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Re: (TFT) Breaking TFT
On Nov 2, 2009, at 12:10 PM, raito@raito.com wrote:
Have someone else hold a ruler vertically above your slightly open
thumb and index finger. When they drop it, catch it as quickly as
you can. Apply some scale, such as 1" = DX 16 - 1 Dx per additional
" it falls. This was an old one from D&D days, and works pretty well
for TFT, given that a large part of DX is the order in which
characters act.
I've seen IQ doe as (real) IQ/10, or as SAT/100.
We used to do bench press/20 for ST.
All of those are IMHO kind of missing the point. The stats in an RPG
have to be very general, because they cover such a wide range of
activities. DX is reaction time, but it's also manual dexterity, gross-
motor skills and agility. ST has to encompass core strength and
various muscle-groups as well as endurance and resistance to pain. We
do use a single numeric score for IQ in real life, but it's a really
poor approximation that's widely seen as too narrow to be useful.
RPGs aren't realistic, no more than their ancestors the board-games
and fantasy epics. If you made a realistic RPG it would be really
boring you'd hardly be able to carry any equipment if you wanted to
be able to explore tunnels or fight, you'd run out of food and water,
there'd hardly be any epic monsters, and after a couple of fights
you'd have to limp back home to heal, and likely die of an infection
on the way.
Part of the appeal of Melee/Wizard/TFT was that it stripped down D&D
(eliminating half the stats and 4/5 of the dice!) and made something
that was easy and fun to play. Modern indie RPGs take this to the
extreme in games like Risus there aren't any formal stats at all,
just "cliches" you make up.
Jens
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