Re: (TFT) Skill, knowledge, tricks and talents

[Michael Taylor <MichaelTaylor1@compuserve.com>]

Message text written by INTERNET:tft@brainiac.com
>Ty,
   One day a player pointed out to me that most of the starting humanoid 
races have some advantage but humans don't.  "Why would anyone play a human

he asked?"
   I use a trimed down list of only six races.  Human, Orc, Elf, Dwarf, 
Halfling, and Giant.  Elves have MA 12.  Dwarves get damage+1 with
Axe/Mace, 
Halflings get DX+3 with missiles.  Giants have 3 hexes and ST 25, even with

double experience thats a lot.  And in my campaign Orcs have very short
life 
spans but recover fatigue at 1 point every ten minutes.
   I decided the player was right.  Humans did come up short.  Why would 
they be the dominant species.  <

A couple of thoughts. Please take them as just the simple open discussion
points they are inteneded:

1. That player is well on the way to being a munchkin. As a friend and a GM
you can do him a big favor by pointing out that .....so what? It's not
really that big a deal. Get over it. That's not the point of the game. If
he doesn't want to play a human, he doesn't have to, if he's really just
interested in playing - "The race with the most advantages". 

2. Why would anyone play a human? Well, because a game full of only,
dwarves, halfings, elves might not be as interesting and the game is about
telling interesting stories. 

3. There are "social disadvantages" that aren't necessarily reflected in
the rules. For example, a party of mixed races wandering into town might
not raise any eyebrows, but a party of dwarves or elves might attract a
different kind of attention. Dwarves are short, Elves sunburn easily.
Hobbits have chronic athletes foot that they dont like to mention. Why
aren't they reflected in the rules? Because every GMs campaign is
different, and the game isn't really about that. 

4. These aren't "advantages". They are just cultural differences. Elves
have very low birth rates and live in forests, so they train alot of
scouts. They live outdoors, therefore they tend to be better runners.
Dwarves are warlike and fight with axes. Plus their culture uses tools all
the time. Halflings throw apples at each other as children. Humans have
cultural differences also. They are the dominant race. They tend to have
the highest percentage of wizards. They're taller. Every race has
something. 

5. Humans have the advantage, "people aren't predjudice against them
because they aren't human". 

6. These advantages are also offset by the other racial/cultural
characterists. Dwarves are greedy, elves are afraid of bugs, hobbits are
timid, etc. 

7. The free talent thing isn't a bad idea however, it just seems to be a
bit generous to me. If you *REALLY* want to play a hobbit flinger or dwaven
blob, I'm okay with that. Your roleplaying will be its own reward...

8. One of the things I do is allow "Weaker" and "Powerful" races. That is,
earning half EP and double the EP for races that are extra strong
(Reptilites) or extra Weak (Pixies). But I base these not on the points
involved, but on simply how many of them I want as PCs. So as GM, your
perfectly free to say "Oh, your right. Okay, all those races have to earn
double EP." This allows your cultures to be built the way YOU want to - not
by counting only points to determine who is your dominant race. If you
want, you can say "Wizards and Theifs also have to earn double EP as well"
If you want to keep them rare. TFT lets YOU decide not your rules. 

9. I would agree with him completely if he were talking about D&D. D&D
truly did give demi-humans *outrageous* advantages over humans. I never
understood why anyone played anything else but a Half-Elf in D&D. But +1
damage? +2 MA in cloth armor? +3 DX to missile weapons for people with an
average ST 4? These are hardly going to change the balance of power in the
world....

Just some thoughts...
Michael 
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