RE: (TFT) Too simple / not as simple or elegant... Survey --> My thoughts

["rsmith" <rsmith@lightspeed.ca>]

Thanks to everyone that has replied already!  My picks:

	What TFT does right:
	--------------------
- Fast combat system with some tactical subtlety.
- Good balance between wizards and fighters.
- Few enough rules that GM & players can learn easily.
- Magic system in general.
- Character write up is fast and straightforward.


	Weaknesses: TFT too simple:
	---------------------------
- HTH combat (especially entering it).
- Movement system (huge advantage to side that moves 2nd).
- The heavy emphasis on combat.
- Dying rules. (Dramatic possibilities lost.)
- Not enough memory points.  (Most people who are bothered
by this have made simple fixes.)


	Weaknesses: TFT too complex:
	----------------------------
	This is a tough one for me, as I intimately know TFT
and most of my new rules complicate it in various ways.
In my version of the game, I've added so many talents and
spells that it has become a bit of work for new GM's to 
keep track of them all.  I am thinking of trying to simplify
a bunch of them.

- Once thing that Gurps did right I think was giving
from 1 to 3 character points at the end of each 
session.  Much faster than having GM and players
remembering a bunch of rules for how much exp. 
various situations are worth.  It also means that the
players don't have to keep track of exp. thruout the 
session (which always destroys the muse a bit I find.)
Of course, that system destroys the competition of
trying to 'edge out' an ally for the killing blow so
you can exp. pt. whore.

- Magic item / potion creation system.  I am hard put to
think of something I like better, but I think it could 
use some streamlining.



	Thoughts on other people's comments.

Too deadly?	
-----------	
		If combat was 1/2 as deadly in
TFT, then most PC's and monsters would keep 
fighting twice as long.  You would end up with 
the same people & monsters dying but the combats
lasting longer.  If combat was 1/3 as deadly, 
then wouldn't combat last 3 times as long 
generally?
	I do like that most TFT characters are
not the invinsible tanks that D&D characters
often seem to become.


Spell Prerequisites:
--------------------
		What GURPS did sucked!!!  Huge 
long lists of useless spells to get to the 
spells that you wanted.  Yes low level PC's
had to be creative in spell use, and yes it
did mean you needed a lot of character pt.s
to get kick ass spells, but it was just too
much paper work.  I mean, I have seen PC
wizards with 4 and 5 page grilmores of spells
when they only use a dozen good ones 
regularily.  Even worse, since to get to a
good spell, you had to have huge lines of 
spells, GURPS wizards tended to have a 
sameness, as they chased after the same cool
spells.  They are the same, just at different
stages along the long list.
	Having said that, a few prerequisites 
are not a big deal, (I use some to make spells
spells that I dislike more expensive).


	Talk to you all later.
	Rick
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