Creating a low point ST-based ranged fighter

philosophyguy · 11-04-2015, 08:08 PM

I'm about to play a 100 point character in a TL 3 world, and I'm trying to think about how to efficiently build a character with ranged fighting capability. This character's niche is in non-combat skills like influence skills and perception skills, but I would like to add some combat abilities so the character doesn't just stand around in a fight.

The character will be playing second fiddle to other PCs in combat, and I'm okay with that. I'm trying to figure out how to point-efficiently make a character that can contribute something to combat.

The problem I'm having is that the character seems like a better fit for ranged combat than melee, but range penalties make it really hard to create a ranged combatant that has a chance of surviving.

If the PC wants to be able to defend, he or she needs to be shooting when the NPC is at least two turns away (one turn to shoot and have the NPC move closer, one turn to ready a shield or other defensive weapon, or run away). Most human NPCs have move 4-5, sometimes 6, so that's a distance of 8-12 yards, which corresponds to a range penalty of -4 or -5.

Let's say that our goal is to get to an effective skill of 10, for a 50% chance of a possible hit. With those range penalties, the PC needs a base skill of 14 or 15.

For an easy ranged skill, like thrown knives, that would require either 12 points (default DX of 10+4) or 8 points if the PC took DX 11 (for a +20 points, which could be amortized over a variety of DX skills). For an average skill, like Bow, the point total is 16 or 12 + amortized DX. Additional levels of DX would be helpful in a vacuum, but for this character concept the tradeoff with IQ skills is tough to justify.

So, we're looking at over 10 points of character, or 10% of the character value, to add a single ranged combat skill that is minimally effective. This skill will cause damage less than half the time (50% possible hits - successful active defense) and isn't likely to inflict much damage.

Is there a better way to add some ranged capacities to this character? Again, the point isn't to be a ranged hero—it's to have some positive impact in combat.

(I'm asking this question after reading Douglas Cole's blog on Skill Levels for Ranged Combat. I'm hoping to get some more discussion about how to think about these options in low-powered situations.)

11-04-2015, 08:08 PM	#1
philosophyguy Join Date: Feb 2014	Creating a low point ST-based ranged fighter I'm about to play a 100 point character in a TL 3 world, and I'm trying to think about how to efficiently build a character with ranged fighting capability. This character's niche is in non-combat skills like influence skills and perception skills, but I would like to add some combat abilities so the character doesn't just stand around in a fight. The character will be playing second fiddle to other PCs in combat, and I'm okay with that. I'm trying to figure out how to point-efficiently make a character that can contribute something to combat. The problem I'm having is that the character seems like a better fit for ranged combat than melee, but range penalties make it really hard to create a ranged combatant that has a chance of surviving. If the PC wants to be able to defend, he or she needs to be shooting when the NPC is at least two turns away (one turn to shoot and have the NPC move closer, one turn to ready a shield or other defensive weapon, or run away). Most human NPCs have move 4-5, sometimes 6, so that's a distance of 8-12 yards, which corresponds to a range penalty of -4 or -5. Let's say that our goal is to get to an effective skill of 10, for a 50% chance of a possible hit. With those range penalties, the PC needs a base skill of 14 or 15. For an easy ranged skill, like thrown knives, that would require either 12 points (default DX of 10+4) or 8 points if the PC took DX 11 (for a +20 points, which could be amortized over a variety of DX skills). For an average skill, like Bow, the point total is 16 or 12 + amortized DX. Additional levels of DX would be helpful in a vacuum, but for this character concept the tradeoff with IQ skills is tough to justify. So, we're looking at over 10 points of character, or 10% of the character value, to add a single ranged combat skill that is minimally effective. This skill will cause damage less than half the time (50% possible hits - successful active defense) and isn't likely to inflict much damage. Is there a better way to add some ranged capacities to this character? Again, the point isn't to be a ranged hero—it's to have some positive impact in combat. (I'm asking this question after reading Douglas Cole's blog on Skill Levels for Ranged Combat. I'm hoping to get some more discussion about how to think about these options in low-powered situations.)