Re: (TFT) First impressions on Dark City Games and The Crown of Kings

[Peter von Kleinsmid <pvk@oz.net>]

At 03:03 PM 9/1/05 -0500, Ty Beard wrote:
<HTH snip>
> George's biggest concern with using ST (I suggested *either* a ST or DX 
> roll, player's choice) is that there is a far greater range of STs in TFT 
> than DX. So my suggestion would result in the ST30 troll making his HTH 
> roll *every* time...not so good.

On the other hand, it is good for the troll and dragon players who object 
that ST 8 "Fast-Moves Frederique" should rarely be able to tackle them or 
even to impede their movement. Pehaps DX should be allowed to be used to 
enter HTH for purposes of using HTH weapons or grappling, but the target's 
ST should be usable to avoid being tackled or stopped, and the target's 
size and/or mass might be usable to avoid being prevented from taking other 
actions (just like a man-sized figure isn't stopped from running and acting 
normally by rats). Of course, it's the relative size of the two figures 
that matters, rather than their size compared to 3 dice, so to be accurate, 
the mechanic can't be quite as simple as "roll 3 dice vs. ST or DX", if it 
wants to capture these points.


> ...
> So I think that there might be some benefit in assuming that PC's have a 
> package of basic abilities, like normal weapon use, riding a horse 
> (driving a car), cooking, basic first aid, literacy (in higher tech 
> settings), etc. This allows you to simplify your skill list so that it 
> only covers *important* and unusual skills. I suppose there could even be 
> an "adventurer" skill that would include all these things that the PC's 
> get free.

For a simple game session like playing through a MicroQuest or introducing 
a non-gamer to the game, sure. Otherwise, I think it makes sense to detail 
what talents each PC has or lacks. It's one of the main opportunities in 
TFT to distinguish characters from each other.

It does remind me though of when I translated my oldest TFT campaign to GURPS.
One hole in the GURPS skill rules is that a torch as a weapon is defined as 
using the Shortword skill, which has a default from Broadsword skill or DX, 
but not from other hand weapon skills. So when green slimes showed up, or 
other cases where someone needed to use a torch as a purely offensive 
weapon, the one-handed sword fighters were much better at it than even 
people with quite high skills in other weapons (such as Axe/Mace). The 
solution was pretty simple though (simple from a GURPS GM's perspective, if 
not from a TFT one): add a "Bashing" skill which defaults to any hand 
weapon skill, but only allows hitting with a weapon or object (as opposed 
to other uses that exist in GURPS, like parrying, feinting, or disarming).

Many of my TFT-based warriors would wear little or no armor to keep their 
DX up. In GURPS armor usually doesn't give a DX penalty and defenses are a 
big part of fighting. One might simulate TFT-style combats in GURPS by 
having mostly-unarmored figures (perhaps some with Bashing skill rather 
than weapon skills) who mainly All-Out Attack, preferably in groups, which 
can actually be quite effective, especially (as in TFT) if your group is 
faster and gets their swings in to annihilate the enemy before they hit any 
of your group.

PvK
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