Re: Challenge rating
 

Going through and setting CRs for all the critters with a base of 24 for a Melee Warrior and 32 for a full up starting ITL character.

For Long Lankin I'm assuming they always go for HTH to justify their CR, because otherwise they're rather wimpy all alone.

Re: Challenge rating
 

Can you provide a link to this?

Re: Challenge rating
 

I'm tempted to use the Firepower formula from Ultracorps.

In which case we get (With adjustments such as the 14-hex Dragon using swipe and fly tactics.)

Firepower Name
22 Shadowight
28 Human Skeleton
28 Human Zombie
30 1-hex Dragon
32 Night-Gaunt
35 Neanderthal
37 Ghoul
37 Wizard Wraith
44 Human Ghost
44 Human Wight
45 Diatryma
45 Pegasus
46 Unicorn
46 Wyvern
49 Ogre
51 Giant
52 Sasquatch
53 Basilisk
55 2-hex Dragon
62 Yeti
71 Long Lankin
72 Troll
80 4-hex Dragon
90 Apep
101 Indricotherium
117 Octopus
120 4-headed Hydra (w/poison)
132 Woolly Mammoth
137 7-hex Dragon
217 14-hex Dragon
268 7-headed Hydra (w/poison)

Re: Challenge rating
 

I think the concepts are very valuable, but the terms and exact ratings are not, except for being clear and providing good numbers to use.

Once the concepts are there, and the GM feels good about the sense of how much XP to award for something, the formulas and numbers aren't really needed.

But I think it is really helpful to get a good sense of how much XP should be given for an easy fight versus a very hard one, and not to just give piles of XP for wiping out foes who posed hardly any challenge, which unfortunately is what the RAW did.

Re: Challenge rating
 

Yep, I managed to dig it up.

The post about the system is here.

Another post with some explanation that may be helpful is here.

Most of the rest of the thread they are in is Jim Kane and I getting into a long obscure theoretical conversation where he wanted to try to invent another system and eventually it fizzled out so I don't recommend reading the rest of that thread.

Re: Challenge rating
 

I am finding odd tactics for monsters to maximize their FP.

14-hex dragons should use claw swipes on the wing, all smaller dragons should land and use all of their attacks against a group of humans.

I'm assuming that the Sabertooth Tiger can use both attacks in HTH at -4 DX each, otherwise it is the wimpiest of the 2-hex cats.

Seven headed poison hydra is still the top firepower rating.

The formula is:

T = turns the monster survives against one optimal starting character attacking it each turn.

D = Average damage the monster does per turn.

FP = 10 * sqrt(T * D) rounded to the closest integer.

Re: Challenge rating for scenario
 

I wanted a rough way to let the potential player know how hard the ITL "dungeon" or scenario will be. How about this?

• 0 Level Dungeon: No real fighting expected unless the players do something really stupid. Or fighting is against a few, 'under 32 point' characters.
  
  
• 1st Level Dungeon: Fighting is against 32 - 33 point characters or simple monsters.
  
  
• 2nd Level Dungeon: Fighting is against mostly 32 - 33 point characters, with some 34 - 36 point characters or simple monsters with one or two complex monsters or simple traps.
  
  
• 3rd Level Dungeon: Fighting is against mostly 34 - 36 point characters, with some 37 - 38 point characters or several complex monsters or some complex traps.
  
  
• 4th Level Dungeon: Fighting is against mostly 38+ point characters, with some 40 point characters or difficult monsters or difficult traps.
  
  
• 5th Level Dungeon: Fighting is against mostly 40 point characters, monsters and traps difficult and constant.

Doesn't have to be this nomenclature. Could be:
Easy; Beginner; Average; Hard; Very Hard; Killer.

Re: Challenge rating
 

Blind attribute points have the problem that the characters can load up with gear, talents, mana, etc. without increasing their attribute totals.

At least my firepower ratings are based on abstract combats, which give some clues as to the tactics each beast should use. For example a party of four novice PCs should be able to take on two trolls, especially if two of those PCs are combat builds.

Re: Challenge rating
 

Okay, I've got 105% of all monsters in my tables.

Here's my proposed output format. Any changes needed?

21x Rat(pg 100) ST:1 DX:10 IQ:6
Nibble(1)
Can be stomped

Re: Challenge rating for scenario
 

I think there's a fundamental issue with framing what's in a game world based on difficulty level. It tends to lead to the difficulty framework actually being a primary cause of what is and isn't in the world, where things are, etc.

Difficulty is important to be able to assess so that characters can have an idea who is likely to kill them in a fight, and to award appropriate experience. We developed our alternate experience awards system because we noticed it was vastly more efficient (in terms of EP for risk) to slaughter nearly-harmless shadowights or untrained hobgoblins than it was to defeat someone more formidable than you were, which was clearly very backwards/wrong/unfun.

I think it's far more interesting and immersive if a GM plots out what is where in their gameworld based on what makes sense to be where, and then later observes how dangerous places are, than if he places threats based on an idea that there should be places which have certain strengths of opponents because they are supposed to be a certain level of difficulty.

In particular, looking at the above categories, it might or might not be literally what you meant, but I'm worried by the wording that there would be only five categories of place, and that several of them say that "most" people in them would be outside the most common normal categories (i.e. 28-33 points). That is, I would not expect that many of even the most dangerous adventure locations would have a majority of exceptionally skilled people, unless it's the stronghold of some elite group.

And of course, in TFT the situation tends to be even more important that the point totals. Not just in terms of characters' talents and equipment, but in terms of what ends up happening, how many foes get met at once, and in what layout, how the foes behave and what tactics they use, etc.