Strength and armor vs agility and cleverness

[MikMod]

Originally Posted by Chris Rice

Yes, I sadly tend to agree with you.

+1 :(

must be awful for newbies too

[Rolando]

I don't think it is awful for newbies, but it will make them think TFT is only a tabletop wargame mostly played to win tournaments.

It paints a game with a strong RPG element (and an actual RPG) like a tournament tactical game with a competitive scene.

That is sad in my opinion, but not terrible if other experienced players jump to provide different points of view.

In other words, just like almost any other game with complex interaction out there.

[larsdangly]

I think there is a place for relatively detailed explanations of elements of the game, but I agree that the posts arguing for supposedly ideal character designs are super unhelpful, for several reasons - they project a very narrow idea of the game; the tone leaves often something to be desired; and, ironically, they are almost always wrong even in the narrowest sense (i.e., competitiveness on a Melee map). I think a more helpful message to get out to new players is the remarkable amount of balance the system has intrinsically built into it, despite supporting a range of character types that few game systems can match.

[David Bofinger]

Originally Posted by hcobb

Slightly Armored Dude, Human, age 21
ST 12, DX 14 (12), IQ 9, MA 10 (8)
Talents include: Crossbow, Missile Weapons III, Shield, Sword, Toughness
Weapons: Broadsword (2d), Dagger (1d-1), Light Crossbow (2d)
Armor: Leather armor, Toughness and Small Shield stop 4 hits

I understand this is growth. But I don't think you'd call it an efficient growth path.

The 35 point version of the character has armour, but since his job involves sitting in the rear and being screened by melee combatants it's only going to be occasionally useful. What you'd much rather have is to get better at your actual job, but that isn't possible.

Kinda Tough Dude, Human, age 21
ST 12, DX 15 (13), IQ 11, MA 10 (8)
Talents include: Crossbow, Missile Weapons II, Shield Expertise, Sword Expertise, Toughness
Weapons: Light Crossbow (2d), Broadsword (2d+1), fine Dagger (1d)
Attacks and Damage: Punch (1d-2)
Armor: Toughness, leather armor and Small Shield stop 5 hits, -2 DX to be hit with sword and shield.

The 38-point version of the character has been reinvented as a parallel archer or melee combatant, so in any encounter his ranged or his melee capability is wasted. Again, it's growth but it's not efficient.

The problem is the harsh cutoff between effective DX of 13 and of 14, which makes the crossbowman a good starter and a lousy finisher. This ought to be a smooth increase, the chance of getting one shot a turn gradually rising.

[hcobb]

The Crossbow sniper can use any level of DX he can get.

Only at adjDX 18 (plus Missile Weapons III) is the head shot chance maxed out at close range and 8 more points of DX to automatically do a head shot at maximum effective range. An even higher level is needed to deal with those who wish to die tired by dodging on the way in.

This is the one of the times that the maximum DX boost from magic items and Aid spells really sucks.

[Oneiros]

Originally Posted by Terquem

Some people's insistence on telling people the right way to play this game is driving my interest in these boards downward.

I know some other large TTRPG forums have Character Optimization sub-forums. Perhaps the TFT board would benefit from such an addition?