Thrown spells maximum range

[larsdangly]

I thought that the strict reading of the p.161-162 passage was that you couldn't 'layer' similar attribute enhancing things to reach bonuses above +5, and couldn't use them to reach stat values above 14 (perhaps that only applies to DX, though the text saying 'same applies to ST and IQ' could be read to mean the 14 max limit applies there too). How does several 5 pt Aid castings at once help you there?

[hcobb]

Here's how I handle Aid

https://www.hcobb.com/tft/house_rules.html#iq9spells

Aid added ST is used up before native ST for fatigue costs such as spell casting and the Drain Strength spell, but hits of damage are scored against native ST. The Aid spell can keep the target artificially alive but actually unfatigued, but it will not restore fatigue already marked against the figure. The added points last for two of the recipient's actions. The recipient can "kite" Aided ST by constantly recasting the spell on himself until he fails twice in a row. (Each failure would leak a point of course.) Note that there is a limit of five attribute points that that any figure can be magically boosted by through any combination of methods, including the Aid spell (c.f. ITL 162). Any additional ST Aided past this limit counts only as excess fatigue points that must be used within two actions or be lost. In addition to a limit of five total Aided attribute points (bonus fatigue doesn't count), the Aid spell (along with other methods) can't bring adjDX above 14 (after adjusting for armor, wounds, etc.)

[Skarg]

Yeah, that's how I do Aiding ST, too.

Reworded, the limits to +5 or 14 only apply to ST used for effective physical strength. They don't apply to using Aid-ST to cast spells with.

So someone can have 10 points (or any amount) of Aid(ST) on them, and use it for casting, but it won't increase their ST more than +5 / max 14 for purposes of wielding swords, knocking down doors, jumping across chasms, etc.

I think the same principle is good to apply to zombies, too. You can give 50 points of ST to a zombie, but it won't become as strong as a giant unless its body was a giant - it'll just have a lot of endurance.

[larsdangly]

I understand the reasoning behind these rules, though personally I prefer to play without such restrictions. I recognize the potential for unusual and seemingly unbalanced uses of the Aid spell, but in my experience this is a 'white room' problem rather than a real problem, and I avoid making house rules for white room problems. I also find it is more enjoyable to give everyone the freest possible hand when coming up with strategies for the uses of various spells, items, maneuvers, etc. Of course if someone stumbles across an approach that trashes the competitive interest of the game then perhaps a narrower ruling is called for. But, in a game where I can drop a lit petard down the back of someone's shirt, I don't think the occasional 10 point Aid spell is going to bring the whole thing crashing down.

[hcobb]

If you allow unlimited DX Aid then be prepared for 300 yard heavy crossbow assignations.

[larsdangly]

Why not?

According to this site about medieval crossbows:

http://web.mit.edu/21h.416/www/milit...ogy/crossbow.h...

"Range: By the 15th century, with a steel crossbow, the range was about 380 yards, sometimes up to 500(2). Earlier crossbows were thought to have a point blank range of 70 yards but were more often angled up 45 degrees to give them a range of 350 yards. Highest effective was 150 yards, but still able to kill at 300(5)."

[Skarg]

Being able to do damage at 300 yards if you manage to hit them, which is very hard to do is very different from being able to reliably bullseye people at 300 yards on the first shot.