From: Loren Miller (LOREN@marketing.wharton.upenn.edu)
Date: Tue 08 Jun 1993 - 02:33:36 EEST
Following Nick's lead, here is the compilation of my opinions on RQ4.
Some are as Ollie originally saw them. Others are edited to reflect
my new opinions.
PROFESSIONS
The profession creation rules are acceptable, though minimal. I hope
they'll be easier to use once typeset than they are now. I would like to
see a supplemental list of professions, with such character types as:
assassin; samurai (noble with high weapon skill); and weapon-artist.
By the way, I hope everybody realizes that the present direction of
development will transform RQ from a simplistic skill based system with
improvement based on skill use to a complex class and skill hybrid
system with experience points (with a strong resemblance to RoleMaster),
and that this might alienate a LOT of RQ players.
I think this could be alleviated in part if the professions weren't so
all inclusive. For instance, there's no reason a character with the
noble profession needs to have a primary weapon. Especially if he's a
simpering plutocratic wimp, he might hire bodyguards to do all the tough
work. If he wants to have a primary weapon, then let him also take the
honorary officer of the town guard profession (foot or mounted soldier,
to be exact). This would also go a long way towards simplifying the
problem of buying back skills when you have multiple professions, and it
would get rid of a funny problem people noted in RQ3 and RQ4, that
expert farmers are expert fighters too.
COMMENT, BRING BACK CHARISMA
[Quoting James Wadsley, but I agree 100%. --LJM]
I think that turning Charisma into Appearance has really removed a
useful part of the game from Runequest. I think, also, that most people
like to overlook the fact that attractive people do better. For this
reason, APP is made secondary. In reality, especially in less informed
times, people are judged solely on their looks in many circumstances.
For example, when choosing the next Runelord or High Priest ( when
places are limited ), I would think that APP ( or more appropriately
Charisma ) would be the major factor.
Get rid of APP. Get rid of the Charisma component of POW. Power is too
important anyway. Bring back Charisma!!!
CHARACTERISTIC INCREASE
RQ2 limited STR and CON to the maximum of SIZ, STR, and CON. Presumably
this was so that you couldn't just raise your STR or CON to 21. But
under the new RQ4 rules the maximum scores are 1.5 times the original
score. Isn't it time we got rid of the Str/Con/Siz cap and just went
with the max at 1.5 original? You would have to train both SIZ and CON
up to 21 to get 21 HP, which means both would have to start at 14 or
over. Same deal with STR and SIZ for damage bonus.
I also agree with Nick that INT increases should be allowed. They were a
necessity for the RQ3 sorcery rules. Not having them reduces your
flexibility. If you don't want to allow them in your campaign, don't,
but don't pretend that nobody will allow INT to increase. Set a viable
cost and play the game.
COMMENTS ON TYPES OF DAMAGE
I was reading over the new rules and noticed the healing section
rules changes, which appear to have been inspired by the non-
lethal combat rules in Tales of the Reaching Moon #6. They are
interesting, but misplaced, and I don't think they go far enough.
By the way, your other combat modifications make combat very
complex. Not everybody likes to run wargame-style combat. Can you
make some of the new rules optional so we can have a simple set of
core combat rules?
The Natural Healing section said that half the damage inflicted
by soft or light blunt weapons is short term damage, and half
real damage, short term damage fading away quickly. Also, padded
weapons and friendly grappling are only one fourth real damage,
the rest being short term. The problem with these rules, which
are a really good idea, is they have a *major* effect on the game
and are very ill-defined, the referee has too little guidance on
how to interpret them. Try the following on for size.
Add this as an optional rule in "Results of Combat: Damage" [PB
p.49].
1. most weapons do lethal damage. this is the normal, long-term
damage that we're used to in RQ. damage heals at 1D3 points
per hit location per week, if you make a health roll. All
slashing and impaling weapons, and blunt weapons of 1 Enc or
more, cause lethal damage.
2. semi-lethal damage. this is half long-term damage (round
down), and half short-term damage (round up) which heals at
1D3 points per hit location per 5 minutes if resting, 1D3-1
if not resting. semi-lethal damage is inflicted by natural
attacks like punches, kicks, head butts, grapples, throws
(except on rocks), by padded weapons of SR 0 or 1, and by
light blunt weapons (less than 1 Enc).
3. non-lethal damage. this is one fourth long-term damage
(round down), and three fourths short-term damage (round
up). non-lethal damage is inflicted by padded weapons of SR
2 or 3, or when opponents Fight Fair.
4. play. this is all short term damage, and is done by toy
weapons like pillows, wet towels, and food. :-)
Also describe short-term and long-term (normal) damage in the
Healing section.
NEW SKILL, FIGHT FAIR:
Along the same lines, most non-aggressive people fight fair when
they fight at all. They attempt to minimize the permanent damage
that their attacks do. Thus, they attempt to hit where it won't
break bones or cause long term bleeding. This can be simulated by
adding a knowledge skill "Fight Fair" (aka Peaceful Arts,
Brawling, Play Fighting, Roughhousing, Sport Fighting), which
reduces by one the level of lethality of attacks.
For instance, Honorius the Hoplite knows Punch at 64%
and Fight Fair at 58%. In a friendly brawl, he attacks
Gareth the Gaul and rolls a 24, which turns his attack
from a semi-lethal into a non-lethal attack, reducing
the proportion of permanent damage to total damage from
1/2 to 1/4. His damage roll is 8 for 8 hit points, of
which 6 points are short-term damage and 2 points are
long-term damage. The next turn, he rolls a 62,
succeeding at Punch but not at Fight Fair. Another
damage roll inflicts 6 points of damage, 3 of which are
short-term damage and 3 long-term damage.
