Lighter & Heavier Gear

[Trachmyr]

I've decided to implement a new Houserule/limitation that will model a character's bulk and perhaps balance +/- SM a bit.

Porportional Gear is a -20% limitation on Strength (which acts as a mitigator on reduced Strength below 10). It modifies armor/clothing, food, and other personal items other than tools & weapons. Weight & Cost is modified by the Square of ST (%) with this limitation (it's assumed that the "free" strength of 10 has this by default.) SM no longer gives automatic modification to gear weight, but most non-zero SM should use this limitation on raised/lowered ST to the average value of that SM.

Reduced or Extra HP can also be bought with this limitation, which turns the +/- HP into a zero-point feature.

Setting Weapon or Tool Weight to a particular Base ST is a zero-point feature, and you can use tools/weapons within 1 point without a problem. Being able to use a range of weight between the Average ST of two different SM's is a PERK (as per Huge Weapons). Simply extrapolate on the Scaling rules in LT2 to figure effects (note that Reach seems to be the square root of 1/10 ST, rounded to the nearest tenth.)

Additionally, it's possible to "Remove" the porportional Limitation on some of the Base 10 Strength, at a cost of 2/points per level. This way A ST10 Human could have ST9 Porportions for a cost of 2 points.

It's up to the GM to limit how much ST with or without porportional should be allowed, but geneerally, porportional should stay within typical SM ranges (i.e., between 8 & 15 for SM+0). Also, the amount of damage to cause Knockback is now set to (Porportional HP -2), since it's really a matter of mass rather than strength.

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So, for example, a smallish ST9 Human takes the Porportional Gear limitation on the reduced ST. The character gets only -8 points, but personal gear weighs & costs 81% normal. The character also has ST9 items set as their default, but can use ST8 (SM-1) & ST10(SM+0) items without problem.

A large Ogre is SM+1, and has ST20 with "14" levels of porportional gear. This ST costs 82 points, but all gear is 1.96x size and cost. For an additional 1-point Perk, the Ogre can use SM+1 and SM+2 Weapons/Tools, from ST13 to ST25.

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So what do you think from a balance/mechanical perspective?

[Landwalker]

An interesting approach. Let me see if I understand it correctly:

I have a player who is a ST 14 dwarf warrior (SM+0). His ST 14 cost him 40 CP.

Under your house rule, he could either pay 40 CP for ST 14 and pay 100% (normal cost) for his armor and whatnots, or he could take the Proportional limitation (-20%), pay only 32 CP for ST 14, but his armor and whatnots would cost and weigh 196% of normal.

Sound about right?

So my question from there is, why does the dwarf's armor cost and weigh just as much as an SM+1, ST 20 ogre's armor?


Question #2 concerns weapons and tools. Your ST 9 human example states that he can only use items from ST 8 to ST 10 without a problem. What about a quarterstaff (ST 7)? A small knife (ST 5)?

[Trachmyr]

Originally Posted by Landwalker

An interesting approach. Let me see if I understand it correctly:

I have a player who is a ST 14 dwarf warrior (SM+0). His ST 14 cost him 40 CP.

Under your house rule, he could either pay 40 CP for ST 14 and pay 100% (normal cost) for his armor and whatnots, or he could take the Proportional limitation (-20%), pay only 32 CP for ST 14, but his armor and whatnots would cost and weigh 196% of normal.

Sound about right?

So my question from there is, why does the dwarf's armor cost and weigh just as much as an SM+1, ST 20 ogre's armor?

You have the point costs correct. The reason why the Dwarf and the Ogre from my example would pay the same is two-fold:
(1) The point cost means that both the Ogre and Dwarf have about the same surface area! And probably the Dwarf weighs at least half as much as the Ogre! This is a very broad dwarf!
(2) It's all about the point cost, the description is "fluff", which may or may not be regulated by a GM for realism. Truthfully, the Dwarf in question should not take the limitation on (so many) levels of Strength. A good rule of thumb is that for human-shaped creatures, weight is about (Cube of (porportional ST (or HP) * 0.531)), rounded up to the nearest pound. So with a porportional ST of 14, average weight would be 411 pounds.

Question #2 concerns weapons and tools. Your ST 9 human example states that he can only use items from ST 8 to ST 10 without a problem. What about a quarterstaff (ST 7)? A small knife (ST 5)?

Sorry, when I was talking about ST for weapons/tools, I was reffering to the scaling rules in LT2, not minimum ST.

So the character that uses base ST9 weapons apply a .81x multiplier to cost & weight, multiply damage (only if a bonus) & Min ST by .9x, and reach by .95x for all versions of their weapons... this will also reduce the weapon's HP.

[Dustin]

Interesting idea. So, a more normal ST 14 humanoid warrior might take only 4 ST with the Proportional Gear limitation, with a 16% increase in cost & weight of affected gear?