Starting characters must not max out an archetype

hcobb · 12-31-2018, 08:45 AM

Every RPG is about the journey more than any destination. The players invest in different niches and have enjoyment from the evolution of their characters.

TFT uses resource limits to focus characters (especially those exponential attribute costs) into different lanes without railroading the players into a fixed advancement schedule. AD&D now has dozens of different wizard types, but in TFT the choices are endless as each player defines their own growth paths.

The most important part of this is that the character can always do better in their own role, so they don't crowd out the other players. This is also true of heroes as the master fencer or the master two axe fighter are not starting characters. The ability for a hero to keep on learning talents forever keeps their character's fresh, not frozen.

Why then is the world's best surgeon a starting character? This makes the party medic an afterthought to be tacked onto sage and largely overlooked.

My fix is to dice it up, especially since real world surgeons are notable for dexterity.

Hence the following:

A Physicker with a a physicker's kit may attempt to heal injuries. First spend one minute and roll 3/IQ to identify injuries of a type the physicker has seen before (add more dice if inflicted by a creature or poison of which the physicker is unfamiliar). Then spend four minutes in treatment and roll 3/DX against the physicker's lowest adjDX during those four minutes. On a success the subject is healed by two hits, up to the current baseline. On a roll of 4 this is four hits and on a roll of 3 this is six hits. On a roll of 16 one additional hit is inflicted, two hits at 17 and three hits at 18. This result is now the patient's baseline that further physicker or master physicker care can cure back up to. The baseline (and ST) increases by one point a day if a physicker makes a 4/DX roll or the patient makes a four die roll against his current ST until full ST is reached.

A Master Physicker with a a physicker's kit may attempt to heal injuries. First spend one minute and roll 2/IQ to identify injuries of a type the master physicker has seen before (add more dice if inflicted by a creature or poison of which the master physicker is unfamiliar). Then spend four minutes in treatment and roll 3/DX against the master physicker's lowest adjDX during those four minutes. On a success the subject is healed by three hits, up to the current baseline. On a roll of 4 this is six hits and on a roll of 3 this is nine hits. (Use a third of these values if treated without a kit.) On a roll of 16 one additional hit is inflicted, two hits at 17 and three hits at 18. This result is now the patient's baseline that further physicker or master physicker care can cure back up to. The baseline (and ST) increases by one point a day if a master physicker makes a 3/DX roll or the patient makes a four die roll against his current ST until full ST is reached.

12-31-2018, 08:45 AM	#1
hcobb Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Pacheco, California	Starting characters must not max out an archetype Every RPG is about the journey more than any destination. The players invest in different niches and have enjoyment from the evolution of their characters. TFT uses resource limits to focus characters (especially those exponential attribute costs) into different lanes without railroading the players into a fixed advancement schedule. AD&D now has dozens of different wizard types, but in TFT the choices are endless as each player defines their own growth paths. The most important part of this is that the character can always do better in their own role, so they don't crowd out the other players. This is also true of heroes as the master fencer or the master two axe fighter are not starting characters. The ability for a hero to keep on learning talents forever keeps their character's fresh, not frozen. Why then is the world's best surgeon a starting character? This makes the party medic an afterthought to be tacked onto sage and largely overlooked. My fix is to dice it up, especially since real world surgeons are notable for dexterity. Hence the following: A Physicker with a a physicker's kit may attempt to heal injuries. First spend one minute and roll 3/IQ to identify injuries of a type the physicker has seen before (add more dice if inflicted by a creature or poison of which the physicker is unfamiliar). Then spend four minutes in treatment and roll 3/DX against the physicker's lowest adjDX during those four minutes. On a success the subject is healed by two hits, up to the current baseline. On a roll of 4 this is four hits and on a roll of 3 this is six hits. On a roll of 16 one additional hit is inflicted, two hits at 17 and three hits at 18. This result is now the patient's baseline that further physicker or master physicker care can cure back up to. The baseline (and ST) increases by one point a day if a physicker makes a 4/DX roll or the patient makes a four die roll against his current ST until full ST is reached. A Master Physicker with a a physicker's kit may attempt to heal injuries. First spend one minute and roll 2/IQ to identify injuries of a type the master physicker has seen before (add more dice if inflicted by a creature or poison of which the master physicker is unfamiliar). Then spend four minutes in treatment and roll 3/DX against the master physicker's lowest adjDX during those four minutes. On a success the subject is healed by three hits, up to the current baseline. On a roll of 4 this is six hits and on a roll of 3 this is nine hits. (Use a third of these values if treated without a kit.) On a roll of 16 one additional hit is inflicted, two hits at 17 and three hits at 18. This result is now the patient's baseline that further physicker or master physicker care can cure back up to. The baseline (and ST) increases by one point a day if a master physicker makes a 3/DX roll or the patient makes a four die roll against his current ST until full ST is reached. __________________ -HJC