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Old 08-02-2018, 08:54 AM   #1
CJM
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Default How I'm playing TFT right now and my Findings

Issue; Survival- I wanted to give the PC's a little better chance to survive a combat but not to much as to make it like so many other games that make combat a time to take a nap, ZZzzzzzz. This is how I'm playing right now.

1) when a PC reaches 0 hit points in combat they fall unconscious and start to bleed out. They must make a 3d/ST test to stabilize or they be dead. Now if they get hit below 0, lets say...below by 3... then that roll is at a -3. They roll every round until they stabilize or "they be dead". This is not my rule, but one I have come across someplace over the years...I like it.
2) Physicker; does what it does, but also can stop the bleeding of an unconscious PC on a 3d/IQ roll, thus keeping a PC from bleeding out. If the roll is made the injured PC goes back to 0 hit points, but stay unconscious.
3) healing potions do not take effect until an hour after ingested, so no more drinking a healing potion in the middle of a fight and keep fighting, and no unconscious PC can drink one. Ever try and drink something while you sleep...not going to happen. Think acid reflex.....gag...gag...gag...
4)Healing balm; stops the bleeding...Stabilize.
5) healing spell is the only way to give a player instant healing during combat.
This works well, keeps the PC alive but not invincible...creates a lot of risk management decisions during combat for the party. I still have plenty of PC's kicking the bucket.
Issue; XP
I'm also using the XP rules that SJ introduced originally with the caps on learning talents/spells that Zot and others came up with. I love these rules, though I have to admit I haven't used them much yet...just started the champagne and am only three weeks into it. I had five PC's, this is how they spent their XP... two saved them and are waiting to increase their attributes at a later date. One increased their Staff mana capability as per the recent rules that we see on the forum. One got a talent, and one had such a low attribute score that he increased his low one. It really spread things out nicely and it was fun to see how they thought about spending their XP. Two of my players are teenagers and they are loving it. They like that it's easy to play but surviving is hard.
Misc:
One of the teenagers rolled up a Gargoyle, they love it, please don't get rid of gargoyles as PC's....keep them for the children...think of the children....Think of Me, cuz I will have to explain to my kid why you took them out;-) Anyway thanks for all your hard work...it's been fun seeing the success of the KS. TFT is a great product that's just going to get better.
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Old 08-02-2018, 11:47 AM   #2
Skarg
 
Join Date: May 2015
Default Re: How I'm playing TFT right now and my Findings

I like 1) and 3) but am concerned that 2) and 4) make survival mainly about having balm or a physicker, and the physicker's IQ roll (which at 3/IQ sounds quite easy for a physicker - hopefully you apply the same modfier for points of damage below 0?)
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Old 08-02-2018, 04:31 PM   #3
CJM
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Default Re: How I'm playing TFT right now and my Findings

Yep, you apply the negative modifier on the roll. I was thinking if you don't have a physicker you might pick up some balm before storming the dungeon. What I'm trying to do is make the healing spell work but not be to much. I don't want this healing spell during combat then a healing potion combo. Never have liked the way healing potions have been used in fantasy games, really unrealistic. One, is it really going to take effect instantly?... and two, can a person really take a drink while in the middle of combat (maybe if it's a ranged encounter)? So the only instant heal (keep the PC fighting) is the spell and I guess the physicker if you got the time (5 minutes) in combat to get that done, which is a stretch. The physicker roll is to take them back to 0 (stabilized) but he can still use that talent to heal the PC the 2 points later (5 minutes). The original roll is more of an added benefit of the physicker talent since I use the 0 hit points as unconscious and the bleeding out rule. I see survival as good tactics/decision making and hopefully having a heal spell near by. The other stuff might get you a second chance if your teammates drag you out of danger or not, if the evil creature/wizard just dispatches you while your unconscious. Thanks for your feed back! Anyway that is what I'm trying to accomplish....still in the works as they say;-)
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Old 08-02-2018, 06:10 PM   #4
Skarg
 
Join Date: May 2015
Default Re: How I'm playing TFT right now and my Findings

I entirely agree about the healing potion.

Is there a roll involved with the balm?

I think your adjustments sound pretty good, though there's a bit of a consistency issue with raising them to ST 0 from negatives, unless you tracked the excess damage and required them to heal more before they got to full ST.
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Old 08-03-2018, 04:57 AM   #5
XRaysVision
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Default Re: How I'm playing TFT right now and my Findings

I have always thought of "potions" as being magical in nature. Medicines would take time, but a potion is a liquid spell, no?
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Old 08-03-2018, 09:05 AM   #6
Skarg
 
Join Date: May 2015
Default Re: How I'm playing TFT right now and my Findings

I don't know what Alchemical potions are metamagically but yes they seem to apply a magical effect. However even a living wizard traditionally has no instant-healing spells, so a healing potion might logically just start your body healing at 50x the normal rate for bed rest, even if you're not in bed, which would mean your body would heal 1 point in one hour, not magically reassemble itself in 5 seconds.

Or maybe 100x speed, which would be 30 minutes.
Or maybe 1000x speed, which would be 3 minutes (36 combat turns).
Healing in one turn would be more like 36,000x normal bed rest speed, which does not seem to me to need to be the natural conclusion of "it's like a spell."

So of course it all comes down to what a GM wants it to be able to do.
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Old 08-03-2018, 02:17 PM   #7
Rick_Smith
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Coquitlam B.C.
Default Re: How I'm playing TFT right now and my Findings

Quote:
Originally Posted by Skarg View Post
I don't know what Alchemical potions are metamagically but yes they seem to apply a magical effect. ...
Hi Skarg, everyone.
I considered chemists to be ordinary guys, but could use magical ingredients. So chemical potions could do things impossible in the real world.

Alchemists could use magical ingredients of course, but they had to cast spells on the potion when it was being created. So only wizards could take the Alchemist talent and the alchemical potions could be much more powerful.

One change I made was master phyickers could make healing potions, and I didn't require physickers to know magic, so I moved healing potions from Alchemists to Chemists.

***

I do think that healing potions are too powerful, and rather like the idea that it takes a few minutes for them to do their magic.

Warm regards, Rick.
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Old 08-03-2018, 05:14 PM   #8
Skarg
 
Join Date: May 2015
Default Re: How I'm playing TFT right now and my Findings

Cool, though Master Physickers can already make healing potions per ITL without being an Alchemist.
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Old 08-03-2018, 05:58 PM   #9
JLV
 
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Arizona
Default Re: How I'm playing TFT right now and my Findings

I actually created "Chymists" to work on mundane chemical potions and compounds, confining "Alchymists" to the magical potions and compounds. Herbalists worked on plant-based potions and effects. It worked out pretty well, and added a bit of difficulty to securing exactly the potion you wanted, with herbal potions and things being generally the least effective (though specific ones could be quite powerful), Chymical potions and compounds being next most effective, and Alchymical potions and compounds being fairly powerful (but enormously more difficult to find and expensive).

Not sure what the new rules will do to the Talents piece of the game though, so I'll probably have to completely rethink that once I see them.
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Old 08-03-2018, 09:56 PM   #10
Rick_Smith
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Coquitlam B.C.
Default Re: How I'm playing TFT right now and my Findings

Quote:
Originally Posted by Skarg View Post
Cool, though Master Physickers can already make healing potions per ITL without being an Alchemist.
That is what I'm saying. If a master physicked (the vast majority of whom can not cast spells), can make a healing potion, then a chemist should be able to as well. Thus, I moved that potion from the Alchemist table to the chemist table.

Also, the chemists have quite dull potions compared to alchemists. This gives them a money maker.

Rick
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