tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post454640400351778430..comments2024-03-28T15:32:19.036-04:00Comments on Dungeon Fantastic: What if Fleeing Always Works?Peter Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-8370606535009511532014-04-16T05:40:05.979-04:002014-04-16T05:40:05.979-04:00Or "Self-esteem", which might be an inte...Or "Self-esteem", which might be an interesting base for a few fun modifiers.Kabsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15096271083272232933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-4550584874590908992014-04-10T10:29:55.681-04:002014-04-10T10:29:55.681-04:00You don't have to assume the better gear will ...You don't have to assume the better gear will win you fights, just that it will provide more value over a longer time than the "run away successfully before combat starts" item does. Then they take their chances running, just like now.<br /><br />Plus then you need to explain why the new groups always seem to have one of these "run away" items, why they are expensive, etc. Nevermind that means if you introduce a new character and solo adventure him or something, he needs one of those items or he's in danger.<br /><br />I think an expensive consumable has more problems than a genre switch does. The other can get turned off or on without any of the in-game effects an item has. They would certainly have very different effects in the game.Peter Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-69460639709430836932014-04-10T09:51:40.104-04:002014-04-10T09:51:40.104-04:00@ Archon: you are assuming better gear is enough t...@ Archon: you are assuming better gear is enough to win the fights...martinlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14046036634336503492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-71977116660841183822014-04-09T09:31:35.893-04:002014-04-09T09:31:35.893-04:00@Martin: Sell the scrolls, buy better gear, win th...@Martin: Sell the scrolls, buy better gear, win the fights. An expensive consumable that can be turned into a permanent is munchkinism waiting to happen.<br /><br />@Peter: What if it were a rule of the universe? In GURPS terms, everyone gets a use of luck in the process of running away from overwhelming odds. It doesn't work if you are offered reasonably safe surrender - so no free luck for running from the police, or kidnap attemps. On the other hand, stray goblins run better from genocidal PCs.<br /><br />This could even extend to fighting when forced against the wall with no hope of escape, so when bloothirsty PCs insist on hunting down every last goblin, they're likely to eat a few desperate called shots for it. Sun Tzu certainly believed in leaving your opponent an avenue for escape, just to avoid just this.<br /><br />And no, "give us ALL your gear and you can go" isn't considered a reasonable alternative, either for PCs or NPCs.Archon Shivahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18161660999691918584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-59538662146778760562014-04-09T09:30:44.218-04:002014-04-09T09:30:44.218-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Archon Shivahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18161660999691918584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-33740732497212573892014-04-08T17:31:45.093-04:002014-04-08T17:31:45.093-04:00I prefer in game mechanisms whenever possible, eve...I prefer in game mechanisms whenever possible, even if they are a little more work.<br /><br />On reflection, however, there is a serious problem with the suggestion - it means that at some point (when you can reliably afford escape items), it becomes really hard to kill you, and this applies to enemies as well. Which leads to escalating countermeasures, which is possibly more complication than I would want. <br /><br />But only possibly. Escalating countermeasures can be fun too.martinlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14046036634336503492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-14426353143005534852014-04-08T16:01:14.596-04:002014-04-08T16:01:14.596-04:00That seems like a lot of work just to let the low-...That seems like a lot of work just to let the low-power guys escape.Peter Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-78760014916630491782014-04-08T11:47:02.200-04:002014-04-08T11:47:02.200-04:00If it's clearly vital for survival, they proba...If it's clearly vital for survival, they probably won't sell it. And if they do, well, that's an interesting choice that they might regret later.<br /><br />As for why more powerful folks don't take it - if you design it right, the very nature of the item prevents it. "Namelevelfighter von Mightypants is crushing the party so he can steal our Auto-Escape Rings! Oops, that just triggered the conditions on our AERs. I guess that's why Smartypants El Necromaxo never even tries."martinlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14046036634336503492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-3409481773999149312014-04-07T21:52:00.836-04:002014-04-07T21:52:00.836-04:00Making it "equipment" based like this, t...Making it "equipment" based like this, though, would mean eventually all groups would have that item handy, and you'd have to explain why the newbs don't just sell the damn thing to the richer guys who can also use it! Unless you pull out that old "those rich enough are also powerful enough to just seize it from you" chestnut, but that has holes in it big enough to drive a societal collapse in to. :)Peter Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-9394541321126713232014-04-07T21:50:17.116-04:002014-04-07T21:50:17.116-04:00A cost in status, reputation, etc. is a nice way t...A cost in status, reputation, etc. is a nice way to extract cost if you don't want it to be "free" but also don't want it to be equipment/special ability based. You can set a DCC Luck cost on it by level - 1 luck for level 1-2, 2 for 3-4, 3 for 5+ . . . that would be sufficiently costly that higher level guys can't really afford to do it often, but low level guys are trading a small amount of Luck away in return for not having to make a new character.Peter Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-89678769300173992962014-04-07T18:11:28.914-04:002014-04-07T18:11:28.914-04:00You can also make a "Word of Recall" - t...You can also make a "Word of Recall" - type neigh-on guaranteed escape type item, let the newbs stumble apon a cash of them for early on, and then let them buy them later at hefty cost.martinlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14046036634336503492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-91572930143652504152014-04-07T14:42:35.710-04:002014-04-07T14:42:35.710-04:00I, too, was looking for a mechanical reason you mi...I, too, was looking for a mechanical reason you might not want to run, but that was irrelevant at lower levels. If you lost "status" or "macho" or whatever it is, but at lower levels nobody has that anyway, it might be sufficient.Jason Packerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02240705069654358715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-91485573100871158092014-04-07T14:35:38.009-04:002014-04-07T14:35:38.009-04:00Using DCC, you could always allow escape based on ...Using DCC, you could always allow escape based on the use of Luck. That way, there is a cost, so that the players care, but the cost is not so great that the players will never cut their losses.ravencrowkinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09315630554847698555noreply@blogger.com