Re: Sword & Scoundrel - Early Thursday Teaser Edition
Posted: 01 Jul 2017, 17:04
Overall I agree with the need for a greater balance, but bear in mind that a stronger opponent it´s just that stronger, and that should be reflected in the mechanics. Taking for instance a PC with Brawn 5 vs one with Brawn 10, it´s just the double of it´s brawn statistic, and THAT should have a very definitive impact.Benedict wrote:Depending on what a kind of game one runs.thorgarth wrote:Regarding what you said about the possible benefits of using lighter armor. Well yes, you need to spend a higher priority to have access to heavier armor but that only applies at the start... After game starts one can always adquire heavy armor without such restraints, and if heavy armor was so much better, under every condition and without exception, that would happen 24/7.
If its DnD ported to 'Scoundrels, then yes, you can always go and buy the suit after Da 1st or 2nd Dungeon. Just teasing.
If its not that kind of game, then its not that easy to acquire that plate suit. One has to raise his financial status AND social status to afford it and not be persecuted or scorned for using battle gear. One could steal it and flee from the Law for it. So no, it won't happen "under every condition and without exception".
To be more exact, in most high fantasy games this statement is true. 'Bastards and 'Scoundrels aim at more down-to-Earth gritty situations. Yet nothing prevents you from running high fantasy with it.
With all the above in mind, I believe that claiming the example is biased is a bit extreme. As I said above, an endless string of "what-ifs".thorgarth wrote:The example you gave on point 2 it´s a bit biased. By giving the fighter wearing the gambeson higher skills/atribute you create a false sensation of the overall impact of the use of heavy armor. After all if both were identical in terms of stats the diference in the dice pool would only be -3 for the fighter wearing full plate and not near half.
Still I'll answer to your querry.
A 3 dice difference would mean that the unarmored guy would have 3 extra dice to do any of the followingIt should be noted that a full plate suit covers everything but armpits, face, crown, and back of the knees. With a closed helm you get to -4. You can also spend one extra die to cover either armpits or back of knees. That's -5CP.
- Position for effect, giving a Disadvantage on his armored foe
- Favor an unarmored vital and retain 2 extra dice
- Fuel a 2AC maneuver, like Counter
- Overinvest with bigger chance of higher MoS
- Preempt and strike a vulnerable location
Still a 3dice difference is not small. It is significant.
Because if they both have 16CP it becomes 13v16. With the overinvesting scenario above that could eaily be 7v11 during first tempo.
Which means 74.842% MoS1 for the unarmored guy vs 14.355% MoS1 for the armored guy. I rest my case.
That's why I support thirtythr33's proposal over the current write up. Because it penalizes more evenly all Brawn ranks, without making low-med Brawn / stellar Reflex builds less desirable.thorgarth wrote:As it stands fighting lightly isn´t "the thing" because there is no benefit in fighting lighter than your normal "bulk limit", meaning all is the same be you wearing no armor and fighting with a short sword or using a armor and heavier weapon IF it doesn´t pass your base Brawn threshold. This realities are not the same thing.
The major diference between us seems to be the fact that I prefer a scale going from + to neutral to -. depending on how light or heavy you are, while you prefer to start at 0 and work your way down to negative from that point.
Just a last remark regarding the accessibility of heavy armor, pointing out that D&D has been out of my gameplans for... say, the last 22 years or so, based in no small part exactly by the way armor is mechanically treated (as to hit difficulty vs soaking). But just take into consideration what you propose regarding the usefulness of heavy armor, which then postulates that it will be more common than in other game settings. Even if not full suits of armor with Sallet Helm with Throat Guard, many soldiers and mercenaries will have pieces of plate (and other heavy layered armors such as Coat of Lames, Coat of Plates, Lames, etc...). I reckon it won´t be very hard to acquire some pieces of heavy armor in no time.
As for the number of locations I must say I´m fine with either 26 or 34 or 28. In MML we have 46 locations. And bear in mind that armor can (and in most cases is) be layered, which means that it´s VERY detailed, especially considering that there´s several types of material that can be used (e.g. wrought iron, common steel, great steel, high steel, and plate, for instance, could be of light, medium or heavy thickness, with 7 armor values each for different type of damage).
... and it almost passed my mind. Will the new Draft actually eliminate the exploding dice mechanic as it was hinted somewhere above? That change alone has huge repercussions on overall chance of success, especially at lower levels of skill/traits, in dice pool mechanics.