05-26-2023, 01:19 PM | #61 | |
Join Date: Apr 2005
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Re: Wet torch
Quote:
Something that needs to be defined in any RPG is "assumed level of overall PC competence." In a cinematic or Action-type campaign, the GM can assume "baseline omnicompetence." That means default skills allow extensive defaults even for moderately difficult tasks and that character experience allows them to avoid making stupid mistakes. In a highly realistic campaign, the GM can be much harsher. Default skill might only work for the simplest of tasks and IQ or skill rolls might be needed for even "common sense" decisions. Let's say that you're trying to ford a river. It seems like an easy task - find a place where the water is low, keep anything that might get damaged by wet out of the water and cross. But how to you know what signs to look for to find a ford? How do you know that the bottom won't turn to muck or that there aren't potholes in an otherwise solid river bed? How to you compensate for rushing water that might sweep you off your feet? How to you get animals or vehicles across? You'd think all these things would be obvious, but plenty of people get into serious trouble in flooded areas when they try to drive their vehicles through what appears to be just a few inches of flowing water and then get stranded or swept away. Likewise, many battles or military campaigns were affected by commanders not recognizing usable fords or choosing a bad place to ford a river. If there is a meaningful decision they need to make, like "Are you taking off your armor?" or "You have too much to carry in your pack, what are you letting get submerged?", I'll ask.[/QUOTE] Fair enough, but how you handle player decisions varies based on whether you're playing generic Dungeon Fantasy with heroic characters or modeling the actions of English knights at the Battle of Bannockburn. |
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05-26-2023, 01:44 PM | #62 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: Wet torch
Well, yes and no. The issue here isn't PC competence, it's PC automation -- do you have to tell the GM that your PC is making a survival check, or should the GM automatically assume you are attempting the check when appropriate, and will tell the player to make a check in situations where there's an interesting risk of failure.
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05-31-2023, 08:19 AM | #63 |
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Luxembourg
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Re: Wet torch
An interesting idea for a DF treasure : the cursed fire starter, huge bonus for fire-starting, but poisonous :
http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.p...postcount=2818 |
05-31-2023, 09:10 AM | #64 |
Join Date: Sep 2007
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Re: Wet torch
The SOP Perk exists for games where automated PC competence is not assumed. That is, when the GM is expected to gig you for any detail you, the player, didn't explicitly mention, no matter what your character would normally do, it becomes worthwhile to pay a point to avoid that hassle. It's like No Nuisance Rolls.
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05-31-2023, 01:59 PM | #65 | |
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Central Europe
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Re: Wet torch
Quote:
The reason most adventurous people don't have a packed and up to date bugout bag is that it takes up space, some of the things in it (including the bag itself) have other uses, and swapping out things as they expire is annoying. Its not that they don't see the advantages.
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"It is easier to banish a habit of thought than a piece of knowledge." H. Beam Piper This forum got less aggravating when I started using the ignore feature Last edited by Polydamas; 05-31-2023 at 02:02 PM. |
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05-31-2023, 02:20 PM | #66 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: Wet torch
The SOP perk is for actions that the GM might assume are not automatically performed for whatever reason. There are reasons other than incompetence that the GM might assume those things are not automatically done.
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05-31-2023, 08:17 PM | #67 | |
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Re: Wet torch
Quote:
In that "typical dungeon crawling game" you carry torches because they are a handy way of throwing fire at something flammable or you use a torch as a melee weapon against things that are fire vulnerable. Note that Gurps has some rather venerable rules for using torches as weapons.
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Fred Brackin |
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05-31-2023, 08:32 PM | #68 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: Wet torch
That's a thesis I'd want evidence for. Most low tech cord isn't fond of being wet, and at a minimum its balance is going to be off.
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05-31-2023, 08:58 PM | #69 |
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Re: Wet torch
I would want evidence for the contrary. Slings are mechanical advantage/leverage devices rather than tension. That's why they do Swing damage.
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Fred Brackin |
05-31-2023, 09:17 PM | #70 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: Wet torch
Slings are made of cord that (a) changes weight when wet, and (b) changes elasticity when wet. This will definitely cause its behavior to change. At best that's a loss of accuracy, at worst that could make it nonfunctional.
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