Re: (TFT) Re: New Armor in TFT. -- Meg's thoughts.

[Jeffrey Vandine <jlv61560@yahoo.com>]

Frankly, you're GOING to get the "magic number" effect no matter what you do with this system.  Why?  Because we quantify Strength with numbers.  All that's really happening is you're smoothing out the curve by lessening the effect for a specific number by using a wider array of numbers to do the same thing. Alternating DX and MA would work just as well (though you are, of course, opening yourself to length player discussions of such things as why the DX penalty gets lessened before the MA penalty (or vice versa, depending on which one you choose to drop first).  Putting it another way, any system will work as long as everyone agrees that its workable.

Based on that, the KISS principle should be the primary driver.  Whatever is chosen needs to be simple enough that everyone can remember it in the heat of play, and other than that, the "what is most fun?" question becomes the paramount deciding factor.

v/r
Jeff
--------------------------------------------
On Tue, 5/24/16, Rick Smith <rick_ww@lightspeed.ca> wrote:

 Subject: Re: (TFT) Re: New Armor in TFT. -- Meg's thoughts.
 To: tft@brainiac.com
 Date: Tuesday, May 24, 2016, 2:10 PM
 
 On 2016-05-24, at 1:53
 PM, Meg Tapley wrote:
 
 >
 What if, instead of having each type of armor have separate
 Threshold and No Negative numbers, stronger characters just
 take progressively less penalties for armor?
 > 
 > So maybe something
 like: each type of armor has its associated DX penalty, per
 rules. Stronger figures take progressively less DX penalty.
 So, for purpose of illustration, say a ST 12 figure takes 1
 point less penalty, so they can wear cloth armor with no DX
 penalty, or leather with only a -1, or chain with -2, etc.
 Or ST 18 takes 3 fewer DX penalty, so anything up to chain
 has no penalty, and plate-mail is at -3. You'd still end
 up with some ST's being "more optimum" than
 others, but maybe you could stagger DX penalties offset with
 MA penalties offset to get a smoother "optimization
 curve".
 > 
 > -
 Meg
 
 
 Hi
 Meg,
   I was trying to keep the system near
 what ITL had, except I 
 wanted to stretch
 the point where weak armor could be worn 
 easily, much lower than the 18 ST given in ITL
 page 8.
 
   However, your
 idea is REALLY simple.   I'm tempted to chuck
 
 all of my stuff and just use your idea.
 
   So the biggest penalties
 that armor can give you is currently 
 -11
 for my heavy plate.  So...
 
 ST 12 gives everyone one points less penalty on
 all armor.
 ST 14 gives everyone two points
 less penalty on all armor. 
 ST 16 gives
 everyone 3 points less penatlty on all armor.
 ...
 ST 32 gives everyone 11
 points less penalty on all armor.
 
 This would mean...
 
 Armor type:        No Negative Number:
 ---------------------------------------------------------
 Cloth            12 ST
 Leather            16 ST
 Boiled L.         20 ST
 Scale            24 ST
 Half Plate        28 ST
 Plate            30 ST
 Hvy Plate        32 ST
 
 (The no negatives number go up
 by 4 ST at first because both 
 DX and MA
 penalties are increasing.  When MA penalties max 
 out at -4 MA, the No Neg # only goes up by 2 ST
 per armor 
 level.)
 
 So ALL armor would start getting easier to wear
 at 12 ST and 
 every two ST above that, it
 gets 1 penalty easier.
 
 I
 would not stagger DX and MA penalties.  You still get
 magic
 numbers (in the system above, even
 numbers for ST is just
 better), but worse of
 all, the system gets wonky if you have armor
 that gives you normal MA penalties but no DX
 penalties.  (Such
 as what you might get if
 you buy fine armor.)
 
 
 I think that Meg's system is less
 realistic, but it is MUCH, MUCH
 simpler.
 
 Warm regards, Rick.
 
 
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