[MH] Point Inflation

[Andreas]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Yes they do. That being said I'd probably suggest lowering their HT a mite. High health enemies can be annoying when they aren't bosses.

Oops, I missed that they have Berserk as an optional trait. However Berserk might not trigger until they get taken out (1/4 HP injury in a single second or equivalent harm to a loved one) and even if it does, the cultist have an almost 75% chance of making the self control roll.

Yes, with HT 13 Cultists could last quite a while in combat. Especially since they also have 15 HP.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Frontal assaults often lose. Temperamental fanatics don't want to lose. While emotion often gets the better of them, that's not automatic. If it were, then they would barely qualify as sapient. Emotional does not mean suicidal or dumb.
Also Fanaticism is not incompatible with Cowardice which would preclude such forms of attacks.

The cultist goons are not Cowards, so that's irrelevant. And while an angry fanatic with no tactical skills and no ability at stealth may not be dumb every time, you can rely on them being dumb most of the time. They aren't especially well equipped to be anything else.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

The cultist goons are not Cowards, so that's irrelevant. And while an angry fanatic with no tactical skills and no ability at stealth may not be dumb every time, you can rely on them being dumb most of the time. They aren't especially well equipped to be anything else.

Again, unskilled does not equal dumb. If you want to play them that way, okay. But I have ZERO tactical experience and know direct assaults are dumb especially when dealing with targets likely to have more military knowledge... which would be everyone.

That Cowardice is not incompatible with Fanaticism is not irrelevant as I was using it as an example for why Fanatics aren't required to be suicidal.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Again, unskilled does not equal dumb. If you want to play them that way, okay. But I have ZERO tactical experience and know direct assaults are dumb especially when dealing with targets likely to have more military knowledge... which would be everyone.

Unskilled+Bully+Fanatic+Bad Temper+IQ 10 does equal dumb. Doubly so when you're dealing with the ones who armed with clubs and swords. Let's be clear on this. They can't sneak. They can't lay an ambush that a child couldn't spot. They can't wait things out if anything provoking is going on. They can't run (because they're Fanatics). They can't execute a flanking maneuver except by dumb luck. The best they can do is shoot from behind any partial cover they can find IF they happen to be the kind of cultist who happens to have a pistol instead of swords or clubs and if the opposition isn't armed with long enough range weaponry to shoot back while out of pistol range. A frontal assault counting on their HT and numbers to get them within attack range is actually probably their best option going up against a small pseudo-military unit.

There are certainly going to be cultists who don't have that template and are smarter than your average bear, but those aren't relevant to the question of whether the cultist goon template given in the book is a match for the Vietnam Seals from that other book.