This rule gets rid of one problem I have with the stunning rules
as they stand. If you critical hit then you do full damage
instead of reduced damage, thus you get the opposite result from
what you intended. IMHO, critical hits should be extremely *good*
results, meaning that you did what you meant to do very well.
Thus, a critical hit when attempting to subdue someone should not
accidentally kill them. Accidents should occur on bad rolls, not
good ones. If we used a Fight Fair skill instead, situations like
this, which change the meaning of a critical hit from good to
bad, would not happen.
COMMENT, MARTIAL ARTS
Also, if we implement this skill, we might as well get rid of
Martial Arts at the same time. Martial Arts is a broken skill,
imho. It attempts to make martial artists dangerous by making
their punches do about as much damage as a light mace, and their
kicks compare favorably to bastard swords. But this isn't the way
that martial arts work in the real world, at least from my
limited experience and that of my friends. Martial Arts training
teaches several things. It doesn't simply teach how to break
bricks.
1. How to fall. This is Acrobatics skill, or perhaps Dodge.
2. How to fight fair. This is the Fight Fair skill, above. It
includes how to pull attacks, how to stop attacks short of
full contact, and other ways that keep students and teachers
alive. If you attack successfully, and simultaneously
succeed with the Fight Fair skill, you reduce the lethality
of the attack by one, from lethal to semi-lethal to non-
lethal to play. A special success at Fight Fair will reduce
the attack two lethality classes. A critical success reduces
by three lethality classes (any damage to Play). Society
usually expects people to fight fair unless they are at war
and will usually punish those who do not.
3. How to punch hard. This is a twist of the wrist that
maximizes the force of a punch. Still, boxers learn it, as
does everybody who learns how to fight from an instructor,
so I don't think it is the obscure knowledge skill known in
RQ as Martial Arts. Instead, I suspect that a full strength
punch, which strikes its target without being deflected,
does about 3 HP plus damage bonus in RQ terms.
4. How to fight dirty (aka street fighting, self-defense). This
is the converse of the Fight Fair skill, above. If you
attack successfully with a semi-lethal, non-lethal, or play
weapon, and simultaneously succeed with a Fight Dirty skill,
then you increase the lethality of the weapon by one, from
play to non-lethal to semi-lethal to lethal. A special
success moves up two lethality classes. A critical success
moves up three lethality classes.
5. Where to hit. Martial Arts teach advanced students (black
belt or higher) how to target weak points, pressure points.
*This* is the semi-magical skill which, imho, the RQ Martial
Arts skill was intended to emulate. Let's replace Martial
Arts with a Pressure Points skill. The description would say
that a martial artist that aims at a specific location and
hits it with *any* weapon or hand attack, simultaneously
succeeding with Martial Arts, increases the severity of the
hit by one, shifting the attack from normal to special, or
special to critical, success. Whatever this skill is called,
it should be a very hard knowledge skill with a prerequisite
of anatomy or First Aid at 60% or more.
COMBAT EFFECTS
I agree with Nick that Criticals are too severe. Criticals were good
enough in RQ2. There they either ignored armor or doubled in effect. RQ3
boosted their power, making them ignore armor and do full damage. I
think this is more than you need. It makes criticals instant kills. If
you want them to be instant kills, then call them instant kills. But I
don't want instant kill rules based on lucky strikes in my game. That's
what the damage roll is for. I'll take "nice shot" rules based on luck,
though, like those in RQ2. Anyway, the RQ4 rules are way too severe.
Also, combine all the special effects of attacks into one list. Then say
"If you intend to perform a special action, then declare it before you
make your attack roll. If the attack is a special success, then you may
apply the special attack. For instance, you could declare ahead of time
that you wanted to trip your opponent with your spear. A normal success
would just do normal damage, which could be reduced if you were pulling
your blow. A special or critical success means you trip your opponent,
rather than sticking your spear clean through his chest as under the old
RQ rules. If you do not declare beforehand, a special attack with a
pointed weapon will impale, a cutting weapon will knockback, and a
bashing weapon will knockback."
COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS, FATIGUE
After using them in a session last night, I have to say I really,
really, really, Really *like* the new fatigue rules, both longterm and
shortterm. However, the rules aren't as clear as they should be on
them, and playing them isn't very easy right now, for a couple of
reasons.
1. the rules for traveling and long-term fatigue loss and recovery are
separated in the notes from the rules for exposure, lack of water, and
lack of food. They should be together. Make one section for Travel,
and put the long-term fatigue rules in there, along with all other
rules for travel on the daily or weekly scale. There should probably
be notes on hunting for provisions, as well.
[This was already implemented and added in the Draft 2.0 Rules. That's
why the world rules and travel rules got combined, because I tried to
use them and couldn't find them. --LJM]
2. the character sheet needs a section for fatigue classes. I think it
[I have a character sheet for RQ4, fitting my suggestions, that I can
should also include a summary of the rules, so that a character who is
told his fatigue class went down to Exhausted knows the exact game
effects. I know we don't yet have an official one-page character sheet
for RQIV, but it will need this section.
send if you all want to see it. It's in PostScript --LJM]
--
+++++++++++++++++++++++23
Loren Miller LOREN@wmkt.wharton.upenn.edu
There's a thin line between TQM and Mutiny
0,,
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