
- addendum to above: someone who doesn't get the pokemon they want will probably just go look for another one, which will turn one encounter into two, one unplanned
- on the flip side, pokeballs are essentially Guillotine or Horn Drill with a PY250 price tag, which actually makes them more effective than basically anything else at removing capturable foes from the field. It's easy for a lucky early capture to completely derail wild boss fights, for example.