The Fourth Attribute...

Chris Goodwin · 02-15-2018, 06:35 PM

I think the wish for HT stems from two similar problems: Conan the Wizard and Conan, Ph.D. Wizards want high ST for the casting ability, and warriors want high IQ for the talents.

Adding HT, for fatigue/mana, gives us another attribute to deal with. But we don't really have anything for warriors to use fatigue for, and if we want to base a wizard's casting ability on their physical condition we can as easily do that by adding a separate trackable mana resource, and starting it equal to their ST. We end up with marathon running wizards with high HT.

Adding Talent Points to me seems like a better idea, but if it starts out equal to IQ then it's sort of masking the problem. Fighters have to start out pretty smart in order to be able to afford a decent amount of talents, and it's still a point sink. If it starts at 10, it would work okay, but I don't think quite ideal.

I'm going to reiterate my previous suggestion. We expect warriors to have high ST, and be good at fighting, but not so good at the nerdy pursuits. We expect wizards to have high IQ, and to be good at spells and the nerdy pursuits, but not so good at the fighting.

We can make the existing attributes do double duty. First, we make all the talents cost more in terms of talent points -- double them? Next, all characters choose an attribute at character creation; you have talent points to spend equal to that attribute. If you choose ST, you get a discount on the primarily fighting talents (the weapons-based ones, mainly, but also Warrior, Veteran, etc.; maybe things like Tactics as well). If you choose DX, you get a discount on the thief-type talents: Climbing, Stealth, Acrobatics, and so forth. If you choose IQ, you get a discount on the brainy talents (Literacy, any sciences, etc.) and also on spells and magic-related talents.

Characters' hit points are always equal to their ST. Those who cast spells have a mana value equal to their IQ. If a wizard runs out of mana, they can continue to cast or maintain spells by burning ST, but this represents actual wounds.

I can see at least one interesting new spell; call it Wizard's Shield. Cost is 3 to cast, 1 per turn to maintain, plus one point per point of damage stopped. For a wizard, essentially lets them turn their own mana into hit points. They can put it on a friend, though, and it protects them for the same cost.

02-15-2018, 06:35 PM	#11
Chris Goodwin Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Hillsboro, Oregon, USA	Re: The Fourth Attribute... I think the wish for HT stems from two similar problems: Conan the Wizard and Conan, Ph.D. Wizards want high ST for the casting ability, and warriors want high IQ for the talents. Adding HT, for fatigue/mana, gives us another attribute to deal with. But we don't really have anything for warriors to use fatigue for, and if we want to base a wizard's casting ability on their physical condition we can as easily do that by adding a separate trackable mana resource, and starting it equal to their ST. We end up with marathon running wizards with high HT. Adding Talent Points to me seems like a better idea, but if it starts out equal to IQ then it's sort of masking the problem. Fighters have to start out pretty smart in order to be able to afford a decent amount of talents, and it's still a point sink. If it starts at 10, it would work okay, but I don't think quite ideal. I'm going to reiterate my previous suggestion. We expect warriors to have high ST, and be good at fighting, but not so good at the nerdy pursuits. We expect wizards to have high IQ, and to be good at spells and the nerdy pursuits, but not so good at the fighting. We can make the existing attributes do double duty. First, we make all the talents cost more in terms of talent points -- double them? Next, all characters choose an attribute at character creation; you have talent points to spend equal to that attribute. If you choose ST, you get a discount on the primarily fighting talents (the weapons-based ones, mainly, but also Warrior, Veteran, etc.; maybe things like Tactics as well). If you choose DX, you get a discount on the thief-type talents: Climbing, Stealth, Acrobatics, and so forth. If you choose IQ, you get a discount on the brainy talents (Literacy, any sciences, etc.) and also on spells and magic-related talents. Characters' hit points are always equal to their ST. Those who cast spells have a mana value equal to their IQ. If a wizard runs out of mana, they can continue to cast or maintain spells by burning ST, but this represents actual wounds. I can see at least one interesting new spell; call it Wizard's Shield. Cost is 3 to cast, 1 per turn to maintain, plus one point per point of damage stopped. For a wizard, essentially lets them turn their own mana into hit points. They can put it on a friend, though, and it protects them for the same cost. __________________ Chris Goodwin I've started a subreddit for discussion of INWO and Illuminati. Check it out!