I guess currently the only way to create new poses is by using Maya? The problem with Maya is that unless you are willing to pirate it, it is prohibitively expensive. Needing it to create new 3D models is acceptable - it is a fairly specialist task and the people who can do it are more likely to have Maya - but posing is something anyone can do, so the Maya requirement is severely limiting your audience.

There are at least two ways XStoryPlayer could support creating new poses more easily:

1) Use something similar to "puppet mode" - the limbs move where you drag them and stay where you dragged them. There could be "handles" inserted into the character which allow you to rotate the limb the handle is attached to. Then you just need to save the pose once done.
+ Works in-game, pose can be seen in right environment immediately
+ No extra software needed
+ Intuitive and easy
- Very accurate posing is not possible
- Not very efficient workflow (e.g. lacks multiple viewports)
- Not good for creating animations

2) Create a character (or use an existing free one if there is a suitable one) for DaZ Studio. The software is free. Then the user would pose or animate the character within DaZ Studio and export the pose/animation in e.g. BVH format. XStoryPlayer would of course need to be able to import this.
+ Accurate posing
+ Purpose-built software with efficient workflow and tools
+ Can create animations easily
- Separate software, export-import cycle needed to see pose/animation in right environment and there might sometimes be problems with the file format
- More complex to use

This is probably not very high on your priority list, but I thought it worth mentioning anyway.

All very good points.

We understand Maya is not the best choice for modding. There are however not many good open 3d file formats.

For future mayor releases we will look into making low level modding more accessible.