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Old 02-11-2018, 03:32 AM   #17
ak_aramis
 
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: Alsea, OR
Default Re: The Fourth Attribute...

Quote:
Originally Posted by David Bofinger View Post
Can someone explain to me why HT would be so useful? What are you trying to achieve with it?

It's useful in combat to keep a character up but it's most important attribute is preventing a character's sudden death. That means you're asking the player to trade off what they can get done as a member of the party, against their character's safety. If the GM dislikes killing PCs then the players will be tempted to keep the HT low and dare the GM to kill them. I don't think these are decisions that make for good adventures.

I'm guessing you're trying to make experienced characters harder to kill than inexperienced ones. You could achieve that by saying that characters only die when their ST gets to negative some function of their other attributes.

You could also have talents that make you reluctant to die.

If I were changing TFT attributes I would:
  1. Detach (small movements) dexterity from (large movements) agility: the DX attribute, under whatever name, describes large movements and is good for combat, dodging rockfalls, etc. Meanwhile the small movements, which are basically only used for thievery anyway, aren't worth an attribute and we tell the good thieves from the bad thieves by what talents they have.
  2. Separate perception and willpower, on the one hand, from intelligence and education on the other. Maybe both of these are attributes, I'm not sure.
TFT (& GURPS 1–3) both suffer from "Conan the Spell Caster" syndrome.

That is, The best wizards are as strong as the best warriors. And as tough.

The HT as I would propose works thus:

ST and physical hit capacity remain as is - locked together - except possibly for some high-health talents.

Health maps to resistance to disease, fatigue, poison, and ability to power spells.

Better maps to the descriptions in most of the Sword and Sorcery, and to common sense - physical strength isn't tied to physical health and is often counter to endurance.
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