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Old 03-02-2018, 07:16 AM   #50
RobW
 
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Join Date: Mar 2018
Default Re: Fantasy Trip Glitches, Contradictions, Ambiguities

The jobs table and aging rules might not qualify as a glitch given their intended use. But I once simulated the lives of 100,000 farmers and soldiers on this table. Results were published on the brainiac list, but a few highlights, which I have always found entertaining:

The 100,000 "soldiers" all had legal 5/16 jobs (5 or less = extra point, 16 or more = threat). Their life expectancy was then 27 years. Over 90% of the soldiers died "on the job", ie from misadventure. In fact, an amazing 58% of the age 16 soldiers died before they reached 17. Sounds pretty reasonable so far, right?
But about 9% of this population went on to reach very old ages (max=132 years old!), obtain very high numbers of character points (max=142!), and die peacefully. By the ITL system, the most powerful people on earth are 69-years-old. These people have been rolling weekly to increase their attributes for 54 years. That works out to 52*54 = 2808 chances to increase points. On a 5/16 job we would expect about 130 successes (although they have been losing one point a year through ageing). The members of this special group obtain so many points that they can survive any 4d damage roll. On starting their 70th year, the ageing rules really kick in, and the surviving population declines, in number and power.

The more peaceful 3/18 farmers led a less dramatic existence. Life expectancy for this group is 30 yrs, only 10% died in their first year of labor, and the oldest of the 100,000 farmers was 86.
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