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Old 09-27-2021, 04:08 PM   #1
JohnPaulB
 
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Default Mystery Dex

At the beginning of combat, players usually can determine the enemy character’s Strength by the weapon he carries. Thus he can guess how much damage the enemy will take before being killed.

But an additional stat is revealed the moment combat begins and that is Dexterity. This is because DX determines the order in which the character goes in combat.

If DX were left a mystery when the engagement begins, the player will have to take that mystery into account when sizing up the opponents. This method expands the tactics* required for combat.

I’ve played it this way before and it adds an interesting dynamic to the combat. I continue to play the traditional way, though.

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Initiative is done for movement as usual and that winner moves first, then the other players move.

When Turn Sequence #4 Action comes up,

• The winner of the original initiative goes first and chooses a figure to do action. An attack by that figure will reveal the figure's adjDX. (Defend does not reveal adjDX.) A spell usually won't reveal the figure's adjDX.
If an action does not force the figure to reveal its adjDX, it is not revealed.

• After the first figure goes, the other player now selects a figure to do its action as per above. This does not have to be the highest adjDX figure.

• The Action Turn continues in this alternating way until all the figures have done their options.

When the Turn Sequence #4 is completed, the game continues until a new Turn Sequence #4 arrives,

• If all the figures have revealed their adjDX, then traditional High to Low adjDX commences this turn.

• If not, the players (and the figures too) know the revealed adjusted dexterities, but unrevealed adjDX's are a mystery that must be factored into the Action selection risk assessment. Alternating Player choosing figure activation continues until all adjusted Dexterities are revealed.

Any previous revelation of a character's adjusted Dexterity in the game, might be known to the combatants. So if the enemy has seen this figure fight before, they may already know his adjDX.


Sometimes a token might be needed to let you know which figures have taken their turn.


* in addition, there is a possibility of giving Tactics Talent a roll to size up a figure's adjDX before or during the Combat Engagement.
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Last edited by JohnPaulB; 09-27-2021 at 07:15 PM.
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Old 10-03-2021, 05:28 PM   #2
Skarg
 
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Default Re: Mystery Dex

Well, relative DX is hinted at, but GMs don't need to lay out everyone's adjDX for players to see.

Not even that, necessarily, if the Delayed Actions optional rule is being used.
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Old 10-04-2021, 07:44 AM   #3
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Default Re: Mystery Dex

Whataboutism I am not left handed from Princess Bride?

Are there talents that let one determine how good the foes are?
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Old 10-04-2021, 10:59 AM   #4
Shostak
 
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Default Re: Mystery Dex

That's a good question, Henry.

It could be reasonable for a Weapon Expert or Master to be able to recognize another if they spend some time observing them, or that it might become apparent after a few rounds of being engaged in combat against one. Tactician might give a similar benefit?
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Old 10-04-2021, 09:21 PM   #5
JohnPaulB
 
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Default Re: Mystery Dex

Quote:
Originally Posted by hcobb View Post
Whataboutism I am not left handed from Princess Bride?
Or 13th Warrior....

[Herger kills one of the Prince's henchmen in a sham duel]

Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan: You, you could have killed him at will.

Herger the Joyous: Yes?

Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan: Well, why the deception?

Herger the Joyous: Deception is the point! Any fool can calculate strength. That one has been doing it since we arrived. Now he has to calculate what he can't see.

Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan: And fear... what he doesn't know.

Buliwyf: As you say, foolish. And expensive. We will miss Angus tonight, we will miss his sword.
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Old 10-05-2021, 10:38 AM   #6
Skarg
 
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Default Re: Mystery Dex

We've tended to handle discerning other people's abilities with roleplaying and GM discretion. As the original post noted, the game itself already reveals perhaps too accurately what other people's abilities are like, even if you are only noticing in what relative order people tend to act.

That is, a player can ask the GM what their impression of the abilities of other characters are, and the GM can think about how experienced the asker is, and what they've seen the subject do so far, and give them an impression, and that has tended to feel about right to me. I would think it would be hard to improve on that (at least, for my own tastes) by writing a rule-based talent that would tell the player actual attribute/talent levels in game terms.
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Old 10-08-2021, 07:20 AM   #7
Axly Suregrip
 
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Default Re: Mystery Dex

Something I tried decades ago but we did not stay with was the following:

Every turn the GM would roll 2d6, unseen, for each character and each NPC and add it to their adjDX. This value was used for turn sequence. It gave the attack sequence some variability and it made it impossible to know the NPC's adjDX. After a few turns (instead of after 1 turn), you would get a general idea of who was fast but still you would never know exactly how fast. The best part was it made it unpredictable if a high DX person got to act first.

I liked it but it slowed down combat.

Just another idea if you are looking for ways to hide DX.
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