Re: (TFT) armies and healing

[pvk@oz.net]

On Thu, September 14, 2006 8:33 pm, davidgrouchy wrote:
...
>      My comment from the hip is that TFT has defined Magic Items as the
> result of a group effort.  What is wrong with items, that take entire
> societies to produce, being of gigantic importance?  Anyway, maybe
> this isn't the topic we want to discuss.  But it seems to me all of
> this was started by Rick Smiths wargame rules.
...

I think the problem is that they are so powerful that they bend the
balance of the combat system, and can be the equivalent of a whole lot of
warrior experience. Especially self-powered items. Iron Flesh, Reverse
Missiles, high Weapon/Armor Enchantment are just a few basic ones that can
make a character hugely more powerful than they otherwise would be. They
can give characters super-hero-like powers that change the nature of play
from gritty and dangerous and unpredictable, to "you almost can't kill me,
and I almost always kill you in one shot". The by-the-book experience
system doesn't take the unfairness of magic items into account, and
players naturally want to latch onto these items, or focus on trying to
buy or have them made for them, and then never let go of them. And they
almost never break down or wear out.

By the sunset of our satisfaction with TFT, we came up with some house
rules that we liked a lot to address these issues.

1. Magic Items all had a "breakdown number" that started IIRC at about the
IQ of the creator. Every time a magic item was activated, or every so
often for long-term-use items, a roll was required against the breakdown
number. If the roll was higher than the enchantment's breakdown number, or
18, then a second roll was made, adding the amount by which the roll was
made. For a 0-level failure, generally the result was the item didn't
work, but there was a chance that the breakdown number would degrade by
one, and for a high failure (generally on an item which was getting really
worn out), there were worse effects, the highest of which would destroy
the item. So, if you didn't really need to use your magic items, you often
would choose not to, since eventually they would wear out.

2. We changed the experience system so that you only got significant
experience from doing something at least semi-challenging for you, taking
magic items into account. For combat, this meant everyone got a point
value (attributes plus equipment), and the EP you could get from defeating
someone was modified by the difference between your abilities. So using
your Iron Flesh and Flaming Sword to kill someone would mean you would get
less experience for the kill. Makes sense, fair, and motivates restraint
in use of magic.

PvK
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