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Re: (TFT) 3 pairs of sub-attributes. Been done before? --> Superscripts.



Thanks Rick. I think that the three attribute structure of TFT is sometimes seen as a weakness because the level of abstraction is sometimes hard to grasp and I think our culture, in general, leads us to things more detailed. I think that for the most part TFT's level of abstraction is fine but, as some have pointed out, you lose a little detail as the rules are written.

For example. I can have a wizard with an IQ of 17 and an experience warrior with an IQ of seventeen with both representing something distinctly different in my mind. Perhapst the wizard chooses high IQ spells and the warrior chooses a lot of lower IQ spells. Players familiar/comfortable with other systems that distinguish betwen the IQ characteristics, such as intelligence and accumulated knowledge, the combining the two in TFT can be unsettling. They would recognize the "intelligence" of the warrior as distinctly different from the intelligence of the wizard. It doesn't have to be but I'm speaking of accepted stereotypes.

If both characters were to need to make a saving throw against IQ, they would both have the same roll regardless of the nature of the problem. This can seem odd because one guy, the wizard, is thought to be "smarter" than the fighter. I think that TFT's abstraction takes the position that it doesn't care about the characteristics of the IQ of the individual, it just assumes that the character would use it's strongest characteristic, intelligence or knowledge, to deal with the problem. I think with IQ it works okay at the level that TFT abstracts it.

OTOH, ST is another matter. If my barbarian, Grog, has an 20 ST, then he has huge muscles, can lift a great amount and gets bonuses when wearing armor. Seems natural for someone doing a lot of physical work. My wizard, Cornholio, has a 20ST too but he didn't get there from physical workouts. Oops, what does that mean? Does he too have huge muscles, can he lift a great amount of weight and does he too get bonuses for wearing armor? This seems odd. The reason for the wizard acquiring ST is to increase his spellpoints and was apparently acquired through some arcane fashion. He's not out lifting weights to increase his muscle tissue. If Grog wanted to cast a spell, he would have 20 spell points, and all because he lifted heavy things! This seems to be the most awkward part of the level of abstraction in TFT.

As far as DX goes, I think it's fine the way it is. Do I like it when there's some defense benefit for being faster than your attacker or defender? Sure, but it's not all that bad. I think the defense aspect can be handled with talents quite well. I liked "Expert Swordsman" talent but I would make the defense bonus smaller or the cost higher, either in points or role-playing terms. I found that by comparing the combatants agility and modifying the "to hit" to be a reasonable and easy thing today. For a while, we just compared the adjDX's of the combatants and did the same adjustment to the die. No need for additional attributes. For every 2 points of difference between the combatants adjDX's, the "winner" got the die adjusted one point to his favor.

I'm teaching TFT to my friends tomorrow. I'm sticking with the way it is written in ITL, AM and AW. They are big D&D guys so I'm a little nervous. I will certainly take a look at the superscripts.

My only real grip is with the abstraction for ST. Your thoughts are appreciated.

Aidan

----- Original Message ----- From: "Rick Smith" <rsmith@lightspeed.ca>
To: <tft@brainiac.com>
Sent: Saturday, November 11, 2006 6:16 PM
Subject: Re: (TFT) 3 pairs of sub-attributes. Been done before? --> Superscripts.


Hi Aidan,
 Go to:

http://tft.brainiac.com/

 and there is a link to Rick Smith's house rules.  On that page is a
link to:

http://tft.brainiac.com/RicksTFT/Superscripts_ShortVersion.html

 Every month or so, I think, "I should get more rules onto Joe's site"
but I never seem to get around to it.  Maybe I'll make it a
new years resolution.  (I need to buy Dreamweaver or something that
allows me to build web pages...)


 However, I suspect that you will prefer your own rules.  They get the
job done, they are known and understood by your players, and
they have that wonderful, "invented here", scent.

 I have been a bit surprised and amused how many TFT GM's have
come up with rules like my own over the years.   It makes me
think that the reasons that prompted me to make superscripts are
a real weakness in TFT, and not just my pet peeves.

 Warm regards, Rick.


On Sat, 2006-11-11 at 14:55, Todd Roseberry wrote:
Rick,

Thanks. I have skimmed through several years of archives and found reference to the superscript system but I can't say that I found the "here's what it
is and how it's done post". Any idea where to look?

Aidan
----- Original Message ----- From: "Rick Smith" <rsmith@lightspeed.ca>
To: <tft@brainiac.com>
Sent: Saturday, November 11, 2006 4:42 PM
Subject: (TFT) 3 pairs of sub-attributes. Been done before?
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