03-20-2008, 04:17 PM | #11 |
Join Date: Jan 2007
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Re: Dungeon Fantasy 4: Sages is released!
Book-Learned Wisdom is a very nice touch. The Scholar has the versatility he needs without having a lot of points invested in skills that would be only be useful from time to time.
I have one question. Can manuals be memorized for Book-Learned Wisdom purposes? If so, a Scholar with Photographic Memory could keep a vast library in his head, which could be recalled to fill his BLW slots. Even if I rule that it takes just as much time to remember the manuals as to read them, the Scholar still avoids the problem of logistics. |
03-20-2008, 04:57 PM | #12 |
GURPS Line Editor
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
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Re: Dungeon Fantasy 4: Sages is released!
The idea is that he needs the books. It's supposed to be a logistics problem. While Photographic Memory is nice, I'm sure, I don't think memorizing actual cartloads of books verbatim is in the spirit of the trait. If you want to do that, learn the skills permanently. :)
I think the ability is pretty swell even with the need for books, since the scholar could in principle learn hitherto unknown skills from books found down in the dungeon, giving the party a decided advantage as they delve deeper into the ruins. That underlines something important, though, which is that even more than most adventurers, the scholar requires a GM who respects the player's choice of roles. If the GM waves off obscure languages, Area Knowledge skills, weird new Hidden Lore specialties, etc., and never puts books among the treasures, then scholars won't be very useful . . . they'll be a lot like wizards in no-mana areas. The artificer and scholar both are basically designed around the theory "N times per game session, the PC can solve a problem found in the dungeon using only materials/knowledge that's in the dungeon, regardless of the limits on other PCs (noisy singing, sanctity, unspoiled nature, mana, etc.)." This is balanced in both cases by the need to carry heavy packs of expensive stuff around.
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Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com> GURPS Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games My DreamWidth [Just GURPS News] |
03-20-2008, 05:39 PM | #13 | |
Join Date: Jan 2008
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Re: Dungeon Fantasy 4: Sages is released!
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I'm considering banning clerics from my game, and the artificer is a potential replacement for the "walking band-aid" aspect, as well as having a nice flavour. -Max |
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03-20-2008, 05:58 PM | #14 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Upper Marlboro, MD
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Re: Dungeon Fantasy 4: Sages is released!
Wow!
That was the most fun 17-pages I have read in a long, long time. The "Gettin' Funky With the Stylus" box was worth the price of admission! Thanks Kromm! |
03-20-2008, 06:57 PM | #15 | |
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Re: Dungeon Fantasy 4: Sages is released!
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03-20-2008, 07:49 PM | #16 | |
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Europe
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03-20-2008, 07:50 PM | #17 | |
Banned
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Europe
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Re: Dungeon Fantasy 4: Sages is released!
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Ideally, it'll strongly differentiate a Wizard with fair IQ Magery 5 or 6 from a Sage with very high IQ and 4 levels (or more!) of some Scholar Talent. |
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03-20-2008, 07:59 PM | #18 | |
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Europe
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Re: Dungeon Fantasy 4: Sages is released!
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03-20-2008, 08:09 PM | #19 | |
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Finland
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03-20-2008, 08:37 PM | #20 | |
Banned
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Europe
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Re: Dungeon Fantasy 4: Sages is released!
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Wild Talent can be taken with an Enhancement that allows the character to pay 1 CP to "retain" the skill after he has used it. The solution is simply to replace the Enhancement with a Limitation that says that rentention is mandatory - the character has to pay 1 CP to render the skill permanent, every time he uses Wild Talent. The special effect is that the character read it in a book somewhere, or overheard a couple of professionals discussing work methods. How much would that be? IIRC Voluntary Retention is +25%, so Mandatory Retention could be -20%? Would that be balanced? I can see a case being made for -30% or even-40%, since with mandatory retention, the player will be somewhat reluctant to actually spend his Wild Talent usages. With retention optional or unavailable, it's just good fun to use Wild Talent, but when each use forces you to buy something for 1 CP, it gets tense. Then on the other manipulatory appendage, -40% makes Wild Talent cost only 12 CPs, or 14 CPs with -30%. Also, isn't there already an Advantage that lets players do that? IIRC it costs 15 CPs, or maybe 10, but I can't remember whether it allows in-the-field spending of CPs, or only gives the player huge freedom of character advancement between sessions. |
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