Initiative Changes

Effective at once, I have made two changes to Combat initiative.

First, all characters with Quick roll three dice instead of two and choose the highest roll (plus REF) for their initiative. All characters without this advantage roll two and choose the highest roll (plus REF). This means that Quick is still a good advantage, but not quite as good as it used to be. It will also tend to even out rolls, making it harder (though obviously not impossible) to make a series of poor initiatve rolls during combat.

Second, the highest segment number is 21. Participants will have, at most, three actions in a combat round (fewer if they max out and then dodge or parry). By having no limit on initiative rounds, combats were taking longer and creating luck-based imbalances.

Continuity Space

One of the problems we’ve faced recently is a lack of continuity between sessions. The irregular scheduling contributes to this “now, what were we doing?” feeling, so since this is partially my problem, I’d like to be part of the solution.

Any group that wants to create an online presence (password-protected or not) can have its own page here on the Walter’s World site. By adding a password, posts can be restricted to members of the group. I’d like to have that password as well so that I can read and post and answer questions; if there are specific conversations that should remain out of my sight, there’s always e-mail.

I will create a page for any group that requests it; one member of the group should act as moderator. Please let me know.

Game On

Starting this Saturday, run groups are scheduled for the next few months. I wrote the novel, as hoped.

There’s lots to catch up on. I assume that the first session for each group will be an hour or two (at least) of: “now what the hell were we doing?”

Looking forward to the merriment. Thanks for your patience.

Suspending Runs

I’m working on a new novel. It’s important that I have a finished manuscript this time, because times in the publishing industry are a bit tough.

Accordingly, I’m suspending games for the balance of 2009. I don’t feel that, at this time, I can do the kind of preparation that is essential in order to give you folks a good gaming experience. I’m sorry, because the plots are all moving along very well, but I have to decide how to allocate my energy and time in the best possible way.

Thanks for your support and participation.

Combat System Updates

After extensive debate the revisions relating to parry and dodge have been incorporated onto the combat page.

I have also added a new Warrior Cascade skill, Mounted Charge, in response to requests to make mounted charges meaningful. Characters who should have this skill will be able to select it as a cascade, and it will help separate “mounted fighters” from “mounted non-fighters”.

Mage Deep Sleep

Clearly, the addition of this mechanic is going to upset mages, who often use significant amounts of energy during combat, and expect to get it back by sleeping a full night.

Therefore, since they don’t like to take watches anyway, the following mechanic exists, effective immediately.

A mage may make a Concentration roll with a normal TN of 20 to enter “Mage Deep Sleep”. This lasts until sunrise, until the mage is awoken by (very aggressive) shaking, or a spell such as Snap of Awakening is employed. Otherwise the mage will sleep through just about anything.

Mages who “Deep Sleep” for 8 or more hours receive (STA + 1) x 50 EP back at sunrise. Mages whose sleep is interrupted will only receive their normal 50; they can’t go back to “Deep Sleep”. There is probably a Mentem spell to solve this problem, but it’s not part of the canon yet.

Enjoy.(

Energy Use Due To Travel

This has been a while in coming. For some time only mages and clerics have had to worry about energy, which let fighters get off the hook.

After some thought I’ve decided that it doesn’t make sense for there to be a per-round energy penalty; warriors fight for hours in battle, and our combats last a half-dozen rounds – three minutes or so – maximum. So the only thing to really assess is energy use due to travel.

Effective at once, therefore, everyone traveling distance will pay the following energy penalty:

• 25 EP for travel from sunup to noon, on foot or on horse;
• 25 EP for travel from noon to sunset on horse;
• 50 EP for travel from noon to sunset on foot;
• 25 EP for a full day’s travel by sea. (Wind and boats pitching and rolling.)

The GM may assess further penalties as necessary.

Recovering energy requires a full night’s sleep, and allows you to recover 50 EP. Note that this mechanic may make mages (and clerics!) even more disinclined to travel, which may lead to whining and complaint. Art imitates life.

The solution to massive energy drain? Why, it’s Red Bull, of course. But read the next post.

One More Idea

I’ve had suggested to me that players with clerical powers who also do magic are at a double disadvantage. Fact is, that’s a feature not a bug: if you split your attention, you should have to make hard decisions.

Still, I’d like to offer the following suggestion.

In addition to the uses for Void and Piety dice listed here, characters with Piety dice remaining may expend them during combat to provide 100 energy points to any character (including themselves). This is the equivalent of a shot of “Red Bull”, with no Vis expenditure. Note that the Benison itself will consume 25 energy; this benefit is better used on others than on oneself.

• The priestly character can only do this once a (game) day, by making a Benison Invocation roll with a TN of 25 or more. This represents invocation of the deity.
• Characters receiving the blessing do not have to make a STA roll at the time, but will have to do so at the next Sun, as with Red Bull.
• The recipient must be of the cleric’s faith to receive this benefit.

How does that seem?

A Few Cascade Skill Revisions

These revisions are simple and are in force at once.

