Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site gitpyr.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!mhuxv!mhuxh!mhuxi!mhuxm!mhuxj!mhuxo!mhuxb!houxm!whuxl!whuxlm!akgua!gatech!gitpyr!robert From: robert@gitpyr.UUCP (Robert Viduya) Newsgroups: net.games.frp Subject: Re: Gripe Message-ID: <166@gitpyr.UUCP> Date: Sat, 23-Feb-85 22:58:34 EST Article-I.D.: gitpyr.166 Posted: Sat Feb 23 22:58:34 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 27-Feb-85 04:04:51 EST References: <360@snow.UUCP> <3388@alice.UUCP> <155@sdcc13.UUCP> <4899@ukc.UUCP> Organization: Georgia Tech, Atlanta Lines: 121 >< Posted from ncg@ukc.UUCP (N.C.Gale) > > Why, for instance, should it be certain death for a child to fall > 30ft, while a seasoned fighter can fall hundreds of feet, and just > get up and brush himself down afterwards? A child is, in fact, more > likely to survive a fall than some hulk wearing lots of spikes and > blades. The seasoned fighter can slow his fall on the way down by grabbing things and also break his fall when he hits bottom. Granted, it's a relatively weak argument, but it was done to make the definition of Fatigue points was made as simple and as general as possible in order to not tie up the game with lengthy battles. The games was not designed specifically as a hack-and-slash type, but a situation-response type. This means less emphasis and detail in fighting, and more on application of skills. > *Lots of arbitrary restrictions are made upon player-types in the > interests of balance. Such as: Sorcerers may not wear armour, but > Saints (who also use magic) can. Thieves may not use metal armour, regardless > of whether they are employing their thieving skills, etc etc. > No real reasons are given for many of these restrictions. Sorcerers have to gesture. Armor doesn't help that. Saints, on the other hand, just have to pray. Saints don't use magic; they are granted favors by their deit[y|ies]. I agree with you on thieves using metal armor, however. They ought to be able to use it (with minuses to thier thieving skills). > *Greater skills are obtained partly by killing things, but mostly by > finding treasure (?). This is so that the Referee can give the > players however much experiance he/she thinks they deserve, but > it instills an unnatural avarice into the players. I once played in a game where you didn't get Experience Points from collecting gold. Instead, you collected gold in order to go to school. The DM had created all sorts of tables showing how much a school would charge you in order to raise your level and how long it would take (based partly on the player's stats). Also, there were different levels of schools, a level being the maximum level a student at that school could attain. If you reached the maximum level a school had to offer, you either had to find another school or someone to apprentice to. Apprenticeship (sp?) also cost money (more than schools) and high-level NPCs (or PCs) generally only took medium level apprentices. > The rules for humans being proficient in several different fields > are also strange, and appear without foundation. another arbitrary > restriction. I agree completely. The human should be the average character race, not the epitome. Also there should be no racial limitations on character classes. Instead, there should be a different Experience-Point-to-Level table for each race and class. The tables should reflect things like elves need the least experience to go up a level if they are a magician (because of in- herent magic), and hobbits need more experience to go up a level if they are a fighter (because of strength). > *Sorcerors have a set number of spells that they can cast in one > day. They cannot repeatedly cast these spells in one day, only once > each. For a long time there was no explanation why this should be, > but eventually someone thought of one. A real howler: every time > the sorceror casts a spell, the knowledge of how to do so is erased > from his memory! I've had many gripes about the magic system for a while and I've started thinking about a new system. It isn't finished at all, but here's the basic outline: Get rid of the illusionist and create 5 subclasses: incanters, gesturers, alchemists, enscribers and willers. The description of each: Incanters: The class of magicians who perform magic through the use of the spoken word. This subclass is the easiest. Its also the most defensesless. Gesturers: The class of magicians who perform magic through the use of bodily gestures. Harder than the above because of the precise movements required. Its just as defenseless, but invokes stronger magic. Alchemists: The class of magicians who perform magic through the use of potions and such. Requires time to prepare. Potions created in labs are generally more stable than those prepared in the field. Also limited as to amount of materials available. Enscribers: The class of magicians who perform magic through the use of the written word. Requires a bit of alchemy to create special inks and fixatives. Has similar limitations as alchemy. Willers: The class of magicians who perfrom magic through the use of pure willpower. This is the hardest subclass of them all and requires the most experience points to raise levels. Characters may overlap subclasses. I haven't worked out how yet, but I believe they should. Now, instead of starting them off with a set of basic spells, give them a set of 'building blocks'. The blocks can be modified and put together in various ways in order to create spells, based on a set of natural laws. I haven't defined all the building blocks yet, nor the laws. Of course, the laws would vary depending on what subclass the character was in. Some of the blocks would be things like Energy Manipulation (from which things like Fireballs and Magic Missles are developed), Matter Control (Animation and maybe Magic Missles), and Mind Control (Illusions). As an example, a spell of Resurrection could be done using Matter Control to animate the cells in a body up to the point where they will start working for themselves (a weaker variant would produce zombies) or it could be done with Energy Manipulation to shock the heart into pumping again. A magician would start off not knowing any of the laws which govern how spells are created. He would have to learn those laws by himself through experimentation or from other magicians. Magicians are, by nature, jealous and protective of their knowledge, so that would control their power. Obviously, it isn't quite finished. But I'm open to comments/suggestions. robert -- Robert Viduya Georgia Institute of Technology ...!{akgua,allegra,amd,hplabs,ihnp4,masscomp,ut-ngp}!gatech!gitpyr!robert ...!{rlgvax,sb1,uf-cgrl,unmvax,ut-sally}!gatech!gitpyr!robert