Re: (TFT) armies and healing

[lifeisfun@aol.com]

Thanks for the set of representative quotations, Grouchy.  It helps those of us just learning "who is who" I'll let the others choose to comment on whether the chosen quote truly represents them.  Mine wasn't bad.
 
Concerning Rick Smith's Quote below, my group doesn't get too attached to magic items.  For the most part, we tend to be very stingy about giving out items, and the self-powered kind of item is extremely rare.  Plus, one GM in particular treats adversaries like highway robbers.  If a set of bandits manages to kill a hero, the first thing they do is take a round to steal stuff and try to run.  Very frequently they get away with it.  Every player has come to hate hearing "hand me your sheet", and watching the GM take out an eraser.
 
Also, in our world, we don't adhere to the absolute permanence of spells placed on an item.  A "remove thrown spell" cast on an item has a chance of removing the lowest IQ spell on that item.  The item itself gets a save throw against the IQ of the lowest IQ spell.  The assumption is that the wizard group creating an item with multiple spells on it will always save effort by putting the easiest spell on last.  The last spell put on the weapon should come off first  It is much harder (and expensive) to put on the high IQ spell last.  So, remove thrown spell can be devistating to a hero, even if the only spell removed from a sword is "break weapon".  
 
Plus, there are some GM creation ghostly mobs out there in our world that feed on magic.  Hitting these creatures with magic can suck magic off of an item.  It's hilarious to see the weapons shuffle when we see them coming.  
 
But, even without our house rules, I take great pleasure in confounding a party of heroes by playing combatant wizards the way they should be played.  The hardest group to defeat, in my mind, is a group with an effective "defensive" wizard.  My wizards use: "Megahex avert", "Control", "Drop Weapon", "Clumsiness", "Illusion", "break weapon", "magic rainstorm", "stop", "summon giant", "teleport", "giant rope", "megahex sleep", etc. etc.  The point is, how many times does the wizard do anything other than try to throw fireballs?  
 
"MegaHex Avert" is, IMO, one of the most deadly spells against heroes (maybe in the game).  A hero wizard who fails his save won't be casting for a while (having to move two hexes each movement).  The hero tanks can get charged again and again by puny spearmen for considerable damage.  And, btw, that's the best way to get a party to huddle together in a single megahex; to confront them with a small band of pole weapons users.  A surrounded party of heroes will save vs falling down every round the spells is powered.  That really can give the opponents an advantage against the super DX, we always go first, heroes.
 
"Control" is also a great spell.  What a great way to turn that big dumb hero with the flaming pike axe into a pet.  I also think it is a much more creative way for a wizard to "disbelieve" an illusion.  With control, an illusion will vanish or be under your control.  A definite improvement over wasting a round to disbelieve.  
 
Well, I guess in summary, I admit that items can definitely make a character a superhero.  But, not all superheroes survive.  And the newspaper read: "Superhero MachoMan looking for Wizard group who can make him a new supersword after his old one was destroyed when he attacked a highly-corosive, animated-goo.  His fans are highly dissapointed." 
 
Good Fortune,
Rick Walters
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: davidgrouchy@yahoo.com
To: tft@brainiac.com
Sent: Thu, 14 Sep 2006 11:33 PM
Subject: (TFT) armies and healing
 
But personally I would really like to see a little more discussion of any 
of the intriguing ideas quoted above.  Like this one that Rick Smith made early 
on.
  
>Rick Smith
>One of the thing's I've come to like LEAST about TFT is the gigantic 
>importance of magic items.
  
  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. 

  Now this begs the question: if this was started by rules for a larger scale 
of combat, and has landed on the subject of healing, are we talking about 
healing on an army scale?  Will a hundred healing potions a month cover that?  
Or dose someone have a single Heal army spell in mind.

David Michael Grouchy II



        
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