[JLV]

Originally Posted by David L Pulver

Why not do something like THE OGRE BOOK that included fiction, variants, and optional rules (past or updated) and scenarios from SJ and a variety of authors?

Or even do one of these every so often as a "TFT Annual" - keeps the system "pure" in the sense of the original game, but provides a venue for variants, options, and Cidri material.

I love the clean design of the original TFT system, but agree that some of SJ's rules that made into GURPS would be a nice fit for TFT.

* A parry/defense mechanism, so the Grey Mouser can survive against Fafhrd. (I like the GURPS-inspired "half adjusted DX/2 + 3").

* Some sort of energy battery rule for mages so they don't have to be high ST. Power stones, storing energy in staves, making magical energy a separate pool equal to ST + IQ/2, whatever...

Both of these are useful for genre emulation; I'd like to see something like this at least as an official option...

Using the Ogre Annual paradigm for TFT is absolutely brilliant! Definitely I would support such a concept. Likewise the Ogre Book concept (though both together would be even better)!

I also agree that the players ought to have the option of some kind of defense (and that the existing Dodge rule is bit off and should probably be better framed). the GURPS Parry rule works well for that purpose. Of note, however, the tactical time scales in GURPS and TFT are very different -- TFT's tactical turns are 5 seconds (which is an eternity in a sword fight, based on my fencing experience, with multiple attacks and parries usually occurring), whereas GURPS' are what? One second? Two? So that may influence how Steve approaches the issue (if he addresses it at all).

ST batteries already exist, but I have always permitted players to store ST in their staves (1x owner's IQ for a Staff, and 3x owner's IQ for a Staff of Power). There was a process they had to go through to put the ST in there (effectively, they had to spend 1 hour meditating for each point they put in, couldn't put in more than IQ/3 per day, had to count the ST as lost for that day, and had to recover -- as fatigue -- before they could do it again; charging up a staff was a time management issue!), but it just seemed logical and gives someone a reason to have a staff besides having a physical weapon they can use. It also meant that ST batteries weren't as eagerly sought as they were without the above rule, but that was okay too.

One other thing I'd like to see added would be healing magic; that always seemed an odd thing to be missing, though perhaps Steve had reasons for it that weren't ever stated (or at least, that I never read anywhere).