[tbone]

Thanks for all the detailed answers!


Acid:

Originally Posted by Kromm

Mostly, but keep track: If three acid vials do 1, 3, and 1 damage (1 being the minimum for a corrosion attack), that's a full 5 points and reduces DR by 1. If the target had DR 3, it now has DR 2, making future acid vials more dangerous.

Ah, it accumulates. That'll make hurling vials much more fun.

Originally Posted by Kromm

Nobody said fancy machinery was worth the price – I can wreck a $40,000 SUV with a free rock. :) But don't overlook "these things may be difficult to find in shops." Ordinary burglars don't have acid; delvers do. On the flipside, ordinary orcs don't have acid, either, but delvers may have padlocks to protect their stash.

All right. And I imagine, too, that if thieves were going wild melting locks and robbing everyone, the Town would take action, locking up people carrying acid without good reason, restricting who alchemists can sell acid to, etc. (Even locksmiths wouldn't want to see this sort of crime rampant. It wouldn't mean replacement sales; it'd mean people giving up on locks altogether.)

I'll assume it happens once in a while in Town, but for the most part, people wanting to melt locks would be smart to keep it in the dungeons.


Fright Check cap:

Originally Posted by Kromm

That's one of those "because it works that way in GURPS" things.

Right . . . though the question then becomes "why does GURPS do this?"

(Just to be clear, as these things are easily misunderstood online: This isn't a "Grr, this is wrong, I don't like it" matter; it's a "Hm, interesting, I wonder why" question.)

Originally Posted by Kromm

It's not the bonus case that's interesting . . . it's Fright Checks at penalties.

Right, those cases are interesting - but those are the cases without a cap in play, where everything works per normal checks.

The cases with the cap are what make me ask why Frieda needs to fail 10% of the time even though she's spent lots of points on Will and Fearlessness, and even when the Fright Checks are easy ones with a bonus.

Which is why I wondered whether the cap addresses some game balance problem that I'm not aware of, or brings in some desired trope from fiction, or whatever.

If there's not a particularly pressing reason for the cap . . . Well, it doesn't seem a particular problem, but I think I'll try dropping the cap anyway and rolling Fright Checks like any other check. (The usual crit miss rules will still leave a chance that, even on an easy Fright Check, Frieda could snap in some odd way and freak out.)


SM:

Originally Posted by Kromm

That isn't so much a big change as a place where we must admit that the Basic Set dropped the ball by forgetting to list SM on p. B547.

Ah. I imagine you've probably discussed that on the forums somewhere in the past, but it's new to me; I thought "SM is for ranged only" was the official BS method. Thanks for the insight! And I'm glad to see DFRPG make it clear.

(Which leads me back to an old, old question to which I don't know a good answer: What's a fair character point cost for "foes take +/- 1 to hit you", as a trait all on its own? But that's a better discussion for GURPS, not DFRPG.)


Holy symbol:

Originally Posted by Kromm

No. To be blunt: The combat application of divine interdiction (Turning) requires a prop that can be dropped or knocked away in combat. Noncombat uses (like Exorcism) do not.

Another useful clarification; thanks.


Esoteric Medicine bonuses:

Originally Posted by Kromm

Correct. In essence, a martial artist's special skills work not unlike a cleric or druid's spells. Thus, they get a bonus from the profession's special Talent, and some even require concentration and/or cost FP – see the pattern? A cleric or druid's special skills are distinct from their spells, and represent mundane teachings as opposed to magical powers, so that they're unaffected by sanctity or Nature's strength.

Sounds good. That is, it feels initially like an unnecessary complication (this Esoteric Medicine gets a bonus from the profession's key power trait; these Esoteric Medicines don't), and something to irk gamers who like these things all unified and streamlined - but there's a rationale behind why it works as it does. (As is usually the case with the system.)


Light range:

Originally Posted by Kromm

Yes. Use "distance from the source" for point sources like candles, Light spells, lanterns, and torches; these are not meant to be true areas of effect, but semicircles in front of the bearer out to the listed range. For area sources, use the rules for Area spells.

Got it. I really wasn't sure about this one, and again, I suppose there'd be a certain neatness to light sources using the same Area spell hex ranges shown in the diagrams, but it's perfectly simple to just count out two hexes of distance for a torch.


Book size:

Originally Posted by Kromm

Because it's the largest size that fits into the box that's considered standard for boxed sets at games shops. Bigger and smaller boxes exist, but those are harder to shelve and not well-liked. Bigger and smaller books exist, too, but 8" × 10" is the biggest one that fits in that box, and we went for the biggest because that's easiest to read. The unboxed add-on books are the same size for consistency, mainly.

Got it. For a moment I wondered whether the odd size had something to do with the placement or visual appeal of the books themselves on shelves, but then thought, "no, that makes no sense, they're hidden away in a box to begin with." Interesting to hear that box dimensions are the issue.


Thanks again. There will be more, I'm sure!