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Thursday, April 25, 2024

More thoughts on Only Heroes Get to Resist

I've never implemented this rule, but I keep thinking about running a game that would use it:

Only Heroes Get to Resist

I have a few more thoughts on it, nine years on.

- I think it should totally affect allied NPCs, too, with an exception made for any characters 125+ points, who'd get treated as worthy and get a roll.

- In a DF-style split, Fodder don't resist, Worthies may, Bosses do. Worthies with a base resistance below the effective skill of the caster don't get to resist; those with equal or better do get a chance. Don't apply the Rule of 16 until this comparison is made.

- If an effect has a chance for recovery, the same rules apply - Fodder stays down until the effect naturally ends, Worthy and up get to try and evade the effects.

- You still have to make the roll to put the resistable effect on the target.

I don't intend to use this in Felltower, but I do think it would make a good Heroic DF rule.

9 comments:

  1. Yeah, for Heroic DFRPG, I think this is a good rule, and probably a variant of the mook rules that you had once posted. One thing that I get tired of (as a GM, or as someone running a really excellent solo adventure like Saethor's Bane, and sometimes as a player trying to get past a group of enemies) is a minor enemy with HT 12 making four death checks and every dang consciousness check, requiring the heroes to really grind out every single bad guy.

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  2. And I would say that all worthies and all bosses roll to resist. I would really just say that mooks/fodder don't roll. I guess the definition of "worthy" and "fodder" is important--and does it scale with the players' point values?

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    1. Hell no! Scaling would mean the PC gets better vis-a-vis NPCs from spending points, and the NPCs would get weaker vis-a-vis the PC in addition to what you bought with the points. That's heads I win, tails you lose. No double dips!

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    2. Well, I guess by definition in Exploits they scale somewhat, which is what I was thinking. "Worthy monsters can challenge the heroes when the numerical odds are more-or-less equal." I can see that Ogres and Trolls are probably always "worthy" monsters. Standard hobgoblins are probably "worthy" against 125 point characters, and maybe even starting 250 point delvers, but when you get to 350 or 400+ points, they are a little more like fodder against most delving groups, no?

      Of course, you could also just use those terms measured against 250 point delvers.

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    3. My understanding from writing monsters for DF was the latter - measured against 250 point delvers.

      You'd want to establish a scale for the campaign at the start, so you don't have 500 point delvers putting trolls and hydras and whatnot to sleep with Sleep-15 because they're now "fodder" while their 250 point henchman fails because they're "worthy" to him.

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  3. When I run 125pt or lower characters, I barely use the mook rule, worthies are anything over 75 points.

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    1. This really only makes sense when you have capital-H heroes, and NPCs around who are expected to lose without too much fuss but not without providing any at all. It's very anti-gritty.

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  4. No mooks (yet) in my game! Fights against a horde of enemies can be very grindy in a campaign of 62+ pt starting PCs. Even now when they are >125 points. Speeding up fights would be a plus, but I don't like some of the other implications.

    Besides, PCs can get Impulse Points in my game instead, which is another way to make them feel special, and also to give the players a Get Out Of Jail Free card when they need it.

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    Replies
    1. Can you talk more about the implications you're seeing with this kind of rule?

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