This is really an attempt to head off long-term issues before they become a real problem. We're already at a point where PC skills are quite high. Do they need to be higher? I think no - I've talked about why offensively (crazy feints) and defensively (defenses so high foes can only crit fish.)
Here is where I am leaning:
Hard Skill Cap - Stat+10 limit on any/all skills.
If I do this, I may consider a Power-Up that allows you to except the limits. It wouldn't be a perk, sorry, but it would be a limited Power-Up, perhaps capped at 3 levels like a lot of the maxima-exceeding power-ups.
This way a fighter-type has a clear idea of what the most possible skill you'll ever be able to get. That's skill-35 for a thief with maxed out DX, not that anyone runs thieves in my game.
Can foes exceed this? Yeah, of course. Foes can have all sorts of stuff you can't as a PC. Deal with it. Dealing with it is part of the game.
Mundane DB sources don't stack.
Magic DB sources don't stack
This is more of a clarification - I ruled this before again and again but I am concerned people forget it when it matters, especially given the math done by the VTT "helping" us.
You can benefit at most from one source of mundane DB - a shield.
You can benefit at from one source of magical DB - Deflect or Shield spells, in general.
I expect this will generate questions about edge cases, but I honestly can't think of any. Have a shield? Get the shield DB. Have a magic shield? Get the shield DB including Deflect. Have a Shield spell? Get that, instead, if it's higher than your Fortify level on the shield you're wielding.
This was how I'd been runing it for a long time, but I am not sure if the VTT sheets can handle this. And the way my players sometimes count up bonuses by trying to get the net ("I'm +2 for Shield, but -4 for stunning, so I'm at -2") can potentially lead to a double count error (". . . and my magic shield is DB 5 so I'm at a net +3.")
I'm still undecided on fixed-effect Feints and Deceptive Attacks, if only because it gives PCs a fixed target of defenses to aim for, even higher than they generally have now. No one wants to roll less than a 16 for defenses if possible even with situational penalties. It's the downside of a "build" system instead of a class-and-level system without feats. And a Rule of 16 for defenses would be awesome but no one will accept that later in an ongoing campaign when they've worked up to higher defenses.
If my players like this, we'll consider adding another:
Fixed Potion Effects - All +1d6 buff potions are actually +3. Notably this includes Strength and Agility potions.
They'll just work with a flat effect, which will save on potion costs (people down them until they get a good roll) but also mean I don't have to deal with +5 to +6 DX in fights.
Any other limits I should give some thought to?
As GM (and as a Player) I hate random potion effects. But then, I've always hated random roll effects, even on abilities like Holy Might. There's just something so disheartening about rolling 1's when you really need it it pay out, and seeing those 6's when it doesn't really matter. I'd rather just have it be a flat bonus every time.
ReplyDeleteThat's why when I play Holy Warriors I take Higher Purpose over Holy Might, //every time//.
There is a whole discussion to be had $250 and $700 potions for +1d6 ST and DX for an hour, versus +1d6 ST or DX for 3d seconds for 9 points.
DeleteI'd love to nerf the potions a bit in terms of time, too. If those had been 1 minute potions from the start, no player would be clamoring for 1 hour to "make it fairly priced." It would still seem totally fair for a +1-6 (or a +3, as above) stat increase for 60 combat turns.
Wait, do we mean "Deflect" and not "Fortify" for shields? I assume so.
ReplyDeleteI like the cap of Stat+10. Persistence currently has DX+11 in Two-Handed Flail, but I'm not sure that this affects anyone else at the current time. Vlad is DX+8 on Bow. I suspect Thor might be DX+11 or DX+12. But from a big picture standpoint, I like it. And I really like the idea of a Power-Up that makes you exceed that. Basically, if I am reading it right, it makes it effectively like 8 points to raise a skill at that point (or maybe more than 8). I like it. So the hard cap, IF YOU AGREED, would be Stat+13.
Fixed potions? Eh, I kind of like that. It's more like a spellstone at that point, which is fine. Not sure how anyone else feels. Rolling a 1 on a ST potion SUCKS. So a guaranteed 3 is great in that regard.
Yes, Deflect, fixed. Silly error.
DeleteI'd obviously grandfather people into the stats they have.
It's also possible to do a fixed cap - skill 25, or skill 30. Nothing higher. No refunds (so no buying, say, DX+15 in a skill, and then cashing out 4 points at a time to "refund" to make DX 16 per level.)
The spellstones comment should tell you how cheap potions are - a spellstone of Might +3 would be $3000, and last 1 minute. A potion is +1 to +6, and lasts 1 hour . . .
Just as a note, skill-25 would be Parry 15 without any other modifiers, skill-30 would be parry 18 without any other modifiers. Add in Combat Reflexes and we're at Parry 19, probably DB 3-4 from other sources, and it's Parry 22-23, 24 with Retreat. A foe with skill-20 could potentially drop to skill 10 and inflict a Deceptive Attack of -5, dropping Parry all the way down to 17-18 before Retreat. NPCs and monsters with skill-20 are vanishingly rare.
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