01-19-2018, 07:18 PM | #31 |
Join Date: Dec 2004
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Re: TFT Defense
How about an optional improved defense for high adjDX characters? Something that doesn't change the base mechanics much. So...
A character with an adjDX of 15 or more has the option of fighting defensively, so that both he and his opponent roll against 4d to hit. If he chooses to Parry or Dodge, the opponent has to beat 5d to hit. A character with an adjDX of 18 or more has the option of fighting defensively, so that both he and his opponent roll against 4d or 5d to hit. If he chooses to Parry or Dodge, the opponent has to beat 6d to hit. A character with an adjDX of 22 or more has the option of fighting defensively, so that both he and his opponent roll against 4d, 5d or 5d to hit. If he chooses to Parry or Dodge, the opponent has to beat 7d to hit. Etc. So high DX characters have the option of using their superior DX to defend but at the cost of a reduced chance to hit. And there's no extra roll for defense. For a more granular option, a character with an adjDX of 15+ may fight defensively, taking a penalty to hit that applies to both himself and his opponent. The penalty cannot reduce adjDX below 14 (or maybe 12 - whatever feels right.) So for example a character with adjDX of 18 might choose a penalty of -4 so he has to roll vs adjDX 14 but his opponent also attacks at -4. You could use a similar mechanic for spell casting and resisted spells. |
01-20-2018, 12:04 PM | #32 | |
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Arizona
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Re: TFT Defense
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01-20-2018, 01:52 PM | #33 |
Join Date: Dec 2017
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Re: TFT Defense
I kind of like the idea of following the pattern that is already in the set of talents from ITL, where you trade a talent point investment for either: improved damage (e.g., Unarmed Combat I), or improved adj.DX (e.g., Missile Weapons), or improved critical threshold (e.g., Fencing), improved armor protection (Veteran or one mode of Two Weapons), any of a number of special attack modes (various, including many peculiar weapons), OR raising the number of dice a foe must roll to hit you (Unarmed Combat III, IV or V). My game-designer instinct is that when you have a heavily play tested system that works well and is already familiar, your best way to introduce new variants is to directly pattern them off of things that are part of your system.
Thus, if you want to improve defense for highly skilled combatants, they should be able to gain the higher die roll mechanic of UC III, IV and/or V, either as some sort of stand alone talent or (my preference) folding this into talents such as Fencing. For example, a revised Fencing talent might offer you two choices (much as Two Weapons does): EITHER have enhanced probability of a 2x or 3x damage attack OR force your foes to roll 1 additional die to hit you. This is a very subtle edit and accomplishes what people on this thread are looking for. I'd say it is a better approach for a revision to the published game than my house rule parry rules, simply because it is a parsimonious tweak based on existing mechanics rather than a while new sub-system. I hesitate to suggest this without having play tested what I'm suggesting, but I'm confident it would be successful based on its similarity to things already in the game. p.s., what I'm suggesting is not so different from what is given above, it just demands you invest some talent points to 'unlock' this advantage; i.e., Fencing and the various levels of Unarmed Combat all impose DX and IQ prerequisites not so different from the rules suggested above. |
01-20-2018, 01:54 PM | #34 |
Join Date: Dec 2017
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Re: TFT Defense
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01-20-2018, 02:00 PM | #35 | |
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Arizona
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Re: TFT Defense
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01-20-2018, 03:57 PM | #36 |
Join Date: Dec 2017
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Re: TFT Defense
Exactly. Just a few self-similar talents like this would really open up the possibilities for a diverse array of highly skilled combatants that are tough to hit if you are mook, but match up well with one another.
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01-21-2018, 05:36 PM | #37 |
Join Date: Dec 2004
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Re: TFT Defense
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01-21-2018, 10:13 PM | #38 |
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Arizona
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Re: TFT Defense
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01-22-2018, 07:34 PM | #39 | |
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Tyler, Texas
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Re: TFT Defense
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01-22-2018, 09:48 PM | #40 |
Join Date: Dec 2017
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Re: TFT Defense
If there was ever a game that required comprehensive play testing for any combat rule change, TFT is it. I don't have a philosophical attachment to any particular approach to these kinds of gritty mechanics, but I can say that the board-game origins of the core system mean you can pretty much wreck the whole thing with one ill advised change.
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