New Staff to-hit roll using IQ! (serious balance problem, no?)

[Skarg]

Looks like you are correct. I forgot about that. That ability alone is/would-be a huge boost to staffs as they were.

[Shostak]

Rolling against the higher of DX and IQ for staff attacks has to be a mistake. It is like letting a Melee hero roll against the higher of ST and DX to hit with a weapon.

[tomc]

Originally Posted by Shostak

Rolling against the higher of DX and IQ for staff attacks has to be a mistake. It is like letting a Melee hero roll against the higher of ST and DX to hit with a weapon.

Given Steve Jackson's track record, I'm willing to give the changes a chance. Some things will be different, but they might be more fun.

[platimus]

Originally Posted by Shostak

Rolling against the higher of DX and IQ for staff attacks has to be a mistake. It is like letting a Melee hero roll against the higher of ST and DX to hit with a weapon.

To be honest, I don't think it makes much of a difference. A good wizard is bound to have decent DX and IQ. He needs the IQ to memorize more spells and learn high-level spells. He needs the DX to cast them.

But that's the thing with me. If it doesn't make much of a difference, why do it? It's so weird compared to all other attacks.

[hcobb]

If you are using just Wizard then a wizard who doesn't recast Staff has no physical attacks at all because he's not a Myrmidon. (Or change the note on page 19 to all humanoids.)

[David Bofinger]

Originally Posted by platimus

A good wizard is bound to have decent DX and IQ. He needs the IQ to memorize more spells and learn high-level spells. He needs the DX to cast them.

To clarify: can a non-wizard learn the staff spell and make attacks using IQ? The SJ article speaks of a wizard but doesn't say explicitly non-wizards can't do it.

If so I guess this becomes the attack mode of preference for skill monkeys.

ST 8, DX 8, IQ 16
Staff IV, 13 points of talents.
Leather armour, large shield

[platimus]

Originally Posted by David Bofinger

To clarify: can a non-wizard learn the staff spell and make attacks using IQ? The SJ article speaks of a wizard but doesn't say explicitly non-wizards can't do it.

If so I guess this becomes the attack mode of preference for skill monkeys.

ST 8, DX 8, IQ 16
Staff IV, 13 points of talents.
Leather armour, large shield

Steve says here that ONLY a wizard can make a staff:
http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.p...&postcount=135

[hcobb]

Can you carve a small shield from a single suitably shaped "any piece of wood" as per WSRB page 1? What happens if you then shield-rush with your unusually shaped staff that offers no penalty to your spell casting as per Wizard page 19?

[larsdangly]

This isn't a big deal to me because it is trivial to modify if you don't like it. I just treat the staff attack as any other spell or attack roll (vs. DX). And, if the free action and auto-hit properties of the staff attack are found in the published version of ITL I'll just put my thumb over those as well.

Most of the new staff qualities seem fun and in keeping with the game, but the IQ roll, auto-hit and (particularly) free action properties strike me as being bit like the old hobbit+boomarang conundrum: Not the end of the world, but also one of those those funny spots in the rules that encourage players to design weird characters to take advantage of a breakdown in the balance that reigns over most of the game.

[Shostak]

Originally Posted by platimus

To be honest, I don't think it makes much of a difference. A good wizard is bound to have decent DX and IQ. He needs the IQ to memorize more spells and learn high-level spells. He needs the DX to cast them.

But that's the thing with me. If it doesn't make much of a difference, why do it? It's so weird compared to all other attacks.

There is a big difference in probability when moving, say, from 11 to 12 as the target for a 3d6 roll, so a wizard with DX 11 and IQ 12 will be far more effective with a staff under the new rule.