Running Talent in Legacy Edition

[mark hill]

Originally Posted by JLV

Having said all of that, I can certainly see retaining the old rule, despite it's lack of "realism," simply because it makes it a more fun talent for folks to pick. That seems entirely in keeping with "fun is paramount" theory of RPG-ing! ;-)

Realism is for p****** :)

Lets not forget mighty Beowulf could swim across the freezing North Sea in a full chainmail :) .. on a *slightly* more realistic note, Im pretty sure the Spartan troopers were expected to run forever in heavy armour (plus the good old 18 lbs shield they used) .. dont get confused by that very silly (but entertaining) 300 film, they actually didnt go into battle in speedos (possibly a result of too many aussies in the cast), more head-to-toe bronze plate, far more weight than most greek soldiers wore at the time .. arent our little TFT guys and gals more related to these fellas than 'all very logical realism' ? Hells bells, the guy covering your flank is a reptile man or gargoyle often as not .. realism, bah humbug.

[JohnPaulB]

Originally Posted by Shostak

I preferred the +2MA regardless of armor.

Agreed.

Besides, Running Talent trains you to run. Someone who hasn't spent all that time running (me) wouldn't run as fast and as far. So when I run in chainmail, I would run slower than someone who has trained in running. I would expect him to outpace me if we were both in chainmail.

[oldwolf]

Originally Posted by JohnPaulB

Agreed.

Besides, Running Talent trains you to run. Someone who hasn't spent all that time running (me) wouldn't run as fast and as far. So when I run in chainmail, I would run slower than someone who has trained in running. I would expect him to outpace me if we were both in chainmail.

What you say makes sense to me. The only reason I can see for the current rule would be if someone found that a character in chainmail or the best quality plate having an MA of 8 or possibly 10 for an Elf with running was very unbalanced and just forcing everyone with such armor to MA 6 was the simplest fix.

[Skarg]

I get the interest in keeping Running providing an advantage that works in armor.

To give voice to another perspective, I can see a balance desire to keep the impact of heavy armor on MA significant, however. In new TFT compared to old, some common means to doing high damage have been lost (high-power missile spells, polearm double damage), and new means of stacking up armor have been added and/or made easier. Stacking armor with other armor effects can make figures nearly invulnerable to most normal fighters, so at least having a check in MA seems like it could be a very important element of balance, to me.

As with all such things, how we decide we prefer to play and to tweak the rules is largely a matter of weighing such considerations from the perspectives of our own tastes.

[oldwolf]

Skarg, that speaks to what I was wondering. Good to hear that.

[TippetsTX]

Why not compromise between the old and new versions? Running grants +2MA while wearing 'light' armor and +1MA if wearing anything heavier.

[oldwolf]

Originally Posted by TippetsTX

Why not compromise between the old and new versions? Running grants +2MA while wearing 'light' armor and +1MA if wearing anything heavier.

Perhaps, but odd numbered MA is significantly disadvantaged in a game that frequently says: Move up to 1/2 MA and.....

[TippetsTX]

Originally Posted by oldwolf

Perhaps, but odd numbered MA is significantly disadvantaged in a game that frequently says: Move up to 1/2 MA and.....

Round up in that scenario?

[JohnPaulB]

Originally Posted by TippetsTX

Why not compromise between the old and new versions? Running grants +2MA while wearing 'light' armor and +1MA if wearing anything heavier.

Originally Posted by oldwolf

Perhaps, but odd numbered MA is significantly disadvantaged in a game that frequently says: Move up to 1/2 MA and.....

In Tippets Example: the dwarf has an MA of 6 in Chain. But he has Running talent which would bring him up to MA 7. Seven is not evenly divisible by 2, so it would have to be 6 to engage in fight.

So let it be that at MA 7, have them roll 3d6 vs ST if he wants to engage in combat.

• If he makes it he can go that one more hex or 7 hexes.
• If he fails, he only goes 6 hexes.

Sure it's another die roll, but for those who want to play that odd additional hex, the player may be willing to do that.

Also, it adds a bit of uncertainty to the player (and the opponent) for applying movement, which could be interesting.

[hcobb]

Under the current rules:

14 hex dragon with Running which is carrying 10xST (five lightly armored humans) has flying MA 6.

Elf with Running whose cloth armor is part of their 10xST total load has MA 6.

Human with Running whose cloth armor is part of their 10xST total load has MA 6.

Human with Running whose plate armor is part of their 10xST total load has MA 4.

Correct?