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Old 05-19-2019, 11:13 AM   #9
Nils_Lindeberg
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Default Re: Weapon Mastery, the long and winding road

Quote:
Originally Posted by Skarg View Post
Maybe, but the need I see is more about what those talents represent than strictly the balance. I don't think figures with relatively low XP should be able to start with or rush to get those talents, and those characters tend to look to me like the weird by-products of trying to game the system to get the best talents as early as possible, rather than characters that seem to make sense to me.
But that is just it, the rules as they stand now, encourage you to game the system by getting IQ talents from start instead of earning them. In short, you get a bonus of 500xp for every talent you buy up front compared to buying them later. And since there is no real difference between different kinds of attributes DX is as much about Skill development as IQ, for those talents or weapons that roll against that attribute. And a fighter being a Conan from the start or a genius with good training is pretty much equal in my eyes, and it is equal according to XP progression, except for you losing out on XP if you go with one and not the other first. The super experienced person is the one with a huge number of talents more than their IQ. And if you get the "best" talents from the start you will miss out on other talents and be less effective in a fight or physical areas or magic, etc. They are all good trade-offs.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Skarg View Post
I agree that the talents should be carefully developed and tested so that they make the most sense and work well, and I have not played with them enough to be sure. but my impression is that they have some issues, yes. They offer a range of unique abilities in one talent, and have IQ and DX requirements, and the "shrewd" attacks involve a DX penalty, making the whole situation rather complex to analyze. Certainly though there are some characters who would find it worth it (those who already have the prerequisites for other reasons, and who have enough attributes that the cost of raising those it quite high as an alternative thing to do with XP). So for some range of characters (perhaps a small one), I think they are a good choice.

I'm pretty sure those talents could profit from a lot more testing and tweaking, but at this point, this thread is really probably something that should be in the House Rules sub forum.
I agree that we are touching on the House Rules sub-forum, but this is kind of a central glitch in the XP system.
And I agree 100% that weapon mastery is mostly for those builds that goes the IQ route. Because they want other complex talents or it fits their character concept. This is what I love about TFT, you can make an ST-fighter, a DX-fighter a DX+IQ fighter or even a ST+IQ fighter with a BLOB build, and not only an ST+DX fighter. All different, all fun. Usually, different system only allows one attribute build, or maybe STR or DEX, but seldom a fun combination. And we got three relevant attributes that can be mixed back and forth for different flavors of a character.

I don't see Weapon Mastery as the pinnacle of fighting prowess over all, but rather the pinnacle of a specific build (DX+IQ) that makes different IQ builds viable, which they weren't in the first edition. A choice, not something better, but different. More costly, yes, but you also get access to other talents, but also less HP, etc. Balanced overall, except for those lost 1500 XP. :-)
But enough of this. I will allow handicaps (optional rule), saved talent points (rule interpretation) and maybe even the extra talents for IQ increases (and call it RAI - even though it is not, but should have been. :-) )
Play on!
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