Death Test session report: band new players, first time GM

[Bill_in_IN]

Originally Posted by Drakenbow

I sometimes think about how many spells cost three times as much to cast to affect a giant as a three hex creature (Blur, Speed Movement, Stone Flesh, etc). I think about why shouldn't other spells like missile spells cost the same to affect a giant the same way. Or perhaps to let the giant make one part of its body blurry or be protected by stone flesh.

Basically, a giant wizard casting a spell on itself is like a human with a ST 9 or so equivalent. With this in mind I sort of think how "Giant Magic" could be a bit different in that the cost is still 1 ST, plus 1 after for Blur for creatures its size or smaller. Never tried to test play the concept though. Most people I gamed with wanted to play D&D and they didn't know TFT at all.

I went via ITL for the Giant Wizard and made no changes a based upon size. With a DX of 9, he missed his roles frequently. With an IQ of 9, his spells are limited. However, his staff is ~12 ft long and can reach 2 hexes away. At ST 23, his staff is a club that does a decent amount of damage. So, his goblin wizard pal likes it when he successfully roles an aid spell that allows him to let loose with a 3d+3 Wizard's Wrath while being able to clobber others with his staff. I wouldn't make a habit of making Giant Wizards. Like I said, it was an experiment.

[Bill_in_IN]

Originally Posted by JohnM

Hey that's a really cool idea, I hadn't even considered having a giant in the party before!

I ran a party of four 34pt characters solo through DT2 last night and had a good deal of fun. The party only saw three rooms but I enjoyed the more labyrinthine nature of DT2 as well as the variety of encounters.

DT1 and DT2 are great games to start characters in adventures and get folks into playing TFT.

[Drakenbow]

Originally Posted by Bill_in_IN

I went via ITL for the Giant Wizard and made no changes a based upon size. With a DX of 9, he missed his roles frequently. With an IQ of 9, his spells are limited. However, his staff is ~12 ft long and can reach 2 hexes away. At ST 23, his staff is a club that does a decent amount of damage. So, his goblin wizard pal likes it when he successfully roles an aid spell that allows him to let loose with a 3d+3 Wizard's Wrath while being able to clobber others with his staff. I wouldn't make a habit of making Giant Wizards. Like I said, it was an experiment.

Take Sword Talent and get a silver Great Sword with the Staff spell on it, which the giant could use one handed (ST is greater than the 19 after all).

[Bill_in_IN]

Originally Posted by Drakenbow

Take Sword Talent and get a silver Great Sword with the Staff spell on it, which the giant could use one handed (ST is greater than the 19 after all).

That's an option but a Silver Great Sword costs $1500. I start characters with the standard $1000 per ITL unless they are an NPC born with a silver spoon in their mouths.

I gave this particular Giant the Quarterstaff talent for 2 IQ points. He was able to purchase a giant sized Quarterstaff that did twice damage at twice the cost and is twice as big. So, he has spells within IQ 9 like Aid, Fire, Turn Missiles, and Avert. He has some difficulty with making the DX rolls. He can still serve as having some brute force in the party between successful DX rolls. His usefulness is an interesting mix of support magic and packing a wallop. At IQ 9, he only had Staff 1 spell.

[hcobb]

The Quarterstaff talent does nothing. Just take a two-handed maul for the same damage and fewer memory points.

[Bill_in_IN]

Originally Posted by hcobb

The Quarterstaff talent does nothing. Just take a two-handed maul for the same damage and fewer memory points.

If you double the size of the human-sized quarterstaff and make it a Giant-sized quarterstaff, it can potential do twice the damage at 2d+4 [6 to 16 points, Avg of 11]. The two handed maul does +4 to BHD of 1d+2 (ST 23) for a result of 1d+6 [7 to 12 points, Avg of 9].

I know how much you hate quarterstaves but that criticism doesn't apply here. A normal quarterstaff would be a small stick to a giant and would be useless.

[Drakenbow]

Originally Posted by hcobb

The Quarterstaff talent does nothing. Just take a two-handed maul for the same damage and fewer memory points.

That is true. A Quarterstaff is just a two-handed maul with IQ points attached to it. The aimed shots is pretty much the same.

[Bill_in_IN]

Originally Posted by Drakenbow

That is true. A Quarterstaff is just a two-handed maul with IQ points attached to it. The aimed shots is pretty much the same.

There is also a ST requirement that is counterproductive for a normal one-hex PC. If the quarter staff could be wielded by a ST 8 or 9 PC instead of ST 11, then it would have more advantage. With the modification that I mentioned above, it became more relevant. Otherwise, I'm in agreement that quarterstaves in TFT don't make much sense.

Arena battles and Death Tests are great ways to experiment with odd character builds and non-standard weapon types. The end result of the large quarter staff was that it delivered more damage than the standard staff. However, it wasn't a huge game changer because the Giant with a DX of 9 has a less than 50% chance of hitting. As usual with giants, they don't hit often but when they do, it's usually a huge hit.

The short adventures at the link below are good too for adding some variety.
https://shadekeep.com/dotm.html

I used the one called "The Discomfitted Dragon" as a mini-adventure within an adventure. I changed it up a bit for the PCs in the game but it was a great addition. It could be a short stand alone adventure if you are looking for something different than the death tests.

[hcobb]

Giant sized spiked clubs hit 84% of the time, if they first apply their big bottoms to knock their foes to the ground first.

[Bill_in_IN]

Originally Posted by hcobb

Giant sized spiked clubs hit 84% of the time, if they first apply their big bottoms to knock their foes to the ground first.

I assume that you are referring to trampling. It is to the giants advantage to trample and knock down a foe to get the +4 AdjDX. While it does take a turn to do that, if a turn is taken to miss a foe, the next turn has just as bad of a chance. So, giants and trampling and taking advantage of the engagement rules that are in their favor is the best route for a giant to get a successful DX roll.