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Old 03-04-2018, 03:07 AM   #74
Chris Rice
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: London Uk, but originally from Scotland
Default Re: The Fourth Attribute...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Kane View Post
ABSOLUTELY AGREE - "Six from Three,... or Leave it Be !"


However, to answer the OP's question:

If I had to "add one attribute" to TFT it would not be a Combat Stat at all, but rather a Game Stat reflecting your character's "Sphere of Influence" (expressed as miles from your fixed base of operations, based on reputation in larger-scale game terms; and as a "Stat" for Reaction Roll on the small scale). Operating as an amalgamated Presence/Charisma/Reputation Rating, reflecting the general impact on your existence upon the NPC game-world-at-large, and upon the reaction/response of everything else around you, TO YOU.

Why is this important in a campaign game? After all, this is not going to make you better at killing Trolls,...

Consider this, as you amass your treasure, construct your stronghold, and hire your men-at-arms, at what point do the NPC's of the game begin to take notice/offense to you?

How many days distant from your keep do others commonly begin hearing rumors about YOU at the tavern?

At what point do other NPC Adventure Parties go on a freebooting spree in the labyrinth under YOUR keep? OR, worse yet, at what point does the Goblin King hire a hit-squad to bring back YOUR head on a stick; and they can do it too, by tracking you through your "SI".

At what point does your "SI" grow so large that you attract a Dragon to your cache of plunder?

Isn't that exactly how the Dwarves in the Hobbit originally drew the attention of Smaug onto themselves and lost their mountain?

At what point does your "SI" become of political notice/threat, or better yet, eclipse and usurp the authority of the local governing ruler?

Isn't that the situation in Robert E. Howard's Conan-tale of: 'The Tower of the Elephant'? Wherein it is actually the evil Sorcerer Yara, who is the real controlling authority in the City-of-Theives, and not the drunkenly impotent and cowardly King Hadradnor?

And, wasn't it The Thorsz "SI" rating that caused you to hear about his "job offer", and caused you to respond, not once, BUT TWICE?!?

And if you feel TFT "gets wonky" at the higher-attribute level of play, consider being able to dump all those EP's into your "SI" stat, rather than spending them on "more brains for Conan, or more muscles for Merlin, or more grace for Gandalf".

Conversely, having a low "SI", isn't going to bother you any more than an IQ-8 Fighter AT LOW LEVELS; but think about when you being to amass that stolen gold,... you need to attract followers to hire, you need to influence other to co-operate with you, you need to be able to get things done on a Mega-mega-mega-megahex level; hence your "SI" rating - or lack thereof.

Having to feed an "SI" attribute will definitely slow down becoming a 3-Stat Superman; and propel your TFT Game to an Epic level of world-drama, and progressively upwards from the lowly bowels of the Melee training arena.

The Character "Sphere of Influence" stat is the springboard to TFT adventure!

So, if I was the "Tzar of TFT", THAT is the stat I would be adding, and exactly where I would be focusing my creative development efforts - in keeping the game strong, viable, dynamic, and ENJOYABLE.
That's a really interesting idea 😊. I did add a new "fourth attribute", Hero Points, which I mentioned somewhere earlier in this thread. They were intended as an in-game currency to affect dice rolls. However, it never occurred to me that these points could also be used as a way of gauging the "fame" or reputation of a character. I may have to borrow this. Thank you.
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