From: Nick Brooke (100270.337@CompuServe.COM)
Date: Sat 05 Feb 1994 - 14:13:15 EET
Nick Brooke here, yet again (yawn).
AGILITY SKILLS IN RQ:GLORANTHA
There are several dissimilar mechanics presented in the RQ:AiG Agility
Skills rules (also the Manipulation skill of Drive, and the Reasoning skill
of Craft/Shiphandling). As these are to resolve similar situations, I'd
suggest in the interest of ease that they be brought into line with one
another. The three key areas are:
(1) Routine Movement
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This sometimes requires 30% skill to perform automatically under normal
circumstances (Boat, Climb, Ride), sometimes not (Acrobatics, Jump, Swim,
Drive, Shiphandling). With the latter, it is possible "routinely" to
perform basic feats with no minimum skill requirement. This feels odd to
me. When I had a Swim skill of 5%, I did not "routinely" progress through
calm water at a steady rate. Ditto Drive. I don't imagine the others are
significantly different, and recommend that 30% skill be the threshold for
routine use of Agility and Movement skills.
(2) Distance Travelled
----------------------
Distance travelled is determined in various ways: the most common is for it
to be based on MV (i.e. the Move attribute, equal to SIZ+DEX/5), as for
Climb, Jump and Swim.
A balancing Acrobat crosses a distance of 1/5 his or her Acrobatics skill
in meters per round under adverse conditions; this (of course) will allow a
highly-skilled Acrobat (say 30%+) to move faster under adverse conditions
than he or she could normally, though this may fit in with Carl's desired
Hong Kong martial arts movie feel for RQ:AiG combat. <g>
No rules are presented for a high Boat, Ride, Drive or Shiphandling skill
(3) Increasing Speed
When making a Climb roll or a Swim roll, adventurers can increase their
No such rules are presented for Acrobatics, Boat, Jump, Ride, Drive or
increasing the basic distance that can routinely be covered. This seems a
peculiar omission.
--------------------
rate of movement by up to half again, taking a 10 percent skill penalty for
every 10 percent increase in speed.
Shiphandling. Certainly, several of these skills would plainly benefit
(becoming more reasonable/plausible) were they introduced:
PC: "I want to Jump across the chasm!"
GM: "What? It's seven meters across, and your MV score is only six.
The rules say you can jump your MV in meters horizontally from
a running start."
PC: "Go on, be reasonable!"
GM: "No, I *am* being reasonable. RuneQuest has rules when you can
increase the distance an Agility skill normally covers, and there
aren't any rules like that in the Jump skill description. Looks
like the giant ball-bearing trap claims another victim..."
ENDWORDS: I'm not proposing to puree RQ:AiG's rules down to a single sludgy
consistency. I just think it will be easier for new GMs to pick up and run
with the game if all similar skills are resolved in a more-or-less similar
way. Setting out these three principles (30% skill required for routine
activity; distance travelled in some way modified by high skill; further
increase in distance possible with defined skill penalties) in every case
will make it simpler to do this.
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Nick
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0,,
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