• Cascade skill rank can only exceed the base skill by 3 ranks.
• The Warrior Cascade skills Spear Hedge and Two-Hand Attack have been removed.
• A slight change to Staff Flourish – after any parry, the character may make an attack.
• A slight change to Attack to Disarm: following the defender’s parry roll, the attacker must roll 20 or higher to succeed.

Combat System Revisions

One of the advantages of running a system that is simple and flexible is that energetic players want to help revise and improve it. The trick is to get those energetic players to think like a GM. This is, needless to say, hard. Still, Scott J. and I have been kicking around ideas today for the combat system. I intend to implement these, or something like them, in the near future. Here is your chance to have input on the implementation.

Combat Options

Characters have the following choices when being attacked during a combat segment.

• Nothing. This costs no initiative penalty. You get what you get.
• Parry. This uses your weapon rank, and costs a -2 initiative penalty. It’s rolled before the attack.
• Dodge. This uses your defense rank, and costs a -1 initiative penalty. It’s rolled before the attack.
• Improved Dodge (Cascade skill). This uses your defense rank, and costs a -1 initiative penalty. It’s rolled before the attack.
• Shield. This uses your Shield rank, and costs a -1 initiative penalty. It’s rolled after the attack.

The following sections describe the options.

Nothing

Suck it up.

Parry

This is a system change. To parry, you are trying to interpose your weapon between yourself and an attacker. You roll your weapon skill (full ranks). For each 10 points of EV, the attacker loses 0k1 from his/her attack dice. If the attacker is reduced to 0 kept dice, the attack fails (but a roll should still be made for fumbling). Note the following modifications to the Parry roll:

• Large weapons such as battle-axes or warhammers are reduced by 3k0 when parrying.
• Very small weapons such as daggers are reduced by 2k0 when parrying.
• Staffs are increased by 2k0 when parrying.
• Non-melee weapons such as crossbows use AGI trait score (keeping all dice) when parrying.

Weapons other than non-melee weapons achieve a bind when they reduce the attacker’s keep dice to 0. The defender may then attack, taking the current initiative as his/her own.

Weapons run the risk of being broken when parrying, particularly when there is a disparity in size.

Parrying reduces the defender’s initiative score by 2.

Rationale: The object of a parry is not to avoid, but rather to deflect, an incoming attack. Good warriors don’t run away – they stand and fight, and hold their own against an enemy. By removing kept dice, the attacker’s effectiveness is reduced. A superior defender may then attack back.

Dodge

Stays the same. To dodge, a character rolls Defense skill. Each 10 points of EV removes 1k0 from the attacker’s roll, while 20 points of EV removes 0k1. Dodging only permits the defender to avoid one attacker in a given segment.

There is presently no way to dodge a missile attack or ranged magic.

Dodging reduces the defender’s initiative score by 1.

Rationale: Dodging is cheaper for initiative, but is no way to avoid getting beaten on by a superior opponent. But then it never was. For -1 initiative, it likely beats doing nothing, but your mileage may vary.

Improved Dodge

This is a new Cascade skill, derived from Defense. For each 3 ranks of Improved Dodge, the defender may avoid one additional attacker; thus, at rank 6, the defender may avoid up to 3 attackers (i.e., 1 for dodging, plus 2 for 6 ranks in the improved skill.) In addition, for each 3 ranks of Improved Dodge, the defender adds 1k0 to the skill roll.

There is presently no way to dodge a missile attack or ranged magic.

Improved Dodge reduces the defender’s initiative score by 1.

Rationale: This is the cascade skill for dodgin’ fools. By increasing the number of opponents you can dodge, and giving a slight bonus to the Defense roll, nimble defenders can stay alive longer.

Shield

This is a new implementation. A shield defense is not intended to avoid the attack, but rather to reduce or avoid damage. Shields have ratings like armor: 2 for small shields, 3 or 4 for larger ones. When shield parrying, the defender rolls his/her Shield skill, adding 1k1 for any rating the shield presently has.

Thus, a defender with Shield rank of 3 and AGI of 3, holding an undamaged small shield, would roll 8k5 (6k3 plus 2k2 for the shield rating.) The attacker rolls the attack as normal, then rolls damage (including any damage from critical hits.) For each 10 points of EV in the defender’s Shield skill roll, s/he may roll 1k1 to reduce the attacker’s damage. Any damage that exceeds this roll is applied to the defender and the shield is reduced by 1 if that amount is nonzero (thus it’s possible that the shield can remain undamaged, but the defender has to take away all of the attacker’s damage.)

Shield skill may be rolled against incoming missile fire at a penalty of 2k0. The shield is always damaged in this way.

Improvised shields, such as chairs or other objects, are at the discretion of the GM. They may lose all of their defense rating at once, for example.

Shield defense reduces the defender’s initiative score by 1.

Rationale: Shields have to do something, and this treats them more like armor. However, a defender against a vastly superior attacker will eventually run out of shields – and out of hit points.

Let’s Hear It

This is preliminary but is close to what I’d like to roll out. Let me know what you